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By Lester C. Uren

With the depletion of our older, and relatively shallow, oilfields and the necessity for securing new production from deeper horizons, much attention is being given to the improvement of oil-well pumps in order that they may function satisfactorily under the more difficult conditions imposed by increased depth. Until recently, practically all of the world's petroleum was secured from wells less than 3000 ft. deep, whereas horizons are now being explored to depths of from 5000 to 7000 ft. in some of the more prolific fields, and it seems probable that the greater part of the future supply must come from depths in excess of 3000 ft. While much of the early production in a new field is obtained by natural-flow methods, when the stimulus of high gas pressure fails, recourse must be had to some method of pumping. The perfection of a pump capable of economically and efficiently lifting oil from depths ranging from 3000 to 7000 ft. is therefore a matter of prime importance to the oil-producing industry. This paper is offered as an estimate of the present state of development of the oil-well plunger pump and as a review of the general principles involved in its operation in deep-well pumping. A design for a new type of oil-well pump embodying several novel features, is also described. Essential Parts of Oil-well Plungeb Pump The pump commonly used in lifting oil from wells in American practice is of the simple displacement type, in which a plunger equipped with a working, or traveling, valoe is given a vertical reciprocating motion in a stationary working barrel. The latter is suspended from the surface by tubing, submerged in the well fluid, and is equipped at its lower end with a stationary standing valve; Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate two common types of oil-well pumps. The simple cup-leather packed plunger of Pig. 1 has its counterpart in the long, hollow, cylindrical, polished steel plunger of Fig. 2; otherwise the two types are identical in the form and arrangement of their essential parts. Fig. 2 shows the additional feature of a "garbutt

Jan 1, 1927

By Paul Torrey

THE Northwestern Pennsylvania Oil Producers Association and the United States Geological Survey have cooperated in conducting a pre-liminary study of the character of the flood waters, the relationship of changes in concentration of the salts dissolved in these waters to ultimate flood-oil production, and the original association of oil and water in the Bradford field. Bradford has long been recognized as a dry-sand field. As a matter of fact, there had been little information available on the oil-field waters of northern Pennsylvania until this investigation was undertaken. THE BRADFORD SAND Practically all of the oil produced in the Bradford field comes from one horizon, generally known as the Third, or Bradford, sand. Originally, it was believed that the Bradford sand was equivalent to the Third sand of Venango County, Pennsylvania and the name "Third" unfortunately still persists, although shortly after the discovery of the Bradford pool Carll1 determined that there was a stratigraphic interval of approximately ;000 ft. between the two horizons. The Bradford sand, although varying considerably in thickness and lithology within local areas, is persistent throughout the field. It is of marine origin and, upon both paleontologi-cal and stratigraphic evidence, is regarded as a basal member of the Chemung formation.

Jan 1, 1927

By Davenport, Edmund S.

THE specific aim of this work has been to study certain forms of internal deterioration which occur in tungsten filaments when subjected to high temperatures under various conditions, and to determine the cause of such deterioration. This would naturally lead to a consideration of methods of control or means of prevention of the phenomena. The deterioration was first noticed as a peculiar condition in the grain boundaries of certain tungsten filaments which had been burned t for long periods in lamps. In these cases it was noted that the grain bound aries contained a number of minute black dots which were at first thought to be non-metallic inclusions. It was demonstrated later that these dots or pits, as they were designated, could be readily produced by burning filaments in an atmosphere of flowing hydrogen. This method was convenient and adequate for the purpose, and was adopted for most of the work discussed in this paper. The evidence accumulated to date indicates that these pits arc actually small voids between the grains. The purpose of this paper is to, present the information on this interesting subject gathered during a period of about 3 years. As applied to tungsten, the subject appears to be of considerable importance, experience having shown that this pitting is frequently associated with poor performance of filaments in lamps.

Jan 1, 1927

By Francis Clark

WHEN 60:40 brass is heated to 825° C., given a drastic quench to obtain the beta solid solution, and reheated, various changes take place in the structure. Reheating at 200° C. causes a fine, granular, sorbitic structure to appear which has been considered alpha solid solution. These particles coalesce at higher temperatures of reheating, and at 470° C., the alpha forms twins. A further study of these transformations was considered worth investigating. EXPERIMENTAL WORK The object of the experimental work was to study the effect of mechanical work on rolled 60:40 brass, quenched and reheated, and the mechanism of twinning in the alpha reeds of a furnace-cooled specimen. It was desired to determine the effect of mechanical work on the transformations taking place on reheating the quenched material, both at 200 and at 470° C. A study of the nature of the structure resulting from the breakdown of the beta at 200° C. and a study of the mechanism of twinning above 470° C. were considered problems for investigation. The question of the twinning of the alpha reeds was also an important phase of the work. With high-power magnifications, there was hope of following these processes.

Jan 1, 1927

By J. C. Bradley

THE relation of annealing temperature to conductivity of copper wire has been determined. Conductivity hard was 98.26 per cent. After a 10-min. heating at 200°C. it was 98.69. By annealing 10 min. at 300° C. a large increase, to 100.93, occurred. Maximum conductivity, 101.15, was attained after a 500° C. anneal; thereafter it decreased to 100.53 after a 950° C. anneal. If copper is gassed the decrease is much more than this. Materials and Methods The work was done on high grade electrolytic copper, 99.942 per cent. copper plus silver, silver 0.0008 per cent. It was hot-rolled to >/4 in., then cold drawn to 0.080 in. The wire was cut into 25 5-ft. lengths and numbered 1 to 25 as cut. Four samples were tested hard. The others were wound into 5-in. diameter coils. For the 100° C. heating a coil was put into water, the water brought to boiling, and the wire kept at this temperature for 10 min. For the higher temperatures the coils were placed in envelopes of sheet copper, a little water added, and the envelopes sealed by folding over the edges twice, and hammering them together. This kept the air out very well. The envelope and wire 'were brought to the desired temperature; this was maintained for 10 min., then the whole was water-quenched.

Jan 1, 1927

Jan 1, 1927

AT the Tulsa meeting of the A. P. I., the following reso-lutions, expressive of the policy of that organization, were among those adopted: RESOLVED, That we endorse the conclusion of the Federal Oil Conservation Board in its report of September, 1926, that the prevention of the waste of gas incident to the pro-duction of oil is of paramount importance in the conserva-tion and economical production of oil, and the president of the Institute is requested to appoint a committee of seven to devise and suggest to this board, or the executive com-mittee, such measures as will enable the industry, while continuing to meet the consumption requirements for pe-troleum and its products, to conserve in its natural state such reserves of petroleum as may not then be required for consumption. RESOLVED, That the president of the Institute appoint a committee of seven to formulate and recommend to this board or its executive committee, at the earliest practicable date, a program of legislation; Federal and State, to be advocated by the Institute giving sanction and effect to agreements by oil producers for the curtailment of produc-tion in pools where and during periods when there is over-production, having for their purpose the economical and orderly production of oil.

Jan 1, 1927

By Cecil H. Desch

The progress of metallurgical practice and the demands made by the engineering industry on our foundries and mills have made the crystalline structure of metals a subject of far more than academic interest. Metals and alloys are made up of crystals. Even if we accept the view, so ably maintained by some metallurgists, that the crystals are separated from one another by an amorphous layer, it remains true that all but a very minute fraction of any metallic mass is crystalline. The conditions which affect the growth of crystals are therefore of importance in metallurgy. It is not only castings whose properties depend on the arrangement of their crystals, for the more we learn of the behavior of forged, rolled and drawn metals, the more certain it becomes that it is profoundly influenced by the size and arrangement of the crystals in the original ingot, determining a structure which may persist in a modified form through a long series of mechanical operations and annealings. This is mainly due to the concentration of much of the impurities in the last portions of the liquid to freeze, so that the boundaries between single crystals or groups of crystals are marked out by a zone of segregated material, differing in properties from the mass, and offering a barrier to diffusion and equalization of composition throughout the whole. The importance of this fact has been fully recognized by steel manufacturers, who have to deal with ingots which are sometimes very large, and are cast at a high temperature, containing impurities which have a marked effect on the properties even when present in very small quantity. For this reason the Iron and Steel Institute has set up a committee to examine the whole question of the heterogeneity of steel ingots,(1)† and a report has been issued, containing an account of the structure of 16 ingots, ranging in weight from 15 cwt. to 172 tons, each of which was sectioned and examined by chemical analysis and by etching. A valuable body of data concerning segregation has thus been collected. The work of the committee is being prosecuted with great activity, and at the same time researches are in progress to determine the physical

Jan 1, 1927

AN announcement of the annual meeting to be held in New York, Feb. 14 to 17 inclusive is being mailed to all members. Particular attention is called to the necessity of asking for certificates when you purchase your ticket in order that all may secure reduced return fares.

Jan 1, 1927

By G. F. Loughlin

More than 20 years have passed since the publication of Lindgren and Ransome's report on the Cripple Creek District,1 which was made when the district was much more active and prosperous than in recent years. They concluded that the output of the district, which had reached its maximum of about $18,200,000 in 1900, would gradually decline, and their conclusion has been confirmed by records of subsequent production. Between 1905 and 1915 annual declines were partly compensated by encouraging increases, especially in 1908, 1914, and 1915; but a rapid continuous decline followed, due largely to the war and its after-effect's, until in 1922 the value of output was only slightly more than $4,000,000. It rose to nearly $5,000,000 in 1924, but declined again in 1925 and in 1926, when it was about $4,400,000, and represented ores mainly from deep levels in the Cresson and Portland mines. The profitable operations of these two mines were the principal factors leading to a study of ore at deep levels in the district by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Colorado Metal Mining Fund. The principal reasons for Lindgren and Ransome's conclusion were three: (I) the greater cost and difficulty of deep exploration; (2) the decrease in the number of veins with increasing depth, and (3) the probability that the telluride ore, believed to have formed at comparatively low temperature, would not persist indefinitely in depth. Operations since they made these statements have verified the first two, but call for some modification of the third. Rich telluride ore is being mined at a profit in the Portland mine 3000 ft. below the present surface, 07. 5000 ft. below the original surface of the Cripple Creek volcano, as interpreted by Lindgren and Ransome. The question arises, therefore, as to the number and extent of such deep deposits, and the answer, so far as it can now be given, must be based mainly on structural data, supplemented by data on the processes of ore deposition. Presentation of these data based on a study of deep mines in the southeast quarter of the district, the only

Jan 1, 1927

By A. M. Gaudin

A GREAT number of hypotheses has been advanced to explain the complex phenomena that are encountered in flotation. In the days of bulk-oil flotation, when a large quantity of oil was employed, it was observed that the oil-mineral aggregate floated above the ore-pulp because of its lesser density. With the advent of froth-flotation this phase of the theory had to be modified to take into account the presence of air bubbles. The reason why the mineral-bearing froth of today rises to the top of flotation cells is, of course, because the air-mineral aggregate, with whatever reagent may be associated with it, is lighter than the pulp. In an attempt to explain froth-flotation the fact has been emphasized that certain minerals are wetted and therefore remain in water; while others are not wetted and therefore become associated in preference with air. Such an "explanation" does not explain facts, it merely states them; for instance, it does not explain why minerals are wetted under some circumstances and not wetted under others. Going somewhat further, the wetting or nonwetting of minerals by water has been ascribed' to differences in the angles of contact between oil droplets and mineral surface at the surface of the minerals. This explanation, however, was abandoned when soluble flotation reagents came to replace the so-called "insoluble" reagents. Another theory, sponsored about 10 years ago by Ralston,2 involves the effects of electric charges at the surface of the minerals particles and air bubbles. This theory, unfortunately, was not developed as fully as it seems desirable.

Jan 1, 1927

By E. H. Jr. Dix

THE importance of aluminum-silicon alloys in the light alloy field is now generally recognized. Where silicon was once considered detrimental to the properties of aluminum, useful alloys now contain as much as 13 per cent. Furthermore, silicon is present as an impurity in aluminum of even the purest grades. Iron is another important impurity in aluminum and like silicon is found in small quantities in the purest aluminum available today. The manner of occurrence of iron and silicon in commercially pure aluminum and many of its alloys exerts, a very pronounced influence upon their properties. The effect of large quantities of iron in aluminum-silicon alloys is so detrimental that it has been found necessary to limit the allowable maximum percentage to as low a figure as is consistent with quantity production and satisfactory physical properties. The intimate relation existing between iron and silicon in aluminum and aluminum alloys makes necessary a more complete knowledge of this ternary system. This paper is divided into two principal parts, dealing respectively with aluminum-silicon solubility equilibria and the constitution of aluminum-iron-silicon alloys.

Jan 1, 1927

By Edgar L. Collis

NO industry or group of industries is more deeply interested in the influence exerted by atmospheric dust than that concerned with the getting of coal and of metalliferous ores. The coal miner in the past has mainly been interested on account of the part played by coal dust in the occurrence of explosions; but investigation is revealing that coal miners experience, at least on certain coal fields, unduly high mortality ascribed to lung diseases, some part of which may reasonably be attributed to dust inhalation, and that a small group of men employed in sinking shafts and driving roads through sandstone rocks experience troubles identical with those that afflict many metalliferous miners. Coal Mining The Registrar General for England and Wales issues information every 10 years concerning the mortality experienced in various industries. The records dealing with coal mining are of particular interest, since they are given separately for each of the largest fields. When examined they exhibit the coal miner with a favorable death rate on the whole when compared with all other occupied males; but they reveal great differences on the different fields; thus the Lancashire miner in 1900-2 had a comparative mortality from all causes of 1006 as against a figure of 675 for the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire miners, and in 1910-12 of 941 as against 570 for Nottinghamshire. When mortalities due to four only of the great causes of death are subtracted from the total the differences are greatly reduced; these four causes are phthisis, pneumonia, bronchitis and accidents. Thus for 1910-12 more than one-half of the mortality in Lancashire, 478 out of 941, is so accounted for, but less than one-third of the mortality in Nottinghamshire, 184 out of 570; the latter fraction compares with that for all males, 293 out of 790. Exactly why the accident mortality varies thus with those for the lung diseases has not been determined; the fact, however, points to an interesting association between health and so-called "accidental" occurrences.

Jan 1, 1927

By George Holderer

THE Enos Coal Mining Co. owns an area underlaid by coal, of approximately 5000 acres. This property is situated 9 miles from Oakland City, in the southern part of Indiana. The mine has been in operation 5 years, during which time some 350 acres have been stripped, and stripping is now proceeding at the rate of about 100 acres per year. TOPOGRAPHY These coal lands consist of gently-rolling agricultural fields which in times past were farmed for wheat. There is no timber and but very little brush to contend with. The overburden varies from 10 to 60 ft. in depth. A thin bed of slate overlies the coal, followed by limestone, which varies from 3 to 15 ft.; this, in turn, is followed by sandstone, slate, shale and clay. There is a very wide variation in the thickness of all of these beds. The coal has an average thickness of 5 ft., and is a good grade of high-volatile bituminous. MINING OPERATIONS Briefly, the sequence of operations is: drilling holes with churn drills; blasting with L. 0. X.; stripping overburden to uncover coal and, finally taking up the coal, which is sent to a tipple for cleaning and sizing. In order to show what is being accomplished by the use of L. 0. X., results will be shown from May to November, 1926, inclusive, and compared to the same period in 1925. No work was done in No. 1 pit during May, 1925, hence all figures are unduly low for this month. Drilling There are in use 8 No. 44 Loomis clipper drills, caterpillar traction with gasoline engines; recently these were equipped with extra heavy stems, measuring 26 ft. overall and 4 ½ in. dia., to increase the speed of drilling. In addition, 4 No. 1 ½ G non-traction drills have been acquired, and are used to save the time of the larger drills when recleaning is necessary.

Jan 1, 1927

By Hans Lundberg

Jan 1, 1927

By John Dilworth

THIS paper treats primarily of the valuation of developed coal properties by the method of capitalizing their estimated average future earnings. However, in it reference is also made to valuations of undeveloped coal lands and to various methods of appraisal other than by future earnings. FUNDAMENTAL VALUATION PRINCIPLES Before discussing in detail coal property valuations, a few statements bearing on the general subject will be made to present certain of the writer's views on the question as a whole. 1. A certain property at a given time has but, one true value. This is not universally admitted. The appraiser rather frequently finds that a coal owner has in mind three valuations for his holdings; one, the figure at which he feels they should be appraised for taxation purposes; another, the much higher one that should be used if a loan is to he negotiated on the property; and a third, intermediate between the other two, the price for which he would be willing to dispose of his holdings were they for sale. The last is usually nearest to the true value, and because this is so the statement is generally accepted that the fair value of such a property is the price arrived at by negotiation between a willing seller and a willing buyer who are otherwise disinterested. 2. Notwithstanding the foregoing, it is only very generally and approximately true that the proper measure of the value of a given developed1 coal acreage is the unit or per-acre price for which one or more bodies of similar coal in the salve district have been sold recently. To give a few reasons why such a measure of value can not be strictly applied, it may be noted:

Jan 1, 1927

By T. A. Wilson

THE plastic deformation of slender single crystals of zinc has been described in some detail in the paper by Mark, Polanyi and Schmid,1 which has become a classic, and also by one of the present authors in a somewhat shorter account.2 The study of single-crystal zinc is termed classical because zinc single crystals offer, perhaps, the best material yet available for the study of atomic behavior during deformation and the effect known as "strengthening" in metals. A considerable amount of additional work has also been clone on single-crystal zinc, but as it 'is not closely related to the present paper it will not be considered. Throughout all the former work, the mechanism of plastic deformation first described by Mark, Polanyi and Schmid has been assumed to hold. This may be said to offer the strongest confirmation of its correctness. Even so, the picture of the process has never been as completely portrayed as is desirable. The first object of the present paper is to describe work that has been done in this field, and which is even yet being carried on, in the hope that a more complete picture may be obtained. Mathewson and Phillips3 have recently described a new mechanism of the deformation of zinc based on their study of large rectangular crystals. One of their conclusions was that deformation produced twinning with a rotation of some of the basal planes into positions 94° removed from their original position; a position almost the same as that of the prismatic planes before twinning. A second conclusion was that fracture occurred along these basal planes in their new position, and, therefore that fractures previously regarded as prismatic were in reality basal. Such findings are of great significance and they raise a question as to the generality of such behavior. Professor Mathewson's opinion is that even the slender cylindrical single crystals behave in the same manner as his large rectangular crystals when strained by simple tension.

Jan 1, 1927

By L. G. Westgate

PART I.-AREAL GEOLOGY§ PIOCHE lies 240 mi. southwest of Salt Lake City, in southeastern Nevada, 19 in. west of the Nevada-Utah line. It is at the end of a branch line (33 m.), which connects at Caliente with the Los Angeles and Salt Lake division of the Union Pacific System. Its commercial relations are with Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, chiefly with the former. The surrounding area is part of the Great Basin, an arid region of alternating mountain range and intermont plain, the latter floored with outwash from the mountains. About Pioche the plain varies between 4700 and 6000 ft. above sea level. The town lies in a valley at the east base of a low northwest-southeast range (the Pioche Hills) 12 miles in length, which rises about 1000 ft. above the adjacent flat. West of the. Pioche Hills is a higher north-south range consisting of two parts: to the south the Highland Range, between Bennett Pass and Stampede Gap; to the north the Bristol Range, from Stampede Gap to Bristol Pass. This double range reaches altitudes of 8000 to 9000 ft., or more, (the highest point, Highland Peak, is 9395 ft.) and rises some 2500 ft. above the surrounding plain. It is continued in lower hills to north and south. Smaller ranges rise from the flat west of the Highland and Bristol ranges. The area studied and shown on the map (Fig. 1) is covered by 3 one inch to the-mile topographic sheets: the Highland Range, the. Bristol Range, and the Panaca, the latter mapped in part only. The sedimentary rocks of the district include Paleozoic limestones, sandstones and shales, Pliocene tuffs, and modern wash. Igneous rocks are represented by intrusive dikes and stocks and by extensive lava flows of mid-Tertiary time.

Jan 1, 1927

PROFESSOR CECIL H. DESCH of Sheffield Univer-sity is to give the sixth annual Institute of Metals lecture in connection with the A. I. M. E. meeting in February. Professor Desch is well known to metallur-gists in this country not only from his books on metal-lography, intermetallic compounds, the physicist in metallurgy, and the chemistry and testing of cement, but also by his many published papers in the technical journals. Professor Desch is the third distinguished foreigner to lecture before the. Institute of Metals under its pro-gram which calls for an annual lecture by a distin-

Jan 1, 1927

By Samuel Hoyt

This paper gives a short account of plastic deformation as observed in single crystals of zinc, zinc having been selected for the experiments described herein because the phenomena are comparatively so simple and can be studied throughout such a wide range. It is hoped that the paper will serve to show the type of information which studies of single crystals afford and will contribute toward the solution of the general problem of metallic behavior. PRODUCTION OF ZINC SINGLE CRYSTALS The method of Czochralski,1 as modified by vow Gomperz,l was used to produce the crystals studied. The equipment is shown in Fig. 1. Molten zinc is held in a crucible at a temperature which is not far above its melting point, as measured by a pyrometer. A lava disc floats on the melt, and is provided with a central hole about 1 min. in diameter. A glass tube, drawn into a capillary at the lower end, is suspended from a string which is wound up by an electric drive at the speed desired. At the start, the glass capillary is let down into the melt and the hoist is started. The capillary brings up a small quantity of molten metal with it to a point just above the lava disc. At this point, a jet of hydrogen cools it and causes it to crystallize, with the result that a -small crystal forms. As the hoisting is continued, more molten metal is drawn up, in turn to be solidified by the jet of hydrogen. This additional metal continues the growth of the crystal already formed, and a long, cylindrical crystal results. The speed of hoisting used was generally between 0.1 and 0.5 mm. per sec., and the crystals were from 4 to 6 in. long and about 1 mm. in diameter. By varying the conditions, crystals of quite different orientations were obtained and were used in the study of the phenomena to be described.

Jan 1, 1927