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By AIME AIME

FOR the development of a mine, a shaft of small cross-section is usually sunk, of no larger size than is absolutely necessary. After the mine has been developed and put on a production basis it is a common practice to sink a shaft of larger cross-section for hoisting and use the original shaft for the handling of men and material into the mine. While that ar¬rangement is usually expedient, the small size of the supply cages presents a problem in the handling of ma¬terial. Where a cage is, say, 4 by 4 ft., which is not an uncommon size, all lengthy and bulky material must be handled piece by piece several times from the supply department to the underground stations. Thus drill steel and timbers over 4 ft. long will be loaded on cars at the supply department and wheeled to the shaft, where each piece must be unloaded from the cars and stood up in the cage. They are then lowered to the shaft station, unloaded piece by piece and placed in cars, run to the supply station and again unloaded and stored until called for. In such a case handling becomes a major item in the cost of supplies.

Jan 1, 1930

By K. S. TWITCHEEL

THE different lines leading out from the vocation of a mining engineer are,' perhaps, the most' varied of all the professions. The expedition sent by Charles R. Crane of New York 'as a gift to the Imam Yahia, king of the Yemen, Arabia, was probably unique. Mr. Crane made a visit, in January,1927, to the Imam Yahia at Sanaa, capital of the Yemen. He was received with the utmost cordiality and respect, as his friend- . ship for the ,Arab world is famous; He was 'greatly impressed by the desire of the Imam to develop his country. The Imam stated that he had heard that there were minerals in his country and that he would like to secure engineers to advise him about them and other natural resources.. This seemed such a practical idea, and so greatly appealed to Mr. crane, that he offered to furnish an engineering 'expedition. Naturally the Imam gratefully accepted. This expedition was to study (as far as possible in 'the limited time) the natural resources of the ,Yemen, advise the Imam of what these consisted, and make suggestions regarding the most practical methods for their development. As agriculture is always such a fundamental part of a country's wealth, I first went to Indio, California, to study water-well drilling and the date industry, and eventually arrived at Hodeidah, the principal Yemen seaport, on Oct. 21, 1927.

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

DESPITE the fact that its membership is spread over every continent of the globe, the Petroleum Division was able to report a very substantial attendance at its meetings. Careful planning on the part of its chairman, J. B. Urnpleby, and his associates resulted in the presentation of a program that was of timely interest -and led to discussions that will unquestionably prove to be of major value to the petroleum engineer and to the oil industry in general. Scheduling of meetings so as to avoid all conflicts made it possible to obtain a higher average attendance at the several sessions* than in previous years, and gave everyone a chance to hear all of the papers that he was interested in. The chairmen of the various meetings are to be congratulated especially for their skill in handling them so that at .no time was there the least indication of lagging interest.

Jan 1, 1930

By F. L. Sizer

SOME old-time views which have recently come into my possession have inspired me to record that part of the early history of Leadville, Color- ado, with which I am familiar, the years 1878 to 1882, in the hope that others will add to what is here mentioned. My first appearance in Leadville was in June, 1878, immediately after graduation from the University of Michigan, and I found a congenial and lively crowd of young men, already there. The old log hotel, at the corner of Pine and State streets, housed some distinguished guests in the summer and fall of 1878. It was my good fortune there to make the acquaintance of James B. Grant, afterwards Governor of Colorado, in July of that year, when we were both glad of the accommodation afforded by cots in the second floor loft of the hostelry presided over by Herman Hibschle. Grant was then building his smelter and our associates were Eddy and James, August R. Meyer, and Berdell and Witherell. The Grand Hotel-Harris and Walsh, pro- prietors-was the first-class hotel of the place; but in a very few months there were many competitors.

Jan 1, 1924

By W. D. Lacabanne

DRILLING fluids as an aid in drilling holes into the earth have been in use successfully for more than a half a century. Originally used in a primitive fashion in water well drilling before the turn of the century, drilling fluids came into their own in 1901 when they were incorporated as an indispensable part of the newly invented rotary oil drilling method. Since drilling fluids have been the basic factor in successful modern oil well drilling, at- tested by the dramatic growth of the U. S. petroleum industry, their study and development have naturally taken place in the oil industry. An abundance of engineering and scientific literature has appeared on the subject of drilling fluids. Application to Exploration Drilling The drilling fluid system is understandably called the heart of the rotary oil drilling rig. Any other type of rotary rig, such as the diamond drill, should benefit by the incorporation of mud fluids in the drilling scheme.

Jan 12, 1954

By Neil Donnell, O&apos

MODERN mine maps are largely a product of evolution. The first mine maps used in the west were old composite maps with all the levels plotted on the same sheet. The composite was widely used and occasionally is seen even now. This type of underground map had serious limitations. One was the development of an indecipherable complex of workings around steep shafts. The other limitation was that of size; often when a working passed the limit of the sheet no map was made of it. These old maps have been superseded by the single level maps, laid out in squares or rectangles which can be expanded indefinitely in all directions. This produces a system capable of unlimited expansion in three dimensions, with all the detail of every working clearly marked and legible. A good set of mine maps should be laid out in blocks, all blocks of equal size. Each block should be limited by plane coordinates without overlap on bounding map quadrangles. At all times the direction of North should be indicated as an aid in remembering bearings of underground workings. It is desirable that all maps of whatever scale be plotted on sheets of uniform size. In fact, it is possible to make nearly all underground maps, surface maps and sections on sheets of the same size.

Jan 9, 1950

By G. J. Benard

In the 1970’s, several plants have been built and others are in the design stage which use solvent extraction for recovery of copper from acid leach solutions. Other plants are presently being built for the recovery of nickel and cobalt from laterite ores by prereduction and ammonia leaching. A review will be given on the materials of construction for these leaching and solvent extraction processes. Many plants have factors in common which permit selection with a greater degree of accuracy. Based on pilot plant corrosion data, effective use of materials of construction includes proper selection of materials, substitution of lower cost plastics for alloys, and selection of materials resistant against chloride stress corrosion cracking.

Jan 1, 1974

By Kenric C. Owen

INTRODUCTION Situated 23 miles east of Pretoria the Premier Mine started diamond production in 1903. Two years later it produced the largest diamond yet discovered, the 3 106 carat Cullinan stone. For the period to 1932 when the mine was closed down due to economic circumstances, open cast mining was practised using inclined rope haulage traction and by this time had produced 48.5 million carats of predominantly industrial quality diamonds from 148 million tons of ore. In 1945 it was decided to re-open the mine using underground mining methods. A system using long hole benching was devised (Hodgson and Sewel 1960). This system was later modified but still forms the basis for approximately fifty percent of production. Following the successful introduction of block caving on associated diamond mines in the Kimberley area (Gallagher and Loftus 1960) this mining method was introduced to the Premier Mine in the late 60's and now accounts for nearly 50% of production. This paper will discuss block caving at Premier Mine in the light of our experience and discussion will be directed to the main geological and structural features of the orebody and host rocks and the related constraints imposed on the mining methods. Reference is made to the long hole benching mining method for comparative purposes. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF OPERATIONS The ore from the block caving and bench mining areas gravitates via ore passes to a twin haulage, 500m below surface. Electric 13 tonne locomotives, each hauling a train of 10 Granby type cars, deliver the ore to two 42" x 48" (1.06m x 1.22m) jaw crushers. The ore is reduced in size to minus 0.15m before being hoisted to the treatment plant on surface. Hoisting is done with 12.5 tonne bottom discharge skips in a five compartment rectangular shaft using two 3 240 H.P. semi automatic Ward Leonard winders. A small single drum service winder operates in the other compartment. Men and materials travel in a separate shaft in a 5,4m x 2,8m cage operated by a Koepi winder. These two shafts are also the main intake airways to the mine. The two main extraction fans capable of 250 m3/s at 3,2 kPa are situated on surface and are connected to the underground workings by an incline and a network of air passes and return airways. GEOLOGY Although there are numerous occurrences of kimberlite bodies in the district, the Premier Mine kimberlite pipe is the only economic orebody. It is roughly oval in shape with surface dimensions of 900m on the long axis and 450monthe short axis. The surface area is 320 000 m2. The kimberlite has intruded a massive body of felsite and norite which is intersected by a number of faults. The contact between the kimberlite and host rock is clear cut and dips inward at an average angle of 80°. Cutting across the pipe and the country rock is a 75 metre thick gabbro sill, the top of which intersects the pipe below the 347m level and dips at 15' to the north west. The kimberlite has been metamorphosed a distance of some 20m both above and below the sill contacts. Age measurements on biotite from the gabbro date the sill as 1 115 million years, thereby providing a minimum age of the pipe. (Pre Cambrian). All other pipes in South Africa are of Cretaceous age (60 million years). A simplified geological plan and section of the Premier Mine orebody is shown in Figure 1. It is thought that the kimberlite intruded in at least three distinct phases. The kimberlites of these different phases can be distinguished most easily by their characteristic colour. BROWN KIMBERLITE. This is the oldest kimberlite and forms a crescent shape in plan on the south eastern side of the pipe. In depth it increases in relative area. Although the brown kimberlite carries the highest diamond grade in terms of carats per ton all the various kimberlites in the Premier pipe are economic to mine.

Jan 1, 1981

By R. Simon, D. J. Graue

This paper presents correlations for predicting the solu-lility, swelling and viscosity behavior of CO2-crude oil sys8i.m~. The correlations were developed from experimental data obtained by the authors. These data are also presented. The data were determined by measuring the properties of mixtures of CO, and nine different oils. Experiinental conditions covered a range of 100 to 250°F and pressures up to 2,300 psia. Properties predicted by the correlations have average deviations, expressed as per cent of experimental value, of 2 per cent for solubility, 0.5 per cent for swelling and 12 per cent for viscosity. INTRODUCTION Interest in CO2 injection as an oil recovery process has led to the development of performance prediction methods which can be applied to specific reservoirs.1 iS To use these performance prediction methods, it is necessary to know the solubility, swelling and viscosity properties of CO2-crude oil mixtures at reservoir conditions. Some information on these properties has appeared in the literature; however, this information did not cover the range of different oils and conditions needed to prepare generalized correlations for reservoir engineering purposes. Consequently, an experimental program was undertaken to collect the data needed. The data obtained and the correlations developed from the data are described in the following sections of this paper. SOLUBILITY OF CO2 IN CRUDE OILS CO2 solubility data in the literature come from six principal sources. The solubility prediction method of Welker and Dunlop3 is limited to 80F. The information in Ref. 4 is of two types: the first includes binary and ternary mixtures of CO, and light hydrocarbons (C1 to C6), and the second gives data for CO1 and heavy hydrocarbons for a temperature range of 40 to 90F. Ref. 5 contains a KCO2 chart for systems whose convergence pressure is 4,000 psia. The KCO2's are based mainly on CO2-natural gas mixtures. Poettmann's work covered CO2 solubility in one condensate and one crude oil6,7 Ja-coby and Rzasa measured CO? solubilities as a function of pressure and temperature for two natural gas-absorber oil mixtures and two natural gas-crude oil mixtures.'8 CO, concentration in these four systems was fixed at 5 mol per cent. The work reported in this paper extends CO, solubility data to a variety of different crude oil types in a temperature range from 110 to 250F and pressures up to 2,300 psia. The experimental procedure used by the authors to obtain the solubility data consisted of combining known amounts of pure CO, and crude oil in a visual cell at a fixed temperature and measuring the bubble point of the mixture. Measurements were made for a total of 40 different CO2-oil mixtures and the results are shown in Table 2. The mixtures included nine different oils (seven crude oils and two refined oils) whose properties are listed in Table 1. All nine oils had vapor pressures less than 1 atm at the experimental temperatures. Consequently, analysis of the bubble-point vapor showed a CO, concentration over 99 mol per cent. At no time during these experiments was a second, more dense, liquid phase observed. The solubility correlation which was developed from the data in Table 2 is presented in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. In these figures, solubility is expressed as xco2 the mol fraction of CO, in the CO2-oil mixture. Fig. 1 shows solubility as a function of CO2 fugacity6 and temperature. Fig. 2 shows the same solubility data expressed as a function of saturation pressure and temperature. The solubility shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is for an oil whose UOP characterization factor is 11.7. UOP characterization factors of crude oils can be determined from Ref. 10 if the viscosity and APT gravity of the oil are known. Fig. 3 gives the solubility correction factor for oils whose UOP characterization factors differ from 11.7. The solubility correlation in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 predicted

Jan 1, 1966

By J. O. Edstrom, G. Bitsianes

Parabolic rate constants were determined for the formation of wiistite by the solid state reaction between magnetite and iron. The reaction was diffusion controlled and inert marker studies indicated that the mass transport through the wiistite layer was accomplished by means of iron migration. Relationships between rate constants and self-diffusivities are discussed. The transport capacity for iron through dense wustite layers was found to be sufficient to carry on reduction, even in gaseous reduction processes. REDUCTION of iron oxides has been the subject of many investigations. Most of the work, however, has been done on rather crude material and there have been difficulties in correlating the data on a quantitative basis. The reverse process of the oxidation of iron has been studied more thoroughly and usually by starting from the pure metal. As a result, the mechanisms of oxidation are now fairly well known.It has generally been found that the oxidation of metals follows the so-called parabolic 1aw;Q hat is, when the oxides are formed as dense layers, their thicknesses are proportional to the square root of the reaction time. This parabolic law follows directly from Fick's first law of diffusion The flux, J, is defined as the quantity of diffusing substance passing per unit time through unit area of a plane at right angles to the direction of diffusion. This flux is proportional to the concentration gradient of the diffusing substance, and the factor D, known as the diffusion coefficient, is introduced as the proportionality factor with dimensions of (length)'/time. If the flux is measured as the increase of thickness of the oxide layer (Ax) per unit time (t) and the assumption is made that the concentrations of the reactants at the phase boundaries of the layer are independent of time, Eq. 1 reduces to Integration of this expression yields the parabolic function ax = k . t. [31 The product of the diffusion coefficient and the concentration difference across the oxide layer is included in the constant k. When iron is exposed to a highly oxidizing atmosphere, the oxide phases are formed normally in a topochemical fashion, i.e., the interfaces between the phases maintain parallel positions to the original surface of the specimen. Above 570°C, the phases are orientated usually in the order of iron, wiistite, magnetite, and hematite, a condition in conformance with the requirements of the Fe-0 system. Below 570°C, the wiistite phase is unstable and has not been found as a normal constituent in the oxidation products of iron. There is a strong probability that continuous layers of the solid oxides are formed as the specific volumes of the phases increase in direct order from iron to hematite.' , ' Regarding mass transport through dense solid oxide layers, Wagner' has postulated that diffusion in oxides generally may be interpreted as migration processes of ions and electrons. There must be normally a concentration gradient across the growing oxide layer for diffusion to occur. This condition requires that there be deviations from the ideal stoi-chiometric composition of the oxide and accordingly deviations from the strict order of an ideal lattice. Such "lattice defects" include interstitial ions, cation and anion vacancies, quasi-free electrons, and electron holes and are decisive for all migration processes.' Cations, anions, and electrons all may have some mobility in the oxides but the movement of one of the particles generally far exceeds that of the others. Previous work', 1,2,7 has shown that during the oxidation of iron the migration through the wiistite layer, and probably also the magnetite layer, is confined to the movement of iron ions. Migration through hematite, however, has been found to take place by oxide ion movement. These behaviors are in direct agreement with the type of vacancies present in the respective oxides. Reduction of Iron Oxides The gaseous reduction of iron oxides, like the oxidation of iron, takes place in a topochemical fashion at distinct interfaces between the appearing phases."-'" Porosities might be expected in these reaction products, since their specific volumes are less than that of the starting material. Frank and van Der Merwe" have shown, however, that it is theoretically possible for nonporous layers to form if the degree of misfit in specific volume is less than about 15 pct. These aspects on porosity formation

Jan 1, 1956

By R. Stickler, A. Vinckier

An optical and electron microscope study was made on a commercial 302 stainless steel heat treated for massive carbide precipitation. Convincirg evidence was obtained that the grain boundary precipitate does not grow away from the grain boundary into the matrix, but grows as a network of large thin dendrites in between the grains. IN austenitic stainless steels the carbon in supersaturated solution precipitates when the steel is heated in the temperature range 450" to 1000°C. During such heat treatments the chromium-rich carbide occurs primarily at the grain boundaries and has adverse effects on the corrosion resistance and low-temperature ductility of the material. It has been shown that the morphology of the precipitated particles differs widely depending on the time and temperature of the heat treatment, the nature of the boundary, the misfit between the grains, and so forth.1"5 It was assumed by Mahla et al.,' Streicher,' and Mc Nutt' that the carbide particles which nucleate in the grain boundary grow in various geometric or dendritic forms away from the boundary into the matrix. However, Kinzel,' Hatwell et a, and Plateau et aL4 found that the particles nucleate in the grain boundary and grow as a network of thin dendrites in the grain boundary interface. We have made a comprehensive studyg of the precipitation occurring in a commercial 302 austenitic stainless steel heat treated for times ranging from 0.15 to 1500 hr at various temperatures from 480" to 1065"~. This study was made to elucidate the influence of heat treatments on both the mechanical and the corrosion properties of this steel. Part of this investigation which is pertinent to the morphology of the grain boundary carbides referred to above is separately reported here. We found that the particles which nucleated in the boundaries grew in the interface of these boundaries, thus supporting the viewpoints of Kinzel,' Hatwell et al.,3 and Plateau et al.4 Furthermore, when carbide particles nucleated in the matrix very close to the boundaries, they possessed a morphology distinctively different from the particles growing in the grain boundaries. MATERIAL A study of metallographic samples and of fracture surfaces of a 302 stainless steel is reported in this paper. The composition and heat treatments are listed in Table I. Polished and etched samples were examined und813r the optical microscope, and carbon extraction replicas of etched micrographic samples and various fracture surfaces3'8'9 were examined under the electron microscope. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A representative optical micrograph of the 302 steel, condition A, is shown in Fig. l(a). Particles can be seen on the grain boundaries but no traces can be found of particles which grow from the grain boundaries into the matrix. A carbon extraction replica of this sample shows numerous large thin dendrites, Fig. l(b). The lateral dimension of such carbide particles vary up to 100 p, and their thickness estimated from the amoun! of electron penetration i:; between 500 and 1000A. Such large dendrites are extracted from almost all grain boundaries and, if they had grown into the grains, they would definitely be revealed by etching traces in the matrix, Fig. l(a). The reason why these large dendrites on the extraction replica appear to be grown into the grain is due to the mechanism of the extraction replica process. Thus, these dendrites are supported by the carbon replica film only at the edges originally along the grain boundary trace A-A, Fig. l(b), in the polished metal section and have subsequently fallen over onto the carbon replica film during handling. Although such dendrites generally fall only to one particular side of the grain boundary trace, one finds occasionally that parts of a dendrite have fallen to both sides, as shown in Fig. l(b). Further evidence for the growth of carbide in the grain boundary can be obtained from the appearance of fracture surfaces. A small impact specimen of the 302 steel, condition A, was broken at liquid nitrogen temperature. The fracture path follows the

Jan 1, 1962

By D. J. Carney, E. C. Rudolphy

IT has been demonstrated that inclusion size, distribution, and composition affect the machin-ability of resulphurized steels. Merchant and Zlatinl concluded that large sulphide inclusions aided machining by forming a (lubricating) coating on the tool face. Boulger et al.² and Van Vlack³ noted that the size, distribution, and composition of the inclusions in the steel affected the machinability. Steel specimens containing large globular sulphide inclusions usually exhibited excellent cutting properties, while machinability was adversely affected by the presence of numbers of oxide-type inclusions. Consequently a thorough knowledge of all the factors which affect the inclusions in the final product is desirable. Since almost all the inclusions have their origin in liquid steel, it was necessary to begin a study of inclusions in free-machining steels by studying the inclusions and chemical segregation in the as-cast ingot. Very little information is available on the size, distribution, shape, and composition of inclusions in large, capped, free-machining steel ingots, particularly the B1113 grade. Gregory and Whiteley4 made a general study of the inclusions in a small, high sulphur, free-machining steel ingot. Also, numerous authors have described the solidification and segregation characteristics of the four basic types of steel ingots, namely, rimmed, capped,7 semikilled,7,8 and killed7,9,10 ingots. Most of these studies were made with plain carbon or low alloy, low sulphur steel. It was desirable to study not only the ingot but also the change in size, shape, and number of inclusions on rolling an ingot to a bloom and thence to a billet. This procedure was followed and it is hoped that this study may serve the dual purpose of adding to the general knowledge of ingot solidification as well as contributing to the knowledge of the size, shape, distribution, and composition of inclusions from the ingot to the billet in a high sulphur, free-machining steel. Procedure A 12.000-lb 23x35x75 in. slab ingot of the B1113 grade was cast, sectioned, and studied both macro-scopically and microscopically. An adjacent ingot from the same heat and of the same size was rolled to a 77/8x77/8 in. bloom and thence to a 21/2x21/2 in. billet. These various bloom and billet sections were also sectioned and studied macroscopically and microscopically. Sectioning the Ingot: The ingot herein described was obtained from the United States Steel Corp.'s South Works Bessemer Blow No. 0193, a B1113 mechanically capped heat. The 23x35 in. ingot (No. 2) was teemed according to normal procedures and after stripping and transportation to the rolling mill was not placed in the soaking pit but allowed to air cool in an upright position. When completely solidified, the ingot was cut into sections by means of a powder scarfing torch and further sectioned by saw cutting as indicated in Fig. 1. Cut No. 2 (1x10x12 in.) from sections A through H was cleaned thoroughly, macroetched in a solution of 50-50 water and hot muriatic acid and used to obtain a macrograph of a horizontal section from the surface to slightly beyond the center of the 23-in. ingot dimension. Cuts No. 5 and 3 (lx81/2xl0 in. each) from sections A through H were treated in a similar manner to obtain a macrograph of a horizontal section from the surface to slightly beyond the center of the 35-in. ingot dimension. The composite macrograph of these horizontal ingot sections, which shows a vertical section of the ingot from top to bottom, is shown in Fig. 2. It should be noted that sections No. 2 are normal to sections 5 and 3 in the composite. Drillings for chemical analyses were obtained from selected positions within the above-mentioned ingot sections as noted in Fig. 3. The oxygen content was determined by the vacuum-fusion method. Samples for microscopic examination were cut from

Jan 1, 1954

By J. S. Aronofsky

The first step in a quantitative analysis ot the mechanism of oil displacement by water in a fractured reservoir is usually conceded to be the solution of the differential equation describing the saturation distribution of two immiscible fluids flowing in a porous medium, where the capillary pressure is taken into account. In such a system the production mechanism may consist of displacement of oil both by the flow of water due to natural or artificially imposed pressure gradients and by imbibition, which implies a flow of water not due to external pressure gradients. Owing to the presence of the two oil displacement mechanisms, the mathematical model given by the differential equation intended to describe the system may not properly represent the behavior of the physical system. In fact, in the reservoir the rate of water advance may be very slow, and in the case of a fractured reservoir with a great number of large fractures, the pressure difference determining the flow of water through the matrix may be much less than 1 lb/'psi over lengths of a few feet. In such a case, imbi-bition (the exchange between oil in the matrix and water in the fractures resulting from capillary forces) may become, with time. a significant element of the production mechanism. It occurred Lo the authors, however, that without going into a physical analysis of the process of production, it might be possible by means of simple abstract reasoning to throw some light on the variation of recovery with time under conditions occurring in a highly fractured oil reservoir with rising water table. The object of this paper is to present both the reasoning and its application to a reservoir of the highly fractured type. Specifically, the analysis given here was undertaken to try to explain the increase of recovery (as defined later) with time as observed in this reservoir, without having to assume unlikely variations in the reservoir parameters with depth. This attempt has been successful as will become clear upon comparison of the computed recoveries with the actual field data. ABSTRACT MODEL Let us consider a small volume. of porous matrix saturated with oil at time, t = 0. Let the process of oil displacement by water start at time, t = t,,. At some time, t, the process will have terminated. Then a volume of oil equal to or smaller than the original oil contained in the matrix will have been produced. The first basic assumption that describes the model and guides the forthcoming reasoning is that the oil production from the small volume. dv, is a continuous monotonic function of time and that it converges to a finite limit. Such an assumption is not inconsistent with the results of laboratory waterflood tests as well as with results of imbibition tests where this is, in fact, observed. The second basic assumption is that none of the properties which determine the rate of convergence change sufficiently during the process to affect this rate or the limit. Let it be assumed that the form of the function of time relative to production from the matrix volume. dv, is given by where V,(t) is the volume of oil produced up to that time t. R is the limit toward which the recovery converges, A is a constant giving the rate of convergence, and V,(t) is the volume of oil originally in place in the volume, dv. It should be noted that recovery at time I will be understood here to he It follows that r. tends to R as t tends to infinity. CONSTRUCTION OF RESERVOIR FROM ABSTRACT MODEL Let the reservoir consist of a series of identical blocks of porous matrix stacked vertically and separated by fractures. Let each of these blocks satisfy the conditions of our abstract model. These conditions are: (1) that recovery is a continuous mono-tonic function of time converging to finite limit, and (2) none of the properties that determine the rate of convergence change sufficiently to affect the rate or the limit. Let water be rising in fractures so that oil production from any part of the block starts when the water comes in conLact with it. TOTAL RECOVERY FROM THE RESERVOIR COMPARED TO RECOVERY FROM A SINGLE MODEL ELEMENT As stipulated in Eq. 1, in the case of the abstract model,

By F. W. Archibald

The American Smelting and Refining Co. has standardized its copper converting practice to attain a maximum unit blister production with a minimum of refractory consumption by careful location of the tuyeres and by applying magnetite coatings on the hard-burned magnesite brick linings. THE American Smelting and Refining Co. operates four primary copper smelters in the United States with a total of 17 Peirce-Smith type converters; 15 of them are 13 ft in diameter by 30 ft long, and two are smaller. Some details of operations vary with locale; however, fundamentals of design, operation, and maintenance are common to all plants. All converter shells are l-in. thick except for one new converter with riding rings on the ends which has a shell thickness of 1 1/2 in. More tuyeres can be installed with rings on the ends and hence more air can be used. Welded construction is replacing riveted. Minor shell repairs are made after each campaign. Principal causes of complete shell replacement are warpage and cracking resulting from localized over-heating. A 13x30 ft shell is being replaced after 34 years of operation and a total production of approximately 750,000 tons of blister. Converters are driven by 80 hp DC motors through company-designed worm gear reducers. Rotation is 0.38 rpm which permits the skimmer to spot the converter quite accurately for skimming slag. At three of the plants, protection against unscheduled air or power failures is afforded by the installation of emergency drives, consisting of auxiliary air motors or storage batteries. In order to avoid excessive splash out of the converters, the converter mouths are located as far back on the shells as existing flue facilities will permit. At one plant, the back of the mouth is only 13" to the rear of the vertical center line of the converter,. whereas it is 28" at another plant. Newly-lined mouth areas vary from 36 to 44 sq ft with effective operating areas about 25 pct less. It is important to keep the converter mouths as clean as possible. Dirty mouths create back pressures in the converters and as a consequence the tuyere air volumes are reduced. Mouths are generally cleaned by bumping with an empty ladle. Small mouth-cleaning rams have been used but unless extreme care is exercised the brickwork may be damaged. After considerable experimentation, the plants standardized tuyere elevations at 4 to 4% in. below horizontal center line at the shell with a downward pitch of about 13/16 in. per ft of length. Tuyeres are spaced at 6 in. centers except at the riding rings where there are no tuyeres. With this tuyere location, several of the plants now freeze magnetite slag in the bottoms, fronts, and backs up to the bottom of the tuyeres to control the internal shape of the converter. This has the effect of improving the agitation and mixing so that there is a marked increase in converting speed besides affording protection to the brick lining. Currently, the trend is to increase tuyere diameters from 1% to 2 in. to increase the air flow. At present, all converters are hand-punched but one converter is being equipped with a set of mechanical tuyere punchers. Rods for punching are % in. hexagonal smelter bar upset to ll/s in. and rods for cleaning tuyeres are upset to about 1% in., or larger, depending upon the tuyere diameter. Two of the plants use pneumatic reamers for cleaning the tuyeres between charges to minimize disturbing the coating on the inside of the refractory lining. Most of the puncher's platforms are pneumatically or hydraulically mounted so that a convenient punching position can be maintained regardless of tuyere position. For normal operations, tuyere air pressures vary from 15 to 13.5 psi, although some cycles such as magnetiting require pressures down to 8 psi. Air requirements vary from an average of 25,000 cfm on the newer installations down to 12,000 cfm on the older ones. Converter hoods are designed to protect the punchers from sparks, splash or hood accretions as well as to prevent the escape of objectionable

Jan 1, 1955

By R. G. Wheeler, J. W. Goffard

The Larson-Miller parameter was used to correlate time, temperature, and indentation creep of magnesium, aluminum, and some of their alloys. In the temperature range 300" to 450°C, the short-time Meyer hardness of pure magnesium was less than that of the magnesium alloys tested, but for long times the pure magnesium has greater indentation creep resistance. Aluminum (1100 alloy) had 1.5 to 2.5 times more indentation creep resistance than magnesium at 300" and 450oC, respectively. Hardening of aluminum with a dispersion of Al2O3 was effective in the time and temperature ranges studied. New technologies have required the development of new materials and the utilization of the more familiar materials for new and unusual applications. The use of magnesium and aluminum and some of their alloys, because of their desirable nuclear characteristics, light weight, low cost, and ready availability, has been extended to the 300" to 450°C temperature range. In this temperature range the basic consideration of these materials must be their rate of plastic flow rather than offset yield strengths. The indentation testing reported here arose from a need for design data for the load-holding ability of supports made of these materials. Test Procedure—Hardness indents were made with a 0.275-in.-diam quartz indentor and a 10.65-lb load. The indentor was made by fire-polishing a spherical surface on the end of a fused quartz rod. The samples were held at temperature in a graphite crucible controlled to ±2°C. A thermocouple was attached to the sample and test temperatures were recorded. The diameter of the spherical indentation was measured at the end of a test period and the compression stress (Meyer Hardness) was determined by: H___________load__________ m = projected area of indent Samples were 1 in. in diam and at least 1/4 in. thick. It was observed that at the higher temperatures and longer times, the quartz indentor would stick to the magnesium sample. The quartz indentor was, therefore, frequently inspected and fire-polishing repeated when necessary. The area of sticking was always a small fraction of the area of indent and was therefore considered to have an insignificant effect on results. Correlation of Hot-Indentation Test Data with Time-Temperature Parameter—Sherby and Dorn' have correlated creep or tensile data of a' solid solutions of aluminum with a temperature and strain-rate parameter suggested by Zener and Holloman. underwood2 used this parameter to correlate creep properties of some steels with hot hardness, and upon the basis of this correlation a means of obtaining creep properties from short-time (and inexpensive) hot hardness tests has been demonstrated. Since the validity of the correlation of creep properties with a time-temperature parameter and the correlation of creep properties with hot hardness have been shown, it follows that hot hardness may correlate with the time-temperature parameter. The hot-indentation data obtained was expressed as Meyer hardness, and was shown to be time and temperature dependent. Correlation of Meyer hardness, time, and temperature with the parameter was made using the relationship: Hm = Meyer hardness t = time, hours T = absolute temperature, OK K = constant A value for the constant K was calculated by equating In l/t + K/T at different temperatures and times but at the same hardness. The correlation was tested by plotting Hm vs the parameter, In 1/t +K/T. Since materials are being sought which have high hardness at low indentation creep, i.e., a high Meyer hardness for long time at high temperatures, low values of the parameter are ofthe most interest. TEST RESULTS Magnesium—Pure magnesium (99.98 pct) cut from extruded rod was indentation tested perpendicular to the rod axis at temperatures of 300°, 350°, 400°, and 450°C for times ranging from 6 sec to 112 hr. Fig. 1 shows the time dependency of Meyer hardness at the four constant temperatures. Fig. 2 shows the correlation of the Meyer hardness of pure magnesium with the time-temperature parameter using a K of 22,720 in Eq. [I]. At the bottom of Fig. 2, the effect of doubling the time of indentation t2 = 2(t1), on the abscissa for any time is shown graphically. This effect is of constant magnitude. Also shown graphically are the magnitudes of the effects on the

Jan 1, 1960

By N. E. Brown, F. L. Versnyder

THE apparent dependency of the electrical characteristics of hexagonal crystalline selenium on microstructure has aroused much interest in microscopical studies of selenium. Microscopic observations on the crystallization of selenium have been made by Escoffery and Halperin,' P. H. Keck,' and other investigators. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the microstructural changes observed on polished cross-sections of single layers of selenium after various heat treatments. Observations were also made on crystallization of the free-surface layer of these deposits. In general, all of the transformations studied were either transformations of the vitreous selenium to hexagonal selenium or micro-structural transformation of the hexagonal selenium itself. Procedure The selenium used in this work was obtained from the American Smelting and Refining Co. and was approximately 99.96 pct pure. An intentional impurity of 1 part per 2,000 of bromine was added to the material prior to evaporation. A thickness of approximately 0.002 in. of this selenium was vapor deposited on an aluminum base plate. The maximum plate temperature during the vacuum vapor deposition was 140°C. Mounting of the cross-sectional specimens for metallographic study could not be done in plastic mounting media, as is customary, since temperatures in excess of 50°C would cause unwanted transformations. Consequently, a simple clamp-type device was used to mount the specimens for preparation. All grinding operations were then done carefully by hand in order that the specimen not become heated during this operation. Wet polishing was done on the conventional metallographic polishing laps, using successively finer grinding powders. An extremely careful polish is necessary, since observation and micrography of the specimens are done in the unetched condition under polarized light. The two observations of crystallization made on the free surface of vitreous selenium deposits (Figs. 4 and 5) were made on surfaces which were perpendicular to the cross-sections studied. These free-surface layers were examined directly, i.e., no pre- vious metallographic preparation, as obtained from the vacuum vapor deposition. Microscopic Observations A study was made of polished cross-sections of the vitreous selenium as-deposited. It was noted that in all cases there was columnar crystallization adjacent to the base plate, which appeared to occur during the vacuum deposition process. This observation has also been made by Keck? It also was observed that vagrant spherulitic crystallization occurred in the vitreous selenium. The term "vagrant" is used, since these spherulitic grains appear to crystallize at random throughout the vitreous selenium during the vacuum deposition process. Columnar crystallization at the A1-Se interface and a typical spherulite observed in a polished cross-section of "as-deposited" vitreous selenium may be seen in Fig. 1. Cross-sectional samples of vitreous selenium studied after heat treating individual samples for 20 min in 10" steps from 80" to 220°C revealed that crystallization—in this case, columnar crystal growth —proceeds from the aluminum base plate to the surface of the specimen (Fig. 2). Crystallization was microscopically observed to be complete after the 130°C heat treatment. Visual examination of the free surface of the specimen after the 130 °C heat treatment revealed the readily recognizable grey appearance of the completely crystallized selenium, in corroboration of the microstructural observations. No microstructural transformations then appeared to take place between 130" and 190°C. At 190°C the beginning of recrystallization appeared and proceeded until the columnar grain structure had been completely transformed to equiaxed grains between 210" and 220°C (Fig. 3). Naturally, the grain size of the recrystallized grains at the lower temperatures (190" to 210°C) was smaller than is illustrated in Fig. 3. In addition, polished cross-sections of deposits heat treated at 140°C for 10 min to cause complete crystallization and, subsequently, heat treated in 10" steps from 80" to 220°C for 20 min were studied. As expected, no microstructural transformations took place until the beginning of recrystallization was observed at 190°C. A comparison with the previously studied specimens revealed that recrystallization proceeded almost identically in the two experiments although in the first case the deposits were vitreous prior to the series of heat treatments and in the second case they had been crystallized by a previous heat treatment. By heat treating for longer times (180 min) at lower temperatures, the

Jan 1, 1956

By W. A. Walker, G. W. Ostroot

An increase in the number of deep wells being drilled where extreme bottom-hole temperatures are encountered, and the anticipated drilling of wells where temperatures in the range of 500°F or higher may occur, has brought about a comprehensive investigation of cementing materials and of the techniques involved in their proper usage at these elevated temperatures. Included are developments in cements, retarders, weighting materials and other cement additives which make it possible to formulate a variety of compositions to help resolve the cementing problems of these extreme well conditions. The problems associated with the selection and testing of cements are discussed, and a resume of field results is included. Previous studies on strength retrogression indicate that caution should be exercised in the selection of a cementing composition for use in high-temperature wells. It now appears that, by the addition of silica flour as a stabilizing additive to certain cements, compositions covering a wide range of slurry densities can be designed to meet extreme well conditions without strength retrogression. Improvements in cement retarders make it possible to produce a four-hour thickening time at static temperatures up to 500°F. This temperature is considerably higher than conditions presently being encountered in drilling and completion work. Inert weighting materials, used to produce 20-lb/gal or heavier cement slurries, are reviewed. INTRODUCTION As the search for oil continues, the number of wells being drilled to depths of 10,000 ft or below has continued to increase over the past decade. During 1959, there were 50,893 wells drilled in the United States for a total of 209 million ft of hole. Of this total, approximately 4.45 per cent were drilled below 10,000 ft and 0.30 per cent below 15,000 ft, with a record depth of 25,340 ft recorded (Table 1). With the drilling of this record-shattering hole comes the question, "How deep can wells be drilled?".' Limitations with respect to equipment (surface and subsurface), cementing materials and techniques would cause some concern; however, a panel of experts have agreed that the U. S. oil industry has the equipment and know-how to drill a 50,000-ft hole. The greatest deterrent would be the 700°F temperature they would anticipate encountering at this depth. Although the number of wells drilled under what is generally considered hot-hole conditions (230°F and higher) has been relatively high, each well often presents distinctly individual problems and requires separate consideration and selection of special materials, techniques and equipment. At the present time there are over 30 additives and special cements available for use in "tailoring" a cementing composition for a specific well. It is not uncommon to use three or four different additives with the basic cement to produce the desired slurry characteristics. A generally accepted procedure is to make laboratory tests on selected cementing compositions prior to pumping them into wells deeper than 12,000 ft, or where static temperatures are in the range of 260°F or higher. In some instances, it is recommended that laboratory tests be made where less severe well conditions are encountered. Prior to selecting a cementing composition for a particular well, key personnel representing the operator, drilling contractor and service company should meet to determine that each individual is acquainted with every detail which might influence cementing results and to discuss the execution of the job. For cementing hot-holes, a number of factors must be evaluated before proceeding with the operation. Consideration must be given to the following. 1. Thickening time—The slurry must remain fluid for a sufficient length of time to allow displacement down the casing and up the annular space in a primary cementing job or, in squeeze-cementing, adequate thickening time for both the build-up of a satisfactory squeeze pressure and the reversing out of excess cement. The thickening time of standard retarded cements will often be too short under extreme temperature conditions, thus involving special formulations and requiring laboratory tests to determine the proper amount of additional retarder to obtain the desired pumpability.

By Robert J. White

Strong's equation for calculating bottom-hole pressure reduction due to gas cutting of drilling mud is corrected, resulting in a simpler equation which is easier to use. Use of the equation is illustrated by examples. It is shown that reduction of weight of a 10 lb/gal mud by 50 per cent at the surface due to gas cutting produces only n 3 per cent decrease in hydrostatic head at the bottom of a 5,000-ft well. It is also shown that at the surface 5 volumes of air per volume of mud are required to reduce the apparent mud weight from 8.5 to 6.5 lh/gal in a 3,000-ft well. Illustrative graphs are included to show the effect of various degrees of gas cutting on apparent mud weight at depths of 2,000, .5,000 and 10,000 ft and to show variation of apparent mud weight, with depth for a 100 lb/cu ft (13.37 lb/gal) mud gas cut to 90 lb/cu ft (12.03 lb/gal) at the surface. INTRODUCTION In 1938, Strong' published the following equation for calculating reduction in bottom-hole pressure due to gas cutting of drilling mud h = 1/D [p + pn/100 In p + p(1-n/100)/p(1- n-100)] where: h = depth in feet P = pressure in atmospheres at depth h due to mud column only D = hydrostatic pressure in atmospheres of a col-umn of uncut mud 1 ft high p = back pressure at well-head (in atmospheres) n/100 = fraction by volume of gas in mud at well-head at back pres-sure p This equation was recently found to contain an error due to an incor-rect expression for variation of vol-ume fraction of gas with pressure. Values calculated by the original equation are close to the correct values for small percentages of gas for which it was derived but become increasingly erroneous as the gas content increases and are completely unusable at the very high gas con-tents employed in aerated mud. DERIVATION The nomenclature used is the same as in Strong's paper. The pres-sure dP exerted by a lamina of thickness dh at a depth h ft is ex-pressed by Eq. 1 where x = volume fraction of gas at depth h dP = D (l - x)dh . . . (1) When we express x in terms of the wellhead per cent gas n, the well-head pressure p and the pressure P at depth h, the result is Eq. 2. x = (np/p+p)/(100-n) + (np/P + p) When this is substituted in Eq. 1 and rearranged to separate the var-iables the result is dh = 1/D [dp + np/100-n dp/(P + p]. Integration between appropriate lim-its results in or if the wellhead is open so that p = 1 atm and we rearrange Eq. 4, the result is loss in head = hD — P = n/100-n In (P + 1) ...(5) Eq. 5 can be solved easily by successive approximation using hD as a first approximation for P on the right-hand side and calculating a first value for loss in head. This can then be used to get a new value of P using the left-hand side of the equation. Values converge very rap-idly even for quite large values of per cent by volume gas n. EXAMPLES The effect on bottom-hole pressure of 50 per cent gas cutting of the mud in a 5,000-ft well using 10 Ib/ gal mud will be calculated, we have: h = 5,000 ft 10 X 7.48 144 X 14.7 = 0.0353 atm/ft hD = 176.5 atm n = 50 Substituting these values in Eq. 5 and using hD as a first approxima-tion of P on the right, we have, approximate loss in head = 50/50 In (176.5 + 1) = 2.30 log 177.5 = 5.17 atm. We calculate a new value of P as follows:

Jan 1, 1958

By J. T. Norton, J. G. McMullin

The ternary system of gold-silver-copper is characterized by a solid solubility gap and a two phase region in which copper-poor and silver-poor phases coexist. At about 30 pct gold, the two phases become mutually soluble at temperatures below the melting temperature. As the gold content is increased, the solubility temperature of the alloys decreases until at about 80 pct gold, the two phases are soluble down to the lowest temperature at which the alloys will recrystallize. Although the general form of the two phase region is known, its boundaries do not seem to have been investigated extensively. In an X ray diffraction study, Masing and Kloiberl have outlined the boundaries of this two phase field at 400 and 750°C. Using only microscopic techniques, Pickus and Pickus2 determined a vertical section of the ternary diagram showing the 14 kt alloys (58.3 pct gold). These two reports are riot in complete agreement. It has been shown3 that some of the ternary alloys are susceptible to age hardening and that the hardening is caused by the separation of a homogeneous alloy into two phases at the aging temperature. While the gold-copper binary system is an outstanding example of super lattice formation, Hultgren4 has shown that a few per cent of silver added to gold-copper destroys the tendency for ordering. Because of the age hardening possibilities of these alloys, it seemed advisable to investigate the boundaries of the two phase field more in detail using an X ray diffraction method, so as to permit a better understanding of the aging phenomena and enable predictions as to the behavior of other alloys to be made. This is especially true for the 18 kt alloys (75.0 pct Au) at the lower temperatures since they are known to exhibit age hardening. Twelve ternary alloys were prepared having the compositions shown in Table 1 and graphically in Fig 1. The gold used was fine gold bars supplied by Handy and Harmon. The silver was a bar of high purity silver from the U. S. Bureau of Standards. The copper was a bar of vacuum-treated, high conductivity copper from the National Research Corporation. The pure metals in the form of powder were weighed out in proper proportions and melted in graphite in a high frequency induction vacuum furnace. They were heated to 1100°C and slowly cooled. The ingots were then removed from the crucible, inverted, returned to the crucible and remelted. This remelting procedure was intended to reduce segregation in the ingots. After remelting, the ingots were checked for weight loss. The weight loss in each ten gram ingot was held to less than 25 mg. The remelted ingots were cold rolled and then given a homogenizing heat treatment of 16 hr at 760°C to remove any remaining segregation. Powder specimens were prepared by cutting the ingots with a fine file, one half the required amount of powder being taken from each end of the ingots. When the X ray diffraction pattern showed any difference in lattice constant between the ends of the ingot, the ingot was remelted and given an additional homogenization treatment. All powder samples were sealed in evacuated pyrex tubes for heat treatment. Ordinary pyrex proved satisfactory for temperatures up to 650°C but above that temperature it was necessary to use a special high temperature pyrex glass. Annealing at temperatures below 500°C was done in a salt bath whereas for temperatures of 500°C and above an electric muffle furnace was used. In both furnaces the temperature control was ± 5°C. In all annealing treatments samples of cold worked powder were placed in a furnace which was already at temperature. In this manner the specimens recrystallized directly to the equilibrium structure for that temperature. Time at temperature was selected so as to allow complete recrystallization, but very little grain growth. Specimens were quenched from the annealing temperatures by breaking the pyrex tubes in cold water. X ray diffraction photograms were made of all the heat treated powders using copper radiation and a Phragmen

Jan 1, 1950

By J. D. Bateman

At Giant Yellowknife, where high grade gold-bearing orebodies are highly irregular in shape, geology has been applied extensively to the mining of ore. The classical functions of the mine geologist in the fields of exploration and mine development have been extended to guide ore extraction, ensuring "clean" mining and effectively reducing waste dilution. THE property of Giant Yellowknife Gold M.ines Ltd. is situated west of Yellowknife Bay on the north shore of Great Slave Lake, a distance of 600 air miles north of Edmonton, Alberta. The Giant claims were staked in 1935, the company was formed in 1937, and the main orebody system was disclosed by diamond drilling in 1944 following a geological study of the property by A. S. Dadson,* Consulting Geologist for the company. Production began in 1948 at the rate of 200 tons per day and, during 1950, reached a daily rate of 425 tons. During the first 3 years of operation a total of 366,000 tons was milled with an average grade of 0.79 oz of gold per ton. Work is in progress with an expansion to 700 tons per day in view. A descriptive account of the geology and gold-bearing shear zone has appeared previously.* The rock formations in the vicinity of Yellowknife Bay have been subjected to protracted pre-Cambrian tectonic deformation culminating in a series of late faults having a cumulative horizontal displacement exceeding 11 miles. The Giant property is underlain by part of an Archean sequence, several miles thick, consisting of basic volcanic flows and minor intercalated tuffs. The volcanic succession forms the west limb of a major syncline, the flows facing east, but overturned on Giant property to dip west at 65" to 75". Orebodies are confined to shear zones up to 200 ft in width, which were formed along early thrust faults. The shear zones assume fold-like attitudes, the larger of which have an amplitude of several hundred feet. The rock formations beyond the limits of the zone of shearing do not reflect the simulated folds, the axes of which are within a few degrees of the strike of the flows. The schistosity and most of the planar elements in both the shear zones and the orebodies dip west • A. S. Dadson and J. D. Bateman: Structural Geology of Camdian Ore Deposits, Can. Inst. Min. Met. Jubilee Volume (1948), PP 273-283. at angles between 65" and 75", generally corresponding to the dip of the flows. The planar elements within the shear zone system thus dip more or less constantly west whether the shear zone is flat, vertical, or expressed as east or west dipping limbs. The shear zones reflect the deformation and alteration of the basic volcanic flows into chlorite schists which, in most places, have undergone metasomatic replacement to form chlorite-sericite-carbonate schists or sericite schists. The boundaries between the shear zones and country rock, although often gradational, usually can be defined within a few feet or even inches as they are expressed by the limits of metasomatic alteration. Orebodies may occupy a small or large proportion of the shear zone and, although they generally conform to the shape of the zone, their morphology is much more complex. Ore boundaries in some instances are sharp and can be delineated with a chalk line; but more generally, a large proportion of the ore boundaries is not visually obvious and can be determined only by the perception acquired by the geological mapping of ore or study of drill cores. Ore shoots in fold-like attitudes may transect the planar elements of the shear zone at any angle; yet the schistosity within the ore shoot may be coincident with that in the enclosing shear zone. Thus it is clear that problems may arise in the delineation of mining boundaries. Ore generally consists of 20 pct or more quartz with ferruginous carbonates in sericite schist deposited in two dominant stages. The earlier stage limits of quartz with carbonate, pyrite, and very fine-grained arsenopyrite in lenses and bands. The later stage consists of quartz-carbonate lodes, in

Jan 1, 1952