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By J. D. Allen

In the coal preparation plant at U.S. Steel Corp.'s Concord mine in Alabama, the product moisture was reduced from about 20% to 9% through the development of a workable flowsheet for dying the clean coal. Some of the high points of the conversion of the Concord washer from vibrating screen dewatering to centrifuge drying are presented in this article. The coal preparation plant at the United States Steel Corp.'s Concord mine near Bessemer, Ala., began operations in June, 1950. The basic cleaning circuit consisted of a Chance cone for cleaning the 2-in. x 3/8-in. fraction and concentrating tables for cleaning the -3/8-in. coal fraction. Dewatering of the final product was accomplished with 35-mesh vibrating screens. However, because Concord coal is very friable with 85% passing 3 mesh and 25% passing 28 mesh (Fig. I), a considerable quantity of fines passed through the dewatering screens. To recover these fines, the dewatering screen effluent was sent to two 70-ft-diam hyd rose para tors from which the underflow returned to the dewatering screens and the overflow went to a 175-ft-diam thickener for water clarification, as illustrated in Fig. 2. As might be expected, there was considerable recirculation of the -35-mesh coal in this system. This degraded the coal and led to higher moistures. It also resulted in a fines bleed-off of plant water and thickener underflow to a fine-coal settling pond. In 1961, vacuum filters were installed to supplement the screens and to recover the fine coal lost in the bleed-off. The above system resulted in a product moisture of about 20%. Further reduction to approximately 11% was accomplished by drainage from railroad cars during transit to the coke plant. Control of the moisture at unloading was poor because of variations in operating levels and railroad car availability, but since the Concord coal constituted a relatively small percentage of the over-all coal mix at the coke plant, its high moisture and fluctuations did not seriously hamper coking operations. Early in 1964, however, the proportion of Concord coal was increased with a resulting increase in the moisture of the total coal mix, and this caused difficulties in the coke plant. The increased participation of Concord coal also brought about a shortage of railroad cars which raised the moisture content to a point where the coal became almost impossible to handle. In an effort to alleviate this problem, U.S. Steel initiated a research program to develop a flowsheet for reducing the moisture to approximately 10% and to determine whether the resulting product would be satisfactory for the coke plant. Under this program, an experimental flowsheet for evaluating both a vibratory centrifuge system and a solid bowl centrifuge system was drawn up as shown in Fig. 3. A horizontal vibratory centrifuge was installed to reduce the moisture in the dewatered coarse coal, and a four-cell, flotation machine was installed to clean the -65-mesh portion of the 3/8-in. x 0 table raw coal feed. Several shortcomings in the above circuits were apparent. For one thing, large quantities of repulping water were required. Furthermore, since about half of the flotation feed was of a size consist that could have been cleaned on the tables, these circuits would result in an unnecessary increase in reagent costs and facilities. Maintenance of the hydro separators and pumps for pumping the underflow to the filters,

Jan 1, 1969

By Jerome F. Kuzmick

Condusions. From the work on aluminum powder, the following general con clusions can bc drawn: I. The physical properties of aluminum compacts, such as density. strength and ductility, increase with increasing pressure, up to the practicable pressure limits. 2. Good properties ill aluminum con pacts can be secured only by the use of high pressures, because it is neccssary to rupture the refractory oxide film on aluminum powder. 3. Considerable softening of the specimens occurs upon sintering. regardlers of the pressure used. General Conclusions 1. For relatively short-time sintering. molding pressure is a very important factor in the final physical properties of the sintered specimens. 2. The effect of pressure. is difierent for each metal, so that few general rules can be drawn that would apply to all metals. 3. In many cases, fur a particular metal powder and sintering temperature there is a critical pressure at which the best physical properties can be obtained. 4. The principles of cold work and in nealing and their effect on grain structure applied to massive metal also holds true for sintered metals. 5. Particle size, at least for electrolytic iron powder, does not have a. great effect on ultimate grain six. DISCUSSION [E. E, Schumacher presiding V.. V. Crane. *—I was particularly impressed with Dr. Kuzmick's work on tin IF not the illustration, particularly the Second one. a very good illustraition of hot preessing. in that

Jan 1, 1945

WE the undersigned, being all persons of full age and citizens of the United States, and a majority residents of the State of New York, desiring to form a corporation pursuant to the provisions of the Membership Corporations Law for the purpose of incorporating, as provided in Section 6 of Article I. of said law, the existing unincorporated association known as American Institute of Mining Engineers, do hereby make, acknowledge and 6le this Certificate for that purpose, and do Certify as follows: I. That the American Institute of Mining Engineers is an unincorporated association organized and existing with the object of promoting the arts and sciences connected with the economic production of the useful minerals and metals and the welfare of those employed in these industries by means of meetings for social intercourse and the reading and discussion of professional papers, and to circulate by means of publications among its members and associates the information thus obtained. 11. That the persons duly appointed or designated to manage the affairs of said association are designated by the rules thereof Members of its Council; that the under- signed are all members of said Council as the same was constituted on the 29th day of December, 1904.

Jan 1, 1942

By E. P. Abrahamson II

The effect of transition elements which form binary solid solution upon the recrystallization temperature of zirconium has been investigated. All additions raised the recrystallization temperature. A correlation is obtained between the logarithm of the rate of change of recrystallization temperature with atomic percent solute and the free atom ground state electron configuration of the solute element. ThE work of Abrahamson, et al., on dilute binary solid-solution alloys indicated a correlation between the free-atom ground state electron configuration of the solute and either the brittle-ductile transition or recrystallization temperature. These studies were carried out on bcc base materials. The implication is that the outer s and d electrons of the solute are the prime determinant of the absolute rate of change of recrystallization or transition temperature. Furthermore, the limit of linearity has been shown to be a function of solute electron configuration for recrystallization in iron and vanadium. To date no Complete systematic recrystallization study of dilute binary zirconium base alloys has been made. It is the purpose of this study to note whether the change in solvent structure from bcc to hcp will influence the correlation. It was also desired to learn more of the role of the electron configuration of the solvent on recrystallization temperature. PROCEDURE All alloys were made using 99.87 pct Zr with 0.01 Cr, 0.04 Fe, 0.006 Hf, 0.003 Mg, 0.003 Mn, 0.003 N, and 0.080 0 (132 BHN). The solute elements were 99.9 pct pure. According to the published binary phase diagrams6 and metallographic examinations at X750, all alloys used were solid solutions. The alloys were arc melted and remelted six times in the form of cubic 200-g buttons under an argon atmosphere. They were then hot pressed at 950°C to 0.450 in., upset pressed to 0.350 in., and annealed at 800°C for 1 hr. The specimens were then Blanchard ground to 0.250 in., removing 0.050 in. from each side. The grain size of the material at this stage was found to be 8000 100 grains per sq mm. The specimens were then cold rolled to 0.130 in. and cold pressed to 0.125 in., yielding 50 1 pct cold work. All alloys were then chemically analyzed for the principal addition. The interstitial contents remained at the values of the starting material when checked on random alloy specimens. The rolled sheet was cut into 6.75 by 0.25-in. lengths and heat treated in a gradient furnace for 1 hr. The gradient was 250o to 900°C over the 6-in. length, recorded continuously by six thermocouples resting on each specimen. Control was 3oC, accomplished at the hot end. The recrystallization temperature was determined metallographically using polarized light. The criterion chosen was the point on the specimen showing the first recrystallized grain at a constant magnification, X200. Specimens were repeated, and the agreement was found to be 3°C. RESULTS Three different pure zirconium specimens were tested, and the recrystallization temperature was

Jan 1, 1962

By H. T. Kennedy, S. M. Avasthi

An equation developed for gaseous hydrocarbon mixtures predicts molal volumes with an average absolute deviation of 0.73 percent when applied to 264 natural gas and condensate systems including 2,043 PVT points. Another equation developed for liquid hydrocarbon mixtures predicts molal volumes with an average absolute deviation of 1.12 percent when applied to 346 crude oil systems including 1,759 PVT points. Both equations require composition of the mixture to be expressed as mole fraction of methane through heptanes-plus, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen and carbon dioxide, together with the characteristics of the heptanes-plus fraction in addition to the temperature and pressure. The equations cover wide ranges of the variables involved, and their accuracy is considerably better than that of other available methods. The equations were differentiated to allow calculation of the coefficients of isothermal compressibility and isobaric thermal expansion. (In this paper the coefficient of isothermal com-pressibility and the coefficient of isobaric thermal expansion will be expressed as compressibility and thermal expansion coefficient, respectively.) Equations to calculate these quantities are presented. INTRODUCTION Calculations of reservoir performance for petroleum reservoirs require accurate knowledge of the volumetric behavior of hydrocarbon mixtures, both liquid and gaseous. Compressibilities are required in transient fluid flow problems, and thermal expansion coefficients are important in thermal methods of production. An accurate laboratory investigation of the PVT behavior of each reservoir fluid encountered would be costly and time consuming. For this reason various correlations for predicting fluid properties have been developed and recorded in recent literature. Correlations have been presented in the form of graphs, tables and equations. Since an increasing number of studies are being conducted with the aid of electronic computers, recent efforts have been directed toward development of correla-tions suitable for computer programming. Application of computers permits the use of more complex correlations which otherwise are not feasible. Moreover, methods for predicting reservoir performance, particularly those based on the compositional material balance, depend upon the capability of accurately expressing the molal volumes and other fluid properties as functions of pressure, temperature and composition. The coefficient of isothermal compressibility c is defined by

Jan 1, 1969

By J. F. Wilson

An experimental investigation has been made of gas-driven slug displacements in a system of high gas saturation to evaluate the process for use in a California reservoir. Fluid compositions, temperature, pressure and core permeability duplicated reservoir conditions as closely as possible. The temperature was above the critical of the slug materials. The slug composition required for 100 per cent oil recovery in the linear flow systems was found to agree with that determined from equilibrium phase studies. A qualitative theory for the slug displacement of two-phase systems is proposed and found to be in general agreement with the observed flow behavior. The theory predicts that the length of the reservoir fluid-slug transition Zone will increase with increased initial gas saturation and decrease with increased oil swelling accompanying the composition change from reservoir oil to the critical composition. The precipitation of small amounts of an asphaltic phase during the formation of the transition zone had no adverse effects on the flow behavior of otherwise miscible systems. INTRODUCTION Despite the large number of recent publications relating to oil recovery by miscible displacement, little information is available concerning the behavior of crude oil-natural gas systems at conditions likely to be encountered in field application. The laboratory data reported here were obtained during an investigation of the possibility of using a gas-driven LPG slug in a partially depleted California reservoir. Seven gas-driven slug displacements employing slugs of different compositions and sizes were made in 26- to 27-ft long sandstone cores. The equilibrium phase behavior of the systems was also determined. The features of primary interest in this study are the following. 1. Data were obtained on the displacement of reservoir fluids at reservoir conditions. 2. A high gas saturation existed in the long cores at the start of the displacements. 3. The temperature of the studies was above the critical of the slug materials. 4. A comparison between the flow behavior and equilibrium phase behavior, as illustrated by a pseudo-ternary phase diagram, is afforded for a system of considerable complexity. THEORY Phase Behavior The use of the pseudo-ternary phase diagram to illustrate the phase behavior in miscible displacements has been discussed by Clark, Schultz and Shearin. Sie-vert, Dew and Conley and Arnold, Stone and Luffel' have presented both phase equilibrium and flow data for true ternary systems. For the true ternary, the application of the theory is straight-forward; for a reservoir system represented as a ternary, the theory undoubtedly gives a qualitatively correct picture. One purpose of this investigation was to see if the pseudo-ternary phase diagram could be used to predict with reasonable accuracy the conditions necessary for miscible displacements with actual reservoir systems. MiscIBLE Displacement of Two-Phase System A large number of papers "I3 have treated the miscible displacement of a single-phase fluid from both an experimental and a theoretical viewpoint. However, the normal field application of the process will be in a partially depleted reservoir. Often the state of the system will be such that the mobility of the gas phase is greater

By M. N. Shetty

LARGE copper whiskers (-100 p) of 11111 orientation were tested in a floor-model Instron testing machine, at liquid nitrogen temperature. (Testing methods will appear elsewhere.) Whiskers deformed by twinning after some initial deformation. A load-elongation curve at the onset of twinning is reproduced in Fig. 1. Twinning was confirmed by taking a back-reflection Laue picture, using a slit colli-mator, which showed distinct splitting of reflections. The tensile stress reached just before twinning is about 1.4 x 107 g per sq cm (-7.0 x106 g per sq cm—resolved shear stress) which drops to 1.2 x107 g per sq cm (-6 x 106 g per sq cm—resolved). This twinning stress is about five to ten times larger than the value for bulk single crystals of copper deformed at 77°K (-106 g per sq cm—resolved). Twinning models based on Cottrell-Bilby's pole mechanism are discussed in detail by Venables.' In the present work a mechanism based on the idea of failure of a Lomer-Cottrell barrier by recombination will be proposed. An L-C barrier may fail either by recombination or by dissociation.3 Fig. 2 provides the necessary information. It shows that the stress necessary to break such a barrier is about 1.8 x 107 g per sq cm by recombination and 4 x 107 g per sq cm by dissociation at 77°K. The twinning stress reached by whiskers is comparable to the stress level required for failure of an L-C barrier by recombination. (Stroh himself points out that his calculations should not be taken too literally.) We consider a segment of the L-C dislocation which has recombined (AB in Fig. 3) over a length to form the total dislocation which then glides in the

Jan 1, 1965

By Fulton Flick

THE micrography and macrography of aluminum and its alloys present certain difficulties. Many of the difficulties attendant on the micrography have been removed by methods developed during the past few years, notably those of E. H. Dix, Jr.1 The development of grain size in aluminum and its alloys may be equally troublesome, yet comparatively little detailed attention appears to have been given to it. Satisfactory reagents. are available for the development of such structures in ferrous and most non-ferrous metals, but those applied to aluminum and its alloys, i. e., alcoholic or aqueous solutions of sodium hydroxide or hydrofluoric acid are not entirely satisfactory. Hanson and Archbutt,2 in speaking of these two reagents, state that "These two reagents give fairly satisfactory results, but they sometimes produce badly tarnished surfaces from which the surface deposit is difficult to remove." It has been our experience that neither of these reagents is to be entirely relied on for developing structures suitable for study or photography. This means that when the etch fails to produce satisfactory results the, specimen must be repolished, through the 000-paper at least, and then etched with another reagent. This procedure entails a con¬siderable loss of time, and the final results may not be all that might be desired. However, the reagent to be described, although not a panacea for all etching troubles, has improved results so markedly that it is felt that it is worth offering as a grain-size etch generally applicable to aluminum and aluminum alloys. Czochralski3 in 1915 mentioned the application of a solution of 10 to 20 c. c. concentrated hydrofluoric acid in 100 c.c. absolute alcohol, etching in this reagent being followed by dipping in concentrated hydrochloric-acid solution.

Jan 2, 1925

By Charles S. Barrett

NUMEROUS determinations1-7 of the tex-ture of cold-rolled polycrystalline iron, steel, and ferritic alloys have been made with good agreement among the various observers as to the principal features of the texture common to all, but there has been no adequate explanation of the texture in terms of the behavior of individual grains. This study presents an explanation of the texture based on the observed rotation of single crystals when deformed in a manner similar to a grain in the aggregate, a method we have found useful in leading to a better understanding of compression and tension textures;8,9,10 in particular, the aim has been to determine experimentally the end orientations of rolled single crystals of iron. These are discussed in connection with the point of view of Wever1 and of Boas and Schmid2 that the rolling texture is a simple compression texture (compression normal to the rolling plane) superimposed on a simple tension texture (tension in the roll-ing direction), and the point of view of Kurdjumow and Sachs3 that three ideal end orientations exist.

Jan 1, 1940

By Enrique Hauser

Discussion of the paper of ENRIQUE HAUSER, presented at the New York meeting, February, 1916, and printed in Bulletin No. 110, February, 1916, pp. 521 to 534. GEORGE A. BURRELL, Pittsburgh, Pa. Mr. Hauser determined the influence of inert gases on the properties of fire-damp mixtures, and one might take some issue with his work on the effect of hydrogen, on those mixtures. It is valuable information to have, but as far as the practical application of it goes, it is not of much significance, because one does not find it in mines, at least not in any appreciable amount. The same Fig. 1.-APPARATUS FUR DETECTING COMBUSTIBLE GASES IN AIR. thing can be said of ethylene. Ethylene is formed in considerable quantities as a product of heat reaction, but normally, in the coal mines, as a result of a great many analyses we have made at the Bureau of Mines, we cannot say that ethylene is a combustible gas found in the fire-damp in coal mines.

Jan 5, 1916

By R. S. Montgomery

Laboratory experiments simulating rock drilling were conducted on a number of commercial grades of tungsten carbide in order to determine their wear rates when they are used as inserts in percussive rock drill bits. The test rock was Barre granite and tests were made at conditions similar to those of the carbide buttons near the periphery of a large, down-hole, button bit. In addition, some wear rate measurements were made at a low blow energy. Wear rates of these carbide buttons were an extremely sensitive function of their cobalt contents and hardnesses and were proportional to e-°.57Hup to a hardness of about 91 RA. The point of minimum wear rate, which occurs at about 92 RA, corresponds to the point of maximum compressive strength. Modern percussive rock drill bits have inserts of cemented tungsten carbide on their wear faces. These inserts have drastically reduced bit wear in comparison to that of earlier all steel bits. The most common cemented carbide grade used in percussive rock drill bits contains about ten weight percent cobalt, although grades containing more or less cobalt are also used. Contrary to the case with carbide in metal-cutting tools, alloying materials are rarely used in mining grades. There are a number of designs of rock bits in current use. The most common form is an X bit which has four chisel-form radial wings. The button bit is another important design and one which has been recently developed. This design uses a flat steel face studded with relatively small hemispherically tipped carbide buttons. These types are illustrated in Fig. 1. Studies have been made of the sliding wear of cemented tungsten carbide on rock 1-4 and multiple-impact fracture', 5-6, b~t there has been comparatively little published on the percussive wear of this material although the wear of the impact face is the most important. There is some available data on the rate of dulling of rock bit inserts in actual drilling 7 but no laboratory studies. Sliding wear studies are useful for understanding the wear of coal and mineral cutting tools and gauge wear of percussive drill bits. but the

Jan 1, 1970

By Walter F. Bradley

CLOSE to 300 members and guests were registered at the Regional Meeting of the Institute in San Francisco. Oct. 3-6, and many other mining men were present at some of the sessions, but failed to register. Headquarters were at the Palace Hotel. Technical papers for the Metals Session were sponsored by the San Francisco Section, whereas the program for the Industrial Minerals Session was arranged by the Southern California Section. Walter W. Bradley, Chairman of the San Francisco Section, opened the General and Metals Session, introducing President Buehler, who gave a hearty welcome to those present. Clyde M. Eye, of the. Benguet Consolidated Mining Co., presented the first paper, entitled "The Economic and Strategic Value of Philippine Metals to the United States." In closing, he urged. that this country retain and control the Philippines because their large

Jan 1, 1935

By E. P. Sadowski, R. J. Raudebaugh

A study of micro structural characteristics of a 30 pct Cr, 42 pct Ni, 26 pct Fe alloy has been correlated with its behavior in creep and rupture tests at 1400°, 1600°, and 1800°F. Nitrogen pickup observed at 1600" and 1800°F was associated withfissur-ing of specimens prior to fracture. IN studying the high-temperature characteristics of a nominally 30 pct Cr, 42 pct Ni, 26 pct Fe alloy certain anomalies were observed, namely: The alloy had greater stress rupture and creep strength at 1800" than at 1600° F for time periods beyond 550 hr. As placed in test, this alloy was nonmagnetic. After test, some specimens were found to be fairly magnetic. The gain observed in magnetic response was not solely a function of time and temperature of testing. This is a report of the observations and a recounting of the results of studies made in an attempt to explain the behavior of the material under investigation. MATERIAL AND PROCEDURE All test material was taken from a production size heat of an experimental alloy melted and processed using commercial practice and having the following percentage composition: C Fe Cr Ni Ti 0.05 25.83 30.13 41.59 0.41 Al Mn Si S Cu 0.42 0.75 0.45 0.011 0.34 The material was tested in two conditions, namely mill-annealed and grain-coarsened. Mill annealing, which consisted of heating to about 1900° F in a continuous furnace for about 30 min and air cooling, gave a grain size of ASTM 8 and finer. To produce the grain-coarsened condition, mill-annealed material was soaked for 2 hr at 2050°F in a laboratory furnace and air cooled. This resulted in an ASTM grain size of 4 to 5. Rupture tests were carried out at 1400, 1600, and 1800° F in accordance with ASTM procedures. In tests where only rupture life and elongation at fracture were determined, specimens of 0.252 in. diam and 1 in. gage length were used. In tests where creep curves were obtained, specimens were of 0.375 in. diam and 4 in. gage length. Several of the tests under relatively low stress were discontinued short of rupture. Three low-stress tests are still in progress at this writing. Structural changes which occurred during testing were determined from examination of the tested specimens by light microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Diffraction pattern recordings were made with a diffractometer using copper radiation on samples heavily etched in a picric-hydrochloric

Jan 1, 1960

The following is a list of members who died in 1928. It is compiled from reports to the Secretary's office. Biographical sketches published in Mining and Metallurgy are indicated in the last two columns. Issue Containing Year or Date or Biography Election Name Death 1928 Page 1914 Adams. David T.................... July 22 October 471 1905 Aguilera. Pedro................... May 3 October 469 1902 Althouse, H. W.................... NOV. 3 December 559 1920 Averill: C. C...................... July 9 October 471 1915 Baldwin, C. Kemble............... Aug. 9 October 471 1926 Barquist, Walter C............... NOV. 14 June 298 Barron,* Clarence Walker......... Oct. 2 November 511 1917 Beasley, Fred E.................... Aug. 31 October 471 1901 Belden, S. B....................... May 15 July 333 1927 Binney, Edwin, Jr.................. Dec. 29 February 96 1915 Bonsall, James Malcolm............ Feb. 12 June 284 1917 Boyle, John....................... July 12 December 561 1913 BradEn, Eugene B............. Jan. 29 March 157 1889 Bulkley, Frank.................... Mar. 25 May 240 1896 Callaghan, J. T., Jr............... Apr. 1 1892 Chalmers, George.................. Feb. 4 April 197 1898 Clark, Josiah H.................. May 7 July 333 1887 Copeland, F. K............. Nov. 10 December 561 1915 Cunningham, B. L11............... Dec. 6 August 294 1888 Dana, R. T........................ Aug. 20 December 559 1907 Dennis, Clifford G............... Dec. 28 March 1 1920 DeVenny, Thomas................ Feb. 13 April 197 1882 d'Invillier-, Edward V........... Jan. 4 March 157 1884 Duncan, M. M..................... Dec. 17 February 96 1924 Dyrssen, WaldemaR ............... Aug. 4 October 471 1906 Edmondson. H. W................ Dec. 21 February 1884 Emmerton, F. A.................. Oct. 9 June 298 1911 Eu, S. H............................ July 20 February 1917 Farrand, Ira W.................... Sept. 6 October 469 1900 Fell, E. Nelson...........•......... Mar. 25 May 231 1918 Fenton, Clarence M.............. October Junet 298 1908 Ferraris, Erminio................. Sept. 22 June 298 1914 Galloway. A. D. R............... December April 215 1924 Grant, A. W., Jr................... .4pr. 5 June 285 1917 Grant, Clifford G............... Jan. 26 January? 37 1918 Grant, Frank E.............. Jan. 14 September 417 1921 Gunderoth, C. J.................. Feb. 15 1897 Harms, Ernest..................... Aug. 12 November 512 1891 Hartrick, J. S..................... Feb. 9 June 285 1925 Hochschild, Berthold.............. Jan. 24 April 197 1917 Hutton, L. W...................... NOV. 3 January 37 1894 Jenning", S. J...................... NOV. 17 December 560 1925 Jones, J. Ravenscroft............... Jan. 29 March 157 1880 Jones, J. T......................... May 4 June 284

Jan 1, 1929

By D. P. Harris

This paper examines recent developments and work in progress on the application of quantitative methods and computers to the appraisal of the mineral resource potential of discrete areas by employing reconnaissance geological information and general economic relationships. The perspective of this paper might be that of a firm planning a regional exploration program or of a legislative body seeking to choose between several alternative actions on the basis of their impact upon the regional resources. In addition to this general survey and commentary, an example is presented of the use of geostatistical analysis and computer simulation to evaluate the economic mineral resources of the Seward Peninsula of Alaska.

Jan 1, 1969

By D. H. Gurinsky, D. G. Schweitzer

The empirical equilibrium constantsd the heat of reaction for the reduction have been determined from 300° to 500°C. The mechanisms of the oxidation of uranium and magnesium from dilute bismuth solutions have been investigated. The kinetics of some of the reactions were affected by air adsorbed on the uranium oxides. THE Liquid Metal Fuel Reactor studied at Brook-haven National Laboratory uses a solution of uranium in bismuth as the fuel. Corrosion and stability problems require that the fuel solution contain corrosion inhibitors and deoxidants. Of the additives tested, magnesium has been found to be the best deoxidant and zirconium the best corrosion inhibitor in bismuth. Some experiments1 indicate that magnesium may play a secondary role in increasing the effectiveness of zirconium in inhibiting corrosion. The work reported here was intended to determine the relative concentrations of Mg and U required to prevent oxidation of the uranium fuel in the event of an air leak. In addition, an attempt was made to identify some of the mechanisms of the oxidation and reduction reactions occurring in the liquid bismuth solutions. EXPERIMENTAL Apparatus and Procedure—The equipment shown in Fig. 1 was designed so that the reaction kinetics could be studied as functions of temperature, melt composition, pressure, and flow rate. At the start of a run, the 10-liter bell jar (F) is removed by opening the bottom Dresser fitting (L), and the bismuth and additives are placed in a pyrex crystallizing dish (I). The bell jar is replaced, the system is evacuated to 10-5 to 10-6 mm Hg and then the heater (J) is turned on. When the selected temperature is reached, the oxidizing gas is admitted to the system to the desired pressure as read on the manometer (D). Gas is introduced through the slide tube (Q) which has a pyrex frit (R) sealed to its bottom. Stirring is accomplished by immersing the end of the tube in the melt. To maintain a constant pressure under flow the input and evacuation rates must be equalized. To obtain this condition stopcock (C) is closed and flowmeters (B) are matched. The reaction is "stopped" by closing the inlet flowmeter and quickly evacuating the system. To obtain a liquid metal sample, the system is evacuated with the sampler positioned near the surface of the liquid. The sampler, Fig. 2, is then immersed until its thermocouple reading matches thermocouple (G) Fig. 1. The system is then pressurized with helium which forces the solution through the frit. Twenty to 30 min elapsed between the time the system was evacuated and sampled. During evacuation and pressurization of the system, the temperature variations did not exceed ± 5°C. While bubbling occurred the temperature remained constant to within 1/2 oC. The volume of the equipment was determined by adding a known volume of air at atmospheric pressure to the evacuated system and noting the resulting pressure.

Jan 1, 1962

By William B. Hughes

The rubber-sleeve core barrel was developed to improve core recovery from unconsolidated sands, where it is most difficult to obtain cores with conventional barrels. The use of a rubber-sleeve core retainer, together with other departures from clsual design, has required a considerable amount of testing to prove its op-erability. Tests run in shallow experimental holes and in drilling wells in the U. S. and Vemzuela have, to a large extent, proved the operation of the barrel. Internal mechanism troubles, such as sandbinding of the sleeve, have been largely overcome. Cores have been recovered from completely unconsolidated sands where conventional coring has almost been abandoned because of poor recovery. In addition to retaining the core until brought to the surface, the barrel gives a "packaged-ar-cut" core, which is coilverzient for handling and transportatiorz. In the initial work, drag blade cutters, roller cutters, and tungsten carbide insert cutters were usrd for cutting unconsolidated sands. Further bit head development is presently being conducted using diamond heads in unconsolidated sands where shaler, hard sands, and limestones are encountered in adjacent formations. Thir work should render the barrel capable of cratting and recovering most types of formations, possibly including broken and frac- tured fornlations. This development is being carried on in cooperation with a diamond bit manufacturer. INTRODUCTIO N For many years the oil industry has needed greater recovery of cores from unconsolidated formations. Conventional equipment has been used to core unconsolidated sands with little success. Specifically, a core barrel was needed which would recover unconsolidated sands in a condition that would give useful reservoir information. DEVELOPMENT OF 'THE RUBBER-SLEEVE CORE BARREL Basic Requirements of Unconsolidated Sand Corino The basic need was defined as a core barrel that would obtain a continuous unconsolidated core with sand grains in place as deposited in the formation. A preliminary survey of coring equipment and search of the literature pointed out the weaknesses of conventional core barrels. Laboratory tests using unconsolidated sand in a metal tube simulated actual sand movement into the core barrel during conventional coring. In conventional barrels the core sometimes crumbles and bridges, or fails under compressive column action, becomes oversize, and wedges against the walls of the inner barrel. The core barrel requirements established by the surveys and preliminary tests are as follows. 1. The core should be held to- gether as it is cut so it cannot crumble and bridge against the walls of the coring tool, care being taken not to permit damage from fluid circulation. 2. The core should be continuously supported as it is cut so it will not have to support itself in compression. 3. The core should be packaged in the barrel to retain an undisturbed condition during the trip out of the well. The packaging should be such that the core can be removed from the barrel and shipped to the core analysis laboratory without physical disturbance or alteration of fluid content by exposure to the atmosphere. Operation of the Rubber-Sleeve Core Barrel The rubber-sleeve core barrel (Fig. 1) meets the basic requirements for the recovery of unconsolidated sands.

US 4,133,866-Selective recovery of the bound sodium content of red mud obtained in the production of alumina by the Bayer process The red mud is mixed with aqueous ferric sulfate, the resulting suspension stirred intensively at a temperature of 15-85°C and adjusted to a pH value of from 4.4 to 4 6, and the solids are removed. The clarified solution of sodium sulfate can be used directly for the leaching of additional bauxite T Lakatos, M Miskei, J Szolnoki, F. Toth, and L Revesz, assigned to Aluminiumipan Tervezo es Kutato Intezet, Almasfuzitoi Timfoldgyar, and MTA Geokemiai Kutatolaboratorium. Jan. 9, 1979. 3 pp (423-208). Filed: 10¬28-77 (846,588) Priority: Hungary, 10-29-76 (AU 364). US 4,145,398-Continuous digestion of bauxite with aqueous sodium hydroxide, with higher throughput in existing plants or the construction of smaller plants with equivalent capacity The ore suspension at a solids concentration of 1-6% by weight and temperature of 200-300°C is flowed through a digestion tube or nest of tubes at a velocity of preferably from 2 to 5 m/s and under a pressure of from 10 to 200 atm Heat is supplied by a fluid heat carrier flowing in countercurrent in a concentric outer tube. Preferably, some of the red mud is recycled to the digestion operation. L. Plass, assigned to Vereinigte Aluminium-Werke A.G Mar 20, 1979. 5 pp. (423-121) Filed: 2-27-76 (754,749) Same: British 1,437,548, dated May 26, 1976 Same Canadian 1,008,253, dated Apr 12, 1977. US 4,146,573-An aqueous slurry of red mud, formed in the Bayer process production of alumina from bauxite, can be solidified by treating the red mud with a described quaternary ammonium salt, continuing mixing until the red mud has set up to a rigid mass, and recovering the solidified concentrated red mud J Kane, assigned to Nalco Chemical Co Mar 27, 1979 4 pp (423-82). Filed 8-2-78 (930,251).

Jan 1, 1980

By H. Warlimont

In recent investigations of the microstructure and crystallographic features of martensite by electgon microscopy,', '9 thin films (about 50 to l000A in thickness) have been used as specimens. It was found by W. Pitschl ,2 that the lattice relationships between the supefiaturated fcc matrix and the martensite formed in thin films were different from those observed after transformation in bulk material. Corresponding differences are to be expected in nucleation and in reaction kinetics in the formation of martensite in thin films, but have not yet been reported. In the course of the preparation of thin films of iron-base alloys for investigation by electron microscopy it was observed that films of alloys, whose martensite formation temperature (Ms) was below room temperature, formed martensite during the electrochemical thinning process conducted at or above room temperature. The chemical compositions and approximate bulkM,-temperatures of the three materials on which this observation was made are listed in Table I. The alloys were vacuum-melted from high-purity metals. It can be seen that the effect occurred in alloys that contain only sub-stitutional components as well as in alloys that contain carbon as an interstitial solute. The appearance of martensite formed in this manner is illustrated in Fig. 1, which represents a polished film of alloy No. 1 at XI0 magnification. The martensite plates can be recognized by their surface relief effects. In addition, heavily strained (owrinkledo) austenite can be seen near the edges of the film where it is thinnest and transformation stresses or strains can be accommodated by plastic deformation most easily. The nonuniform distribution of transformed regions is probably due to the varying thickness of the film. These observations were common to all materials listed in Table I. Because effects of supercooling or straining can

Jan 1, 1962

By B. H. Caudle, L. G. Loncarie

Pilot flooding is one method of evaluating a proposed secondary recovery project. However, the amount and rate of oil recovery from an unconfined pilot area is not usually the same as from an equal area in a large-scale flood. This is true because fluids are free to move across the boundary of a pilot area. The result is that some of the oil produced in a pilot flood may come from outside the designated area and some of the displaced oil may leave the pilot area completely. This paper presents the results of fluid-flow model studies on a five-spot pilot flood. Mobility ratios between 0.1 and to have been studied. The effects of changing the ratio of injection to withdrawal rates are shown. INTRODUCTION A small-scale field test, or pilot flood, is an accepted method for evaluating the applicability of a secondary recovery operation and the economic potential of that operation for a reservoir. The pilot flood is carried on in the same manner, with the same injected materials and at the same pressures as would be used were the secondary recovery program to be expanded to a larger area of the field or to the entire field. If the reservoir fluid and reservoir rock properties are the same in the pilot area as in the rest of the reservoir, the production, injection and other pertinent data associated with the pilot test will represent and measure what should be expected from a full-scale development of this secondary recovery program. There is one major exception which, unfortunately, has been overlooked by many and which has been awaiting quantitative definition. This is the sweep-out pattern the reservoir engineer must use in interpreting the pilot flood and in extrapolating it to the full-scale development. The sweep-out area in a pilot flood is not contained within the five-spot pattern. Further, there is oil flow into and/or out of the five-spot during a pilot test. Thus, production data from pilots must be interpreted with this different flow system and sweep pattern in mind. We have studied the sweep-out pattern that will exist for some conditions of operation of pilot flooding a single five-spot (four injection wells and one producer). In our study, reported here, we have assumed that the reservoir is relatively homogeneous and of uniform thickness in the pilot area. The results of this study en-able the engineer to predict the recovery, injection requirements and project life for a full-scale operation from the pilot flooding data. The effects of various injection to withdrawal-rate ratios and mobility ratios in a relatively gas-free (10 per cent pore volume or less) system are shown. Experimental Method The technique used in this study was the same as that for the X-ray shadowgraph studies of sweep-out pattern efficiencies.' The model of the pilot and surrounding area was made from a uniform packing of round-grain sand consolidated with an epoxy resin. Fig. 1 shows the relation between the model and the pilot area. Only one-eighth of the pilot area had to be represented in the model because we assumed equal injec-