Search Documents

By C. M. Young

Wherever salt is extracted from the ground as an artificial brine produced by pumping down fresh water to dissolve the salt, subsidence of the overburden is a possibility, though apparently few cases of such subsidence have been noted and detailed records are wanting. This description is intended as a record of subsidence that may permit the forcasting of similar occurrences in other cases; the data were supplied largely by R. B. Lee, city engineer of Hutchinson, Kans. About eleven years ago, ground movement occurred at a neighboring salt plant, when the surface assumed the form of a shallow funnel. Movement was probably due to a flow of sand into a well through a poor seal or a broken casing. The salt deposit increases in thickness from the east until at Hutchinson, where the subsidence occurred, it is about 310 ft. thick. The interbedded layers of shale vary in thickness from mere traces to about 7 ft. While knowledge of the shale content of the beds is not exact, the log of a shaft 3 miles east of Hutchinson indicates that shale forms about 25 per cent. of the total thickness. This shaft does not reach the bottom of the salt by about 60 ft., but there is no reason to think that the lower part of the bed is different from the upper. Logs of wells sunk to the bottom are not sufficiently detailed to be of much value. Above the salt is the shale of the well-known Red Beds. The thickness of this is variable, principally because of its eroded surface, but at the mine it is 340 ft. This shale is variable in character and strength, but contains no strong members of limestone or sandstone. If the support is removed, very probably it will subside. The Arkansas River flows across the salt district and Hutchinson is situated on the flood plain. Between the top soil, which is about 8 ft. thick, and the shale is 60 to 100 ft. of water-bearing sand and gravel. The process of removing salt, at least in the case of the earlier wells with which we are concerned, is as follows: An 8-in. hole is put down through the sand and gravel by means of a drive pipe, which is bedded in the shale. Prom the top of the shale, a 6411. hole is drilled through the shale, to, or nearly to, the bottom of the salt. Casing is put in to a depth of about 140 ft. to shut off a water-bearing layer in the shale.

Jan 1, 1927

By Ernest Klepetko

A NOTABLE amount of fossil resin exists in many of the bituminous coal beds of Utah. The upper part of these show a marked concentration of resin, which occurs primarily in the fracture seams. In general, these seams are less than 1/8 in. thick, but it is not uncommon to find coal with areas as thick as 3/8inches. The resin is of the hard kauri variety, with coloration varying from deep blood red to lemon yellow and almost colorless. There is also an almost black variety, which is not readily soluble in the same solvents as the lighter colored resins. These resins are valuable for many industrial purposes. When refined, they are suitable for uses similar to those for which lac resins are usually employed. They are particularly desirable for preparing dielectric varnishes. They are also desirable in preparing printing inks, waterproofing agents, special synthetic rubbers and rubber cements. They are especially suitable as an admixture in synthetic rubbers and cements, as they supply the essential tackiness the synthetics lack. The following chemical trade characteristics have been found by Inter-Chemical Co. research chemists in the refined resins: [Specific gravity (melted) 1.03 -1. o6 Acid number6-8 Softening point, mercury method 160 -165°C Iodine value (Wijs)140-1.50 Refractive index1.544 Color (Hellige, 25 pct toluol) ...14 Molecular weight, average732 Purity, 99 + pct pure hydrocar Bon] "Unaffected by alkalies and resistant to one hour fusion with solid potassium hydroxide. Completely soluble in aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons. Insoluble in alcohols, ethyl acetate and other commonly used alcohols and esters. Compatible with natural and synthetic rubbers, chlorinated and cyclized rubbers, waxes, vegetable oils, mineral oils, rosin, ester gum, phenolic and modified phenolic resins and other natural and synthetic resins of like solvent solubility. The recovery and refining of these fossil resins has been the subject of much research work and has intrigued many investigators. Broadly speaking, the problem involves separation of the resin from the coal into a very high-grade concentrate, and subsequent treatment of this concentrate to produce an acceptable refined resin for its various usages. Obviously it is also desirable to recover the residual coal without excessive size degradation. The late W. D. Green, concentration engineer for Combined Metals Reduction Co., obtained U. S. Patent No. 1773997 for the recovery of resin from coal through

Jan 1, 1947

By Oliver C. Ralston

THE two chemical compounds, natural sodium carbonate and sodium sulphate, in their anhydrous condition are dealt in as "soda ash and "salt cake”-names from an earlier day that are not as precise as the present accepted terminology. Once a large part of the sodium carbonate recovered was in the ash of seaweed, so it was logically called soda ash, and the corresponding potassium carbonate, once mainly recovered from wood ashes, was called potash. The term "salt cake" was applied to the sodium sulphate resulting from interaction of sodium chloride with sulphuric acid or sodium bisulphate, to form hydrogen chloride gas and an anhydrous cake of sodium sulphate. It was called "salt cake" and also "glassmaker's salt cake" because much of it was used in the production of glass. The two salts occur in nature in a variety of forms, but whereas an- hydrous sodium sulphate (thenardite) is fairly common, the anhydrous normal sodium carbonate, Na2CO3, is almost never found in nature. The monohydrate (thermonatrite), Na2CO3.2H2O, is seen occasionally, but it is never a major constituent in natural "soda" deposits. The high solubility of normal sodium carbonate is one reason for this. While both compounds occur widely in brines, the solid salts found in nature are usually trona (Na2CO3.NaHC03.2H2O) and thenardite (Na2SO4). The natural brines containing workable quantities of the two sodium salts are largely found in the arid and semiarid portions of the western United States and other countries. The classical discussion of the resources of these brines are those of Clarke,5 Chatard.4 Packard,19 Gale,11 and Wells.28 From North Dakota to California and from Arizona to the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Manitoba, saline lakes, dried-up lakes, playas, and similar land-locked depressions contain accumulations of saline matter. Sodium chloride is the predominant salt but some of the lakes contain predominantly either sodium carbonate or sodium sulphate. Often sodium carbonate

Jan 1, 1949

By Robert U. King

The Climax Molybdenum Company's mine is situated on the Continental Divide at Fremont Pass in Lake County, Colorado. Elevations at the mine range from 11,000 it. to over 12,000 ft. The ore body is on the south flank of Bartlett Mountain, a prominent peak in the Ten Mile Range. A horizontal section of the mine, such as the Phillipson level (Fig. I), shows the outer ore zone as an annular ring varying in width from 300 to 800 ft., surrounding barren silicified rock. In vertical section the outer ore zone is dome shaped (Figs. 2 and 3), the apex of which is truncated at the surface by glaciation, exposing part of the ore body. The outer ore zone overlies the barren core and is itself overlain on the flanks of the dome with unmineralized rock. An ore zone of similar shape underlies the barren core of silicified rock, known as the Central Ore Zone (Figs. 2 and 3). Molybdenite is distributed uniformly through a zone of moderately silicified granite, schist and quartz monzonite (early) porphyry, around a highly silicified core. The molybdenite occurs in veinlets associated with fine granular quartz and pyrite, replacing altered and fractured granite, schist, and porphyry, and as coatings on numerous fractures cutting these rocks. Intense fracturing of all rocks is a characteristic feature of the Climax ore body. Most fractures are mineralized and no longer represent planes of weakness. Much fracturing is postmineral, however, and these fractures are generally filled with sericite or gouge, or remain as unmineralized joints separating otherwise massive rock into blocks of various size. Study and Mapping of Caving Characteristics Important differences in the behavior of caving of various blocks of ore at Climax have been recognized, involving arching of the rock over caved stopes, tendency of caved rocks to funnel, and size of caved rocks. Also, new problems have arisen associated with future mining on the Phillipson level, and may occur with proposed development of lower levels, such as excessive stress on mine pillars caused by large masses of overlying stable rock, and higher costs in maintenance of mine workings in soft, weak rock. To explain the differences and to provide solution for these problems, a study of geologic structure was undertaken early in 1944, to determine whether it would be possible to map cavability of rock from physical features exposed in mine workings and in diamond-drill cores. A comparison of known caved areas was made and rocks were classified structurally according to strength or degree of cavabil-ity. As nothing of this nature had been done before at Climax, the approach to the problem was rather indefinite. Several trials were made with negative results, but collectively indicated a suitable method. This was to examine all mine workings and diamond-drill cores, record-

Jan 1, 1946

By F. S. White, E. L. Kinsella

THE solids fluidization process brought out by the Standard Oil Development Co. in the early forties for catalytic cracking of petroleum enabled rapid transfer of large quantities of heat from gases to solids under closely controlled temperature conditions. As the technique developed, it was natural that applications for the process outside the petroleum industry would be sought. The calcination of limestone to ' quicklime requires the transfer of a large quantity of heat at high and closely controlled temperatures. For these reasons, this possible application was one of the first to be investigated. Laboratory work conducted by the Dorr Co. indicated that lime produced by solids fluidization would be of exceptional quality. Calculation of theoretical heat balances showed that savings in fuel could be expected. Accordingly, a pilot plant of 10 tons per day capacity was erected by the New England Lime Co. at Adams, Mass., to substantiate the process. Operation of the pilot plant, previously described,1 showed that excellent lime could be produced with a saving in fuel. The work also indicated the necessity of preparing feed to remove the finer fractions if dust losses were to be held to a tolerable level. A single-stage fluidized solids drier-stripper was developed to accomplish this sizing.2 Subsequently a commercial lime reactor was erected at Adams, beginning operation in June 1949, followed by air sizer facilities completed in November 1951. This paper will describe these two applications of solids fluidization. The raw material for preparation of lime by the fluidizing process is a high calcium crystalline lime stone having the approximate chemical composition shown in Table I. The stone is first prepared by crushing and grinding in conventional equipment to pass a 6-mesh sieve. After crushing, the material is sent to the FluoDry unit for drying and dedusting. Fluidized Drying and Sizing As shown in Fig. 1, the FluoDry unit consists of a 1/4-in. cylindrical steel shell, 9-ft ID by 22-ft 6-in. overall height. Attached horizontally at the bottom is a 6-ft diam combustion chamber, approximately 7 ft 6 in. long. A refractory constriction dome, consisting of first-quality fire brick shapes, partitions the inside into two sections. The lower section is called the windbox and the upper the bed compartment. The vertical wall of the shell is lined with 6-in. first-quality rotary kiln blocks. In the bottom of the windbox a hoppered section is formed with castable refractory to permit the windbox to be readily cleaned via a 6-in. screw conveyor. The combustion chamber is similarly lined with refractory shapes. On the 6-in. diam section, 4 1/2 in. of insulating brick, HW-26, are used. The inner combustion chamber is lined with 4 1/2-in. Korundal brick to withstand the high flame temperatures encountered. An 8-in. steel feed pipe, entering vertically through the top and fitted with an air-operated cone valve,

Jan 1, 1952

By A. A. Jr. Smith, J. S. Smart

Numerous investigations of the effects of the various impurities common to commercial coppers have been published, and the data have found wide use in industry. Naturally, emphasis has been placed on the oxygen-bearing coppers of the tough-pitch variety, but need is now evident for data covering the oxygen-free condition as well. Furthermore, relatively few of the important reactions between oxygen and the various impurities are well understood, and often the data at hand are not applicable to the low concentrations encountered in commercial coppers. This paper presents the changes in conductivity and softening temperature derived from individual additions of the group VIII triad, iron, cobalt and nickel, to high-purity copper, and constitutes a portion of the copper-research program being conducted at the Central Research Laboratory of the American Smelting and Refining Co. The method of preparation of high-purity copper and its alloys in either the oxygen-free or oxygen-bearing form has been described previous1y.l The purity of this material, and the methods developed to produce it, provide the means for direct investigation of the very low concentration range in which the various impurities generally exist in commercial coppers. The usual necessity for extrapolation to this range using the results obtained from higher concentrations, and the interfering effects of extraneous impurities, are thus simultaneously circumvented. Since previously published data have adequately presented the effects of higher concentrations of iron, cobalt and nickel, the present investigation has been confined to the composition range o to 0.05 per cent. All alloys were initially prepared in the form of oxygen-free continuous cast rod, the weighed alloying additions in suitable form being charged with the pure copper to the continuous casting crucible. The best of the available high-purity alloying materials were used, and spectrographic analyses confirmed the absence of interfering elements from the alloys formed. Each series was compounded in the direction of increasing concentration, starting with pure copper in a new crucible and finishing with the 0.05 per cent alloy. Composition was closely controlled by adding the alloying element in the form of a carefully compounded and analyzed master alloy rendered uniform by continuous casting. The accuracy of this method of synihesis was proved by chemical analysis of the more concentrated alloys, and, accordingly, there is every reason to credit the stated composition of the very dilute alloys in the range where chemical analysis becomes highly uncertain. Oxygen-free samples for measurements of conductivity and softening temperature Were obtained by drawing the continuous cast rod to wire of 0.08I-in. diameter. employing a number of intermediate anneals to refine the grain structure. The

Jan 1, 1942

By Allen J. Johnson

It is probable that the word "anthracite" was derived from the Greek preposition an, and the Greek word for Thrace, meaning, in combination, "toward or near Thrace." Aristotle, Theophrastus, Strabo and Pliny all mention Thrace, or Samothrace, in treatises upon stones and stone coals dating back to about 371 B.C. In 1769 Obadiah Gore, a blacksmith of Wilkes-Barre, successfully burned anthracite in his forge, the first of millions of consumers of Pennsylvania anthracite. The Anthracite Region While anthracite is found in widely scattered locations throughout the world, 99 per cent of the total production of the United States origintitles within an area of 3300 square miles in castern Pennsylvania, less than 500 square miles of which arc underlain by workable coal beds. Eminent authorities such as the United States Geological Survey agree that this Pennsylvania anthracite is the only true anthracite east of the Rocky Mountains. There is some graphitic anthracite in Rhode Island but it is not suitable for combustion; and coals from such states as Virginia and Arkansas, frequently sold as anthracite, are in reality semi-

Jan 1, 1934

By John L. Lamont, Walter Crafts

THE principle formulated by Grossmann1 for calculating hardenability of steel by multiplying the ideal diameter of "pure" iron-carbon alloys by factors for grain size and alloying elements has been confirmed on many steels and has proved useful in designing substitute alloy steels. Grossmann found that the typical behavior of the multiplying factors was to increase directly in proportion to the amount of the alloy present in a steel. However, the multiplying factor for the effect of silicon on hardenability was found by Grossmann to increase to a lesser degree as the amount of silicon was increased. In view of the in¬creasing use of silicon in heat-treating steels, the effect of silicon on hardenability is becoming more important. Calculation of the hardenability of high-silicon steels made at the Union Carbide and Carbon Research Laboratories, Inc., indicated that the multiplying factor for silicon increased directly in proportion to the amount of silicon present. A more extended study of high-silicon steels covering fairly wide ranges of grain size, carbon, manganese, and aluminum has confirmed that up to 2 per cent silicon the multiplying factor is directly proportional to the silicon content. Manganese and aluminum factors have also been determined. The results of the study offer strong confirmation of the general validity of Grossmann's multiplying principle. TESTING PROCEDURE Steels on which the study of the effect of silicon on hardenability was based were made in high-frequency induction furnaces using Armco iron and standard alloying materials. The ingots were forged to bars, and sections were normalized prior to machining Jominy hardenability test specimens. The Jominy test was carried out under standard conditions.2 The depth of hardness penetration for determination of ideal diameter at "half hardness" was taken at the hardness level indicated in Fig. 20 in Grossmann's paper by the solid line for 50 per cent martensite in plain carbon steel. The depth of penetration of hardness on the Jominy specimen was converted to ideal diameter by the relation given in Fig. 28 of Grossmann's paper. Chemical analysis was determined on a sample taken adjacent to the Jominy specimen. Aluminum was determined as "acid-soluble aluminum" rather than as total aluminum, as it is probably more representative of the aluminum that is effective as an alloying agent. In addition to the elements nominally present in the steels, analyses were made for residual phosphorus, sulphur, nickel, copper, molybdenum and chromium on one heat of those made with the same materials during the same period. Actual grain size was determined by microscopic examination of small samples quenched in water after receiving the same thermal cycle as the Jominy hardenability specimens. Chemical analyses, heat-treatment, grain size, and hardenability are shown in Table I representing three ranges of composition.

Jan 1, 1943

By Charles White Merrill, James W. Pennington

No metallurgical process developed in the 20th century compares with froth flotation in its effect on the mineral industry. Processes like gravity - concentration, amalgamation, and pyrometallurgical reduction are of ancient origin; others like cyanidation and electrolytic reduction were well established by 1900. Such metallurgical processes as heavy-media separation, ion-exchange, and solvent extraction belong to this century, but their influence is small compared with froth flotation. Data collected by the U. S. Bureau of Mines* in a canvass of 202 froth flotation plants reveal that, in 1960, 198- million tons of material was treated to recover 20-million tons of concentrates which contained approximately $1 billion in recoverable products. SIGNIFICANCE OF FLOTATION Froth flotation as described in this chapter refers to a wet process for separating properly ground mineral particles into two or more products. It involves the separation of mineral particles from each other in a liquid pulp by means of air bubbles. Finely crushed ore is agitated in water with the addition of air or other gases. Various chemicals and oils are added to cause the selected mineral particles to attach themselves to the air or gas bubbles. These bubbles, carrying the mineral particles, rise to the surface where they are removed in a froth, while the other particles remain suspended in the pulp. The earliest flotation divided the raw material into two products: a bulk concentrate that was removed as a froth and a tailing that remained in the flotation machine. The froth usually contained the valuable constituents. The successful application of such a process depended on the recovery of a single concentrate from which one or more valuable constituents could be recovered by a chemical or smelting process. With the advance of the art, however, the principle of selective flotation, by which two or more relatively pure products could be recovered from complex raw materials, was evolved. Other chapters in this volume describe the developments during the last 50

Jan 1, 1962

By Frederic Dewey

BONE-ASH cupels have been used from time immemorial to absorb litharge, and accompanying oxides; in assaying. Doubtless, also, from the earliest days cupels have been most unjustly blamed for much poor assaying. It has long been known that the precious metals go with the litharge into the cupel. This occasions a loss of precious metals and reduces the results of the assay. There have been many investigations of cupels and the most diverse views have been expressed, the extremes being the statements of Lodge 1 that every cupel has some effect upon the loss in assaying telluride ores and of the Campredons2 that coarse and fine and hard and soft cupels all give the same loss of silver when cupelling the same weights. The truth lies between these statements and much nearer the latter. In a vast majority of cases the influence of the cupel is not dominant and is outweighed by other conditions, particularly the temperature of the cupelling bead. At the Spokane meeting of the Institute I presented a paper on the Assay and Valuation of Gold Bullion,3 which recorded the results of many hundreds of assays made in the Mint service under everyday commercial conditions, which of necessity differ from scientific conditions. In following this matter up, for the purpose of increasing the accuracy of our commercial methods of bullion assays, the question of the absorption of gold by the cupel was found to be a most important one and was taken up for investigation. In a lesser degree, the silver absorption is important and interesting, but at present it appears to be far more complicated and, while many figures showing silver absorption may be found through this paper, much further investigation is required to put the subject upon a satisfactory basis.

Jan 11, 1917

By Donald C. Barton

Geophysical methods of prospecting taken as a whole do not seem to offer much promise to a young man planning to enter them in the future. They have come to stay, to be sure, and they will continue in at least moderate use for a long time. Domestic use of those methods presumably is at a maximum at the present time. Geophysical prospecting is expensive; the effects of the law of diminishing returns in efficiency in finding prospects can already be recognized. Small oil companies, independent oil operators, and royalty buyers have been doing much geophysical work. But in face of the increasing costs of discovery of prospects and in face of the probably decreasing favorability of the prospects discovered, I expect to see a sharp drop in their use of geophysics within the next 10 years. The major oil companies and the larger small oil companies will continue to use geophysics indefinitely, but it seems doubtful whether the very extensive domestic campaigns of a few companies will be maintained for many years, certainly not for 10 years. The use of the geophysical methods in foreign countries has not yet reached its peak, and probaby will continue to increase for several years. That peak level of activity will probably be held for 10 years, although the site of maximum activity will shift from country to country; by the end of 25 years from now, I should expect the foreign use of the methods to have leveled off to one-fourth to one-half the peak level. Foreign service in geophysics does not seem to offer an attractive career, except for men of exceptional disposition. Young men just out of college, who are willing and who can afford to spend three or four years having a fling at adventure before settling down, will find it attractive, but when their tour of foreign service is over, they probably will have harder work finding a job than when they were seniors, and their foreign experience will count for little, except for further foreign service. A few men, mainly the higher men, will have headquarters at civilized or semi-civilized cities and towns or at permanent oil-company towns, and can

Jan 1, 1940

By W. W. Gerberich, P. L. Hemmings, V. F. Zackay

ThE strain-induced martensitic transformation may be used to attain desirable combinations of strength, ductility, and fracture toughness. One of the parameters is the relative stability of the austenite. For example, it has been shown by Zackay et al.1 that the volume percent of strain-induced martensite is related to the combination of strength and elongation obtained. It has also been shown that the degree of transformation is an important factor in the crack propagation resistance of metastable austenitic steels.2 Considering both tensile and crack-propagation tests, it was of interest to see if there was any functional relationship between the amount of strain and the volume of strain-induced martensite. Previously,9 it had been shown that at room temperature, there was a relationship between uniaxial tensile strain and the volume percent of resulting martensite given by The data were obtained by plastically elongating tensile samples to a certain strain and then measuring the field strength to determine the strain-induced ferromagnetic volume. This was accomplished for two conditions having yield strengths of 229 and 233 ksi. The nominal composition of this material was 9Cr-8 Ni-3 Mo-2 Mn-2 Si-0.25 C-0.09 N. In evaluation of the strain-induced martensite at a crack tip: the question arose as to whether Eq. [1] would also be valid under triaxial stress conditions. Tests were conducted on 1/2-in. thick plate material having a composition of 9 Cr-8 Ni-4 Mo-2 Mn-2 Si-0.27 C. It was found that sectioning, polishing, and etching of fractured specimens could reveal the strain-induced martensite occurring at a crack tip. Care had to be taken to minimize the final polishing steps so as to avoid a smeared layer of strain-induced martensite. The method for taking metallo-graphic samples from fractured crack-line loaded type samples is shown in Fig. 1. Observations of the strain-induced martensite occurring at room tem-

Jan 1, 1970

By H. C. Ray

ABOUT the beginning of 1930, coal preparation had reached the stage where the cleaning of coal by liquid or air had become the order of the day. Since that time many new preparation plants have been installed in spite of the years of depression in the coal industry, and this is indicative of a trend wherein the coal producer found it expedient to manufacture a cleaner product in order to compete with other fuels. It was also about 1930 that, because of the difficulties encountered with fine coal in cleaning plants, dust collectors came into use. Both cleaning plants and dust collectors, therefore, were much discussed at the engineering meetings of the early 1930's. During these meetings the many advantages to be gained through the use of dust-collecting systems were pointed out by Hebley,1 Appleyard2 and others. The great possibilities of new markets for this product were emphasized and discussed at the same time; however, the disposal of the collected dust remained a problem. Since the purpose of dust collecting is to improve the preparation and, consequently, the salability of the coal, it seems illogical to return the collected dust to any of the coal being prepared for market use, as is done in preparation plants that include dust-collecting systems. The logical thing is to dispose of the dust in some useful and practical manner outside of the tipple. As a practical matter, this can be done in one or both of two ways; either by consuming the dust at the mine's own power plant or by marketing the dust direct to the consumer. The latter method not only offers the greatest opportunities, but is the most important, because of inequalities that may exist between the quantity of dust collected and the consuming capacity of the mine's power plant. In considering the more important marketing possibilities, we are confronted immediately with the problems connected with the handling and transportation of so fine a material. It is this problem, rather than the problem of finding new markets, that has been responsible for the lack of progress in the matter of dust disposal. It is the purpose of this paper to point out again some of the potential market outlets, and also to describe an existing system of handling and transporting coal dust. To the best of the writer's knowledge, this is the first and only operation in this country that has handled fine-mesh coal in bulk 50-ton lots direct to the consumer. POtential Markets for Fine-mesh Coal Dust In general, the potential market outlets would include any operation of which the pulverization of coal is a necessary part. To be more specific, a few of the better known operations of this type must include: colloidal-fuel plants, briquetting plants, "sea coal" distributing plants, water-purification plants and, obviously, pow-

Jan 1, 1944

By M. L. Fuller

DURING the last several years many papers have appeared dealing with the structure of highly polished metal surfaces The awakening of interest in this subject is due to the applicability of the electron diffraction technique to the study of surfaces The original theory of Beilby1 considered the surface of polished metals as of the nature of a super-cooled liquid or a vitreous, amorphous solid The electron diffraction effects from polished metals have been interpreted by many to be a direct experimental proof of the correctness of the Beilby theory This interpretation has been strongly opposed by others, so that at the present time the subject is in an uncertain and controversial state In the present paper new, and hitherto unpublished, electron diffraction effects from polished zinc are described These observations indicate that the polished surface of zinc is crystalline PUBLISHED WORK Many papers2-10 have interpreted the electron diffraction evidence as proof of the Beilby amorphous theory All investigators agree that highly polished metals give rise to two diffuse diffraction haloes, similar to those obtained by the diffraction of X-rays in liquids and vitreous solids It is this similarity that leads to the amorphous-layer interpretation of polished metals Strangely, the interatomic distances calculated from these haloes are very similar for the various metals investigated, in spite of a rather wide range of such distances in the crystalline and liquid states The calculated atomic sizes are, furthermore, smaller than are experienced in the normal states of the metals In spite of these anomalies, the amorphous-layer interpretation has been adhered to by many One investigator, S Dobmski,11 differs from the others in his experimental results By polishing under benzene in order to avoid the possibility of oxidation, Dobinski obtains diffuse haloes of [radire] different from those previously obtained He thus obtains a more rational quantitative correlation of-the diffuse haloes with the amorphous-layer theory

Jan 1, 1938

By E. W. Davis

THE mysterious Lake Erie price for iron ore, established each spring, determines the maximum price that will be paid during the following season for ore of Mesabi Non-Bessemer base grade. This price is impor-tant to the ore producers, but since most of the ore in the Lake Superior district is owned or controlled by consuming inter-ests, the really important question to them is not the price of ore but how much it will cost them to mine and transport their season's requirements to their furnace plants. However, a few million tons are actually sold each year, and considerable quantities are traded for mixing purposes, and the negotiations for these sales and trades usually begin with some reference to the Lake Erie price. There is no difficulty with the Lake Erie price itself or with the manner in which it is established, but the system prescribed for determining the values of ores that are not exactly base grade is incomplete. The Lake Erie price takes into consideration only the iron and phosphorus contained in the ore, but when the ore producer is negotiating a sale or trade, he is confronted by the fact that his ore must be studied and the price adjusted, not only on the basis of the iron and phosphorus analyses, as specified by the Lake Erie price, but also on the basis of silica, alumina, man-ganese, structure, etc. The vague and unsatisfactory methods used in making these adjustments bear some relation to the manner in which the ore is supposed to act in the blast furnace. The ore producer may not understand all of the idiosyncrasies of the blast furnace, but if the smelting-plant operators have a system more accu-rate than the Lake Erie price method for determining the relative values of different ores, why not pass this information on to the ore producers, so that they can make use of it and perhaps modify their practice in such a manner as to benefit both them-selves and their customers? There is a lack of understanding and appreciation between these two groups that may, to some extent, be unavoidable, but in the interests of efficiency and conservation rules that are more accurate and complete than the Lake Erie price method in use at the present time should be established for the guidance of the ore producers.

Jan 1, 1940

By Ole Singstad

THE legislatures of New York and New Jersey, determined in 1919 that a vehicular tunnel should be built under the Hudson River. On July 1, 1919, an engineering staff was organized with the late Clifford M. Holland as chief engineer, and this staff was given a number of problems to solve, such as location, size, type of tunnel, method of construction, method of ventilation and cost. After a period of preliminary investigations and studies it was decided to build the tunnel at Canal St., New York, connecting 12th St., Jersey City. This is the center of the heaviest traffic across the Hudson River. It was also decided to build two tunnels-one for west-bound traffic and one for east-bound traffic-the tunnels to be of cast iron, built up of segments and bolted together, each tunnel to have a roadway 20 ft. wide and a clear heat room of 13 ft., 6 in. This is to provide for two lines of vehicles in each direction. The tunnels have an exterior diameter of 29 ft., 6 in. The interior lining is of concrete, the sidewalls tiled with a vitreous white tile and the roadways paved with granite block. The entrances and exits at both ends are separated by two blocks so as to reduce traffic congestion. BASIS OF VENTILATION It was recognized very early that one of the most important problems confronting the engineers was a proper ventilation system. It was estimated that each tunnel as planned would have a traffic capacity of 1900 vehicles per hr. The tunnels are 8500 ft. long between portals, and it was considered that the ventilation should be based on all of these vehicles being operated by gasoline engines. That presented a problem in ventilation unlike any other either in magnitude or character.

Jan 8, 1926

By W. T. Cardwell, R. L. Parsons

This paper discusses the practical problem of estimating a single equivalent permeability for an oil reservoir, or a portion thereof, whose actual permeability varies in an irregular manner. Limiting averages for general types of permeability variation are developed, and illustrated by examples involving important, specific types of variation. Introduction The theory of the flow of fluids through porous media1"4 is becoming increasingly important in predictions of oil-reservoir behavior. In practical applications, however, reservoirs are seldom found to which simple theory strictly applies. Actual reservoirs have complicated shapes and nonuniform permeabilities and porosities. This paper discusses the problem of estimating a single equivalent permeability for an oil reservoir, or a segment of an oil reservoir, whose actual permeability varies in an irregular manner. The equivalent permeability of a reservoir segment is defined as the permeability of a homogeneous segment of the same dimensions that would pass the same flux under the same pressure drop- It is the permeability value that can be used in simple theoretical formulas to calculate the reservoir behavior. To the authors' knowledge, previous theoretical calculationst on systems of nonuniform permeability have been carried out only by Muskat'"; and he has not dealt with irregular variations, except in writing down the general differential equation for the pressure in variably permeable systems.lb In practical work, many calculations necessarily have been made to estimate equivalent permeabilities from the permeabiiity profiles obtained by core analyses. Regarding such calculations, Johnston and Sherborne6 say: Simple arithmetic and weighted averages have been tried on many wells and it has been found that, where frequent sampling has occurred, the arithmetic average is as satis- factory as a weighted average. It is possible that the application of statistical methods to the analysis of permeability data as recently presented by Law8 may prove fruitful. L,, has made a valuable contribution in showing how statistical analyses may aid in picturing the characteristics of a reservoir from those of a necessarily limited number of core samples. It is believed however that the particular problem of the estimation of equivalent permeabilities can be most directly approached from a fluid dynamical viewpoint as given in the present paper. An example is presented of the use of the conclusions herein in conjunction with Law's method. Theory In order to approach the problem of heterogeneity simply, it is interesting to consider a square block composed of four smaller, homogeneous, square blocks of porous medium, two of which have a

Jan 1, 1945

By Richard Moldenke

So far as the quality of the product is concerned, the history of the production of pig iron for foundry purposes is one of constant retrogression. The steps in this deterioration began with cold-blast charcoal pig iron, then anthracite iron, coke iron; then gradually warm to hot-blast coke iron, with the charcoal furnaces also heating their blast to get greater tonnages, and finally the present-day hot-blast coke irons with scrap additions to the ordinary burden that, according to one European report, have gone as high as 65 per cent. Parallel with this quality retrogression is the enormous increase in furnace tonnages from about 15 to over 1000 tons per day in excep tional instances of modern practice. The key to this situation is economic pressure. The effect is a growing differentiation between furnace production for gray iron and malleable foundries and for the production of commercial steel. As the foundry is often compelled to draw upon the pig irons made for steel purposes, for economic reasons, whereas the steel industry does not draw upon foundry pig irons proper, the situation is resolving itself into one of grave consequence for the life of the gray-iron castings industry, and hence the intensive present-day feeling in foundry circles for rigid specifications to govern the quality of pig irons sold for foundry use. In the discussion of a paper on the use of scrap in the blast furnace held recently in the Institute, a very pertinent remark was made by one of the participating furnacemen, who confessed that "the things found wrong by the foundryman with his iron were beyond his depth." It may be added that those things are also beyond the depth of most foundrymen who, however, know from their results that they are getting poorer castings today with many pig irons than they did with those same brands in former years. Under the former fracture buying, the foundryman at least could select the strongest metal, as judged by the sledge, from various brands of similar fracture and pig section, and his results proved

Jan 1, 1927

By W. H. Young, P. D. Torrey

The Eastern fields comprise a distinct geological and geographical unit, located in the northern part of the Appalachian geosynclinal prov-ince. In this area are the fields of New York, producing from rocks of Devonian, Silurian and Ordovician age; the fields of western Pennsylvania, where oil and gas occur chiefly in rocks of Mississippian and Devonian age; the fields of eastern Ohio, where oil and gas are obtained from rocks of Pennsylvanian, Mississippian and Silurian age; and the fields of West Virginia, where oil and gas are produced from rocks of Pennsylvanian, Mississippian and Devonian age. Many of these fields are of great antiquity in comparison to the age of the producing areas in a greater part of this country, and consequently in most instances it is impossible to obtain accurate historical statistics. In addition, the records of many of the more recently discovered fields are either unobtainable or are not sufficiently reliable to justify their incorporation in a review of this character. Rather than overemphasize certain fields and areas, where complete records are available, when there are many other fields of equal importance for which statistical data are not available, the authors have made a tabulation of development that does not take into consideration past operations and production. The records utilized in preparing this paper were derived largely from the scout reports of several of the larger companies, which generously made them available to the authors. These were independently tabulated by counties and townships, in order to eliminate as far as possible duplications and, excepting the Clinton fields of Ohio, where many of the smaller wells have not been individually reported, they represent the most accurate information available. Market conditions in both the oil and gas industry were far from favorable during 1932 and in consequence there was a total decline in drilling in the Eastern States, which is 22 per cent less than the number of completions in the preceding year. This decline was not constant over the entire area, as is shown in Table 1. The oil fields of both New York and western Pennsylvania were the scene of renewed drilling activity, which was largely restricted to the water-flooding operations in the Bradford and Allegany fields. Practically no new operations were started, but a certain number of new wells

Jan 1, 1933

By Tell Ertl

THE Piceance Creek Basin in northwestern Colorado is believed to contain the richest large deposit of oil shale in North America. The major portion, about 1650 sq miles, is bounded by the White River on the north, the Grand Hogback, which runs from Meeker to Rifle, on the east, the Colorado River to the south, and the drainage basin of Salt and Douglas Creeks on the west. The Basin is a plateau 7000 to 9000 ft high, composed of 3000 ft of the Green River series of Eocene age and surrounded by a steep escarpment of 1000 to 3000 ft. From the escarpment the beds dip gently toward the center. Although oil shale is found in all members of the Green River series, the rich thick beds are found chiefly in the Parachute Creek member. This is normally capped by 100 to 200 ft of the Evacuation Creek, the youngest member of the Green River series. Actually the Piceance Creek Basin oil shale is not a shale, nor does it contain oil. It is magnesium marlstone holding solid organic matter capable of being broken down by heat into gases, some of which can be condensed into oil. The marlstone is resilient nonporous rock, difficult to sample by pick or hammer and moil. Many companies and individuals prospected the Colorado oil shale shortly after the first World War,' see Fig. 1, but because of the discovery of large quantities of petroleum in the late 1920's in Cali- fornia, Oklahoma, and East Texas, interest in oil shale development waned and did not revive until World War 11. In 1944 the writer, employed by the Bureau of Mines, prospected the high grade oil shale in numerous places along the southern outcrop of the Piceance Creek Basin. Several channel samples about 100 ft in length were cut, see Fig. 2. An eight-man crew needed a week to cut a satisfactory channel 80 ft long in the cliff face. The Phillips Petroleum Co., the Union Oil Co. of California and others also prospected the oil shale outcrop. In 1945 the Bureau of Mines initiated a core drilling program for the purpose of obtaining accurate samples from the Piceance Creek Basin. The U. S. Geological Survey set up a program for the geological study of the Basin that is still going on." Until the end of 1951 a total of 31 holes was drilled for core with diamond drills, and, in addition, cuttings through the oil shale have been obtained from 4 gas wells drilled by standard rotary oil well rigs. The Bureau of Mines drilled 12 of the holes, the Union Oil Company of California 8, the Standard Oil Company of California 6, the Sun Oil Company 3,

Jan 1, 1953