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By R. L. Wiegel

The generation of operating information for mineral beneficiation processes has become more sophisticated as a result of the use of improved laboratory analytical techniques, some of which provide multiple component assays, as well as the introduction and gradual industrial acceptance of process sensors for the measurement of flow, density, size, and chemical composition. In general, however, the mineral processing engineer's ability to tie together this wealth of information has not kept pace with these developments. In fact, in almost all existing plants, the metallurgical inflow-output balance, wed to indicate current process performance, is still being calculated from only a small portion of the information routinely available. There is substantial activity in the development of techniques for using all available process information to significantly improve the reliability of the metallurgical balance. While the use of these improved techniques does require access to computing facilities and a slight change in perspective on the part of the mineral processing engineer regarding the inviolability of process information, there are numerous practical benefits to be derived from their application. In addition to summarizing some of the concepts basic to these techniques, this paper describes the experience of the author in applying one of these advanced metallurgical balance techniques to a variety of pilot plant and commercial plant flowsheets during the past eight years.

Jan 1, 1983

By W. A. Bruce

Studies of reservoir behavior of 12 Smackover limestone oil and condensate pools are presented. Buckner, Midway, McKamie, Magnolia, Mt. Holly, Schuler (Reynolds) and Village are treated in considerable detail and subjected to analysis with an electrical device for analyzing reservoir behavior. Results and comparisons of these analyses are presented. In addition to these reservoir-behavior studies, an attempt is made to assemble trans-missibility and storage data on the Smackover limestone formation from cores and logs taken in dry holes and producers. This together with the behavior of individual reservoirs leads to a better understanding of the formation as a porous aquifer. The ultimate purpose of this type of study is to improve predictions concerning the future behavior of these pools in such a system. Predictions are presented for several pools. Introduction In 1937 the Phillips Petroleum Co. drilled its J. D. Reynolds No. I to the Smackover limestone formation at Snow Hill, Arkansas. This well found oil in the porous, permeable, upper part of the Smackover, thereafter referred to as the Reynolds lime. Since then, six oil pools and six condensate pools have been discovered in the Reynolds lime, and more than 75 dry holes have explored parts of this formation. By the first of 1943, 44 million barrels of oil and 83 billion cubic feet of gas had been withdrawn from the various reservoirs. The original reserves estimated by the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission were 342 million barrels of oil and rzoo billion cubic feet of gas. So far all of the production has been from anticlinal structures, most of which are asymmetric and have their axes roughly perpendicular to the dip of the formation top. This is indicated in Fig. I, which shows the pools, dry holes drilled, and contours on top of the Smackover.' These pools are of particular interest for reservoir-behavior studies because the production and drilling has been controlled, and in most cases the records of reservoir data are complete. In addition to the excellent production and pressure information available, more than one half of the wells drilled were cored and all of them were electrically logged. All of the pools show evidence of water drive. While this paper is in a sense a collection of reservoir-behavior studies for several different pools, there has been an attempt to go one step further and to show the importance of the iormation as a porous continuum or a single aquifer in which the withdrawals of fluids from any pool has an important effect on the behavior of all of the pools. An effort will be made to show that the water drives of these pools are dependent upon a much larger area of the Smackover limestone than that occupied by the petroleum accumulations.

Jan 1, 1944

By W. A. Bruce

Studies of reservoir behavior of 12 Smackover limestone oil and condensate pools are presented. Buckner, Midway, McKamie, Magnolia, Mt. Holly, Schuler (Reynolds) and Village are treated in considerable detail and subjected to analysis with an electrical device for analyzing reservoir behavior. Results and comparisons of these analyses are presented. In addition to these reservoir-behavior studies, an attempt is made to assemble trans-missibility and storage data on the Smackover limestone formation from cores and logs taken in dry holes and producers. This together with the behavior of individual reservoirs leads to a better understanding of the formation as a porous aquifer. The ultimate purpose of this type of study is to improve predictions concerning the future behavior of these pools in such a system. Predictions are presented for several pools. Introduction In 1937 the Phillips Petroleum Co. drilled its J. D. Reynolds No. I to the Smackover limestone formation at Snow Hill, Arkansas. This well found oil in the porous, permeable, upper part of the Smackover, thereafter referred to as the Reynolds lime. Since then, six oil pools and six condensate pools have been discovered in the Reynolds lime, and more than 75 dry holes have explored parts of this formation. By the first of 1943, 44 million barrels of oil and 83 billion cubic feet of gas had been withdrawn from the various reservoirs. The original reserves estimated by the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission were 342 million barrels of oil and rzoo billion cubic feet of gas. So far all of the production has been from anticlinal structures, most of which are asymmetric and have their axes roughly perpendicular to the dip of the formation top. This is indicated in Fig. I, which shows the pools, dry holes drilled, and contours on top of the Smackover.' These pools are of particular interest for reservoir-behavior studies because the production and drilling has been controlled, and in most cases the records of reservoir data are complete. In addition to the excellent production and pressure information available, more than one half of the wells drilled were cored and all of them were electrically logged. All of the pools show evidence of water drive. While this paper is in a sense a collection of reservoir-behavior studies for several different pools, there has been an attempt to go one step further and to show the importance of the iormation as a porous continuum or a single aquifer in which the withdrawals of fluids from any pool has an important effect on the behavior of all of the pools. An effort will be made to show that the water drives of these pools are dependent upon a much larger area of the Smackover limestone than that occupied by the petroleum accumulations.

Jan 1, 1944

By H. G. Schneider

The Smackover oil and gas field lies in Ouachita and Union Counties, Ark., in the south-central part of the state, in T.15 and 16S., R.15, 16, and 17W. It is 10 miles north of El Dorado, the principal business and railroad center in the south-central part of the state, and extends from the town of Smackover in all directions. Productive territory having an aggregate area of nearly 55 sq. mi. has been developed. It extends 6 miles from north to south and 12 miles from east to west. The field may be divided into two parts: the east district, which includes the area east of the town of Smackover, and the west district, which includes the area west of the town of Smackover. In relation to the neighboring productive fields of Arkansas, the Smackover field is 9 miles north of the El Dorado oil and gas field, 8 miles slightly west of north of the East El Dorado oil and gas field, and 16 miles east of the Stephens oil field. Smackover was discovered in May, 1922, when the Oil Operators Tnist drilled well No. 1 on the J. T. Murphy farm, in the southeast quarter of sec. 8, T.16S., R.15W. This well is located almost on the top of the Norphlet dome and was drilled to the Nacatoch sand. It had an initial open flow volume of 30,000,000 cu. ft. of dry gas per day, and a rock pressure of 950 lb. per sq. in. In July, 1922, the V. K. F. Co. completed the first oil well in sec. 29, T.l5S., R.l5W., on the north side of the Norphlet dome, and 3 miles north of the first gas well. This well started the active development of the north and northwest sides of the dome.] The field was extended westwards, when oil was discovered in the Nacatoch sand, during October, 1922, in sec. 4, T.l6S., R.l6W., 51/2 miles west of the original gas well. This opened up the so-called "light oil district," which is located on a structural terrace, for which the name

Jan 1, 1924

By C. R. Van Hise

[Concluding Contribution of Prof. Van Hise to the Discussion of his Paper, and Others on the Same General Subject, presented at the Washington Meeting, February, 1900 (see Trans., xxx., 27, 177, 323, 424, 5 S); also of the contributions of Vogt, De Launay, Beck, Lindgren, hemp, Rickard, Bain, Keyes, Collins and Adams, presented at the Richmond Meeting, February, 1901, and printed in the present volume.] IN June, 1900, shortly after my paper was published in the Transactions, I made a briefer statement* before the Western Society of Engineers covering the same `round, which, in certain respects, is somewhat of an improvement. For instance, instead of using the terms descending and ascending with reference to the waters resulting in the two concentrations, my modified statement is as follows " The first concentration of many ore-deposits is the work of a relatively deep water-circulation, while the reconcentration is the result of reactions upon an earlier concentration through the agency of a relatively shallow water-circulation. Commonly the deep water circulation is lacking in free oxygen, and contains reducing agents, and the shallow water contains free oxygen. The deep water is therefore a reducing, and the shallow water an oxidizing agent."† Of the papers upon ore-deposits which, in vol. xxx. of the Transactions, follow my own, or which were presented at the Richmond meeting, a considerable number are wholly confirmatory of the conclusions which I have presented. Among these are the Washington paper of Emmons upon the Secondary Enrichment of Ore-Deposits‡ and his discussion at Richmond of other papers,§ that of Weed upon the Enrichment of Gold and Silver Veins,[ ]the discussion of Emmons', and at Richmond of Weed's paper by Collinst and Prof. De Launay,† the paper of Lindgren on Metasomatic Processes in Fissure Veins,¶ that of-Rickard upon the Formation of Bonanzas in the Upper Portions of Gold Veins,** and the remarks of Bain upon the Mississippi Valley lead- and zinc-deposits.†† It is therefore un-

Jan 1, 1902

By Cyril Wells, Robert F. Mehl

THE practical importance of a knowledge of the rates of diffusion of carbon and of alloying elements in steel has often been pointed out 1,13 This importance ties chiefly, though by no means only, in the study of carburizing and in the study of reactions involved in the eutectoid inversion in steel The present paper is one of a series in which the rates of diffusion of carbon and of alloying elements in y-Fe and their mutual effects are measured with precision The present paper reports the results of meas¬urements of diffusion coefficients D of manganese in -y-Fe over wide ranges of temperature, and concentration, and of the effect of carbon and impurities and of grain size upon these diffusion coefficients [$] Data on the rate of diffusion of manganese in y-Fe have been reported by Fry2 and by Paschke and Hauttmann 3 Claussen4 calculated the diffusion coefficient D from Fry's data as 3 X 10-10 sq cm per sec at 960°, which will be shown to be incorrect by many orders of magnitude Paschke and Hauttmann gave a rough value of 9 6 X 10-8 sq cm per sec at 1400° Neither of these workers considered the variation of D with concentration and with temperature, and neither studied the effect of carbon METHOD AND MATERIALS Method -The method employed is identical with that used earlier 5 Owing to the volatility of manganese and the consequent loss of manganese from the outer surfaces of the welded diffusion bars, these surfaces were discarded The diffusion anneals were performed in argon, except one (test 18) in which hydrogen was employed for purposes noted below The temperatures reported are accurate to about 3° and constant within I°C , the diffusion times are reported to the nearest half hour The specimens were furnace-cooled after the diffusion anneal at about 2° per min Layers, usually 0 004 in thick, parallel to the welded interface, were machined from the specimens after the diffusion anneal and analyzed for manganese to 0 01 per cent Mn, the distances of these layers from the interface was measured to ±0 0002 in The concentration-penetration curves obtained were analyzed by both the Grube and the Matano solutions e The D values calculated by these two methods do not differ appreciably 5 The Grube solution was used except in tests in which the effect of concentration upon D was greater than 50 per cent, in such cases the Matano method, which explicitly provides for the variation of D with concentration,1 is the more reliable In general, the number of layers machined from the zones of variable composition were large enough to permit the use of the average layer composition as that of the center of the layer In 3 of the 30 tests, however, this is not justified, and the D values

Jan 1, 1941

By P. B. Knuckey, D. Littleford

The Kalengwa mine, situated in a remote area of Zambia in Central Africa, has presented some unique problems to the planners engaged in developing the deposit. This small, high grade copper deposit contains some 1,688,000 tons of ore at a grade of 9.3% contained copper. Of this 362,000 tons is classified as high grade ore at 27.2% Cu, the coarse fraction of which can be fed directly to converters; 733,000 is classed as intermediate grade ore averaging 6.3% Cu, and 593,000 tons classed as low grade ore containing 2.1% Cu. The geology of the deposit and the establishment of the mining operation is fully described. A concentrator is being built at Kalengwa to treat the high grade fine product, intermediate, and low grade ore, whilst the coarse high grade ore will be trucked to the Copperbelt smelters for direct smelting. Details of metallurgical processing are given. The decision to truck the coarse high grade ore to the smelters on the Copperbelt necessitated the construction of a new 200-mile road, the setting up of a fleet of heavy ore transport trucks and associated equipment. The remoteness of the area from established communication facilities on the Copperbelt necessitated the provision of radio communications between Kalengwa and the head office at Kalulushi, and the establishment of a regular mine air service. The paper also describes the training of an unsophisticated local population in the operation of heavy plant and machinery, the establishment of the township, and the provision of health services.

Jan 1, 1972

By S. J. Swainson

"It appears to me that the chief progress in milling operations in America have been made in the steady improvement of existing practice through both higher extractions and increased efficiencies of operations rather than by the development of new processes. The recent rapid development of sink-float, or heavy-medium separation, however, is an exception, and is becoming increasingly used to permit the economic treatment of certain low-grade ores that otherwise could not profitably be mined. The use of spirals and of small cyclones, both of which employ the principle of centrifugal force, show promise of increasing adoption through their application and efficiency in special cases." So did our distinguished colleague, O. A. E. Jackson, consulting metallurgist for the Union Corporation and president of the Chemical, Metallurgical and Mining Society of South Africa, summarize his impressions of a recent tour which he made of various metallurgical and milling plants in North America. I believe that all mineral dressers will agree with Dr. Jackson's concise conclusions.

Jan 1, 1950

By K. E. Gray

The status of rock mechanics as applied to petroleum production might be termed, "Rock Mechanics-A New Name for Old Problems." The petroleum industry's efforts, from its earliest days, have been concerned with rocks, hopefully containing hydrocarbon accumulations in economic quantities. Geophysical and geological studies, wildcat and development drilling procedures, well bore mechanics and reservoir engineering operations, and certain aspects of production operations involve rock mechanics in various ways. Stress states and temperatures of interest range from low values in surface or near-surface activities, to very high values encountered at depths now exceeding 25,000 ft; deeper and deeper drilling will continue to increase this range. Time scales vary from a few microseconds in wave propagation measurements and some aspects of rock behavior during drilling, to seconds, minutes or hours for other drilling and well bore mechanics problems, to several years during which the efficient and economical depletion of reservoir systems is achieved. Subsurface sedimentary formations contain various fluids, of course, and reservoir fluid movement commonly involves three-dimensional, three-phase (oil, gas, and water) fluid flow. Many extremely difficult problems in rock mechanics arise for the Petroleum Engineer because of fluid movement (or lack of desired movement) in a well bore or reservoir. The discussion to follow illustrates just a few of the many topics in rock mechanics of significance to the petroleum industry. Time precludes anything other than a superficial treatment of the topics mentioned. A great deal of work has been carried out by various research groups in the petroleum field and significant efforts are continuing, as a review of the technical literature will reveal.

Jan 1, 1968

By C. R. Kuzell

INTRODUCTION KNOWLEDGE of the thermal capacity of gases is of great importance in making metallurgical calculations. The metallurgist is, frequently called upon to investigate and determine furnace efficiencies in which the heat carried into or out of the furnace by gases is a large item in the heat balance. Not only do such problems present themselves in the determination of furnace efficiency, but also in the study of the application of heat is accessory apparatus, such as stoves, regenerators, waste-heat boilers, driers,.etc. The thermal effect of the use of excess air in the combustion of fuel, the theoretical temperatures of combustion, the quantity of heat in hot blast at various temperatures, the effect of hot blast on furnace temperatures, are a few more examples of frequently occurring calorific problems involving gases. So many are the applications of the data on the heat capacity of gases that the subject merits careful study. The heat in a gas maybe due to its heat of combustion, if it is a combustible gas, and to its temperature. The latter is called its sensible heat and is the heat absorbed or evolved by a gas as its temperature is raised or lowered. The heat of combustion of gases is well established and is commonly known. The values can be found in almost any mcdern treatise on metallurgy. The sensible heat of gases has not been so well established because it is in most cases a function of the temperature, and the values of specific heats of gases over a wide range of temperatures have only recently been determined. It is the purpose of this paper to deal with the sensible heat of gases.

Jan 8, 1914

By L. C. Noakes

Despite a long history of mining. Australia had no Commonwealth organization dealing specifically with the mineral industry until 1946, when the Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics was established. Once formed, this new organization quickly expanded to include a Mineral Economics Section, which was established in 1947. Australia's slowness to develop a Federal bureau for the mineral industry can best be explained in the light of her political history. From a group of British crown colonies, Australia evolved into six sovereign states which had no unified federal government until they formed the present Commonwealth in 1901.

Jan 1, 1970

By P. E. Hopkins

Introduction and History IN speaking of the economic geology of southeastern Ontario, W. G. Miller and C. W. Knight' say that "there occurs in southeastern Ontario a variety of minerals and rocks of economic value, probably as great as in any district of like size on the North American continent. Some of these deposits, including marble and trap, are inexhaustible. Others, including talc and iron pyrites, have proved to be of considerable economic importance. From time to time, during the last 50 years, the following minerals and rocks have been mined or quarried with varying success: gold, iron pyrites, zinc blende, copper pyrites, galena, mispickel, magnetite, hematite, talc, actinolite, mica, marble, ophicalcite, feldspar; fluorite, apatite, corundum, graphite and sodalite. All of the economic materials, with the exception of fluorite, appear to be of pre-Cambrian age. The fluorite veins penetrate the Ordovician, Black River, limestone." Accompanying that report was an article by the writer on the Queensboro Pyrite Area which includes one of the two working pyrite properties in southeastern Ontario. In the present paper will be given a brief description' of all the known pyrite deposits in the area which may at some time possess an economic value, with fuller descriptions of the two working mines-The Canadian Sulphur Ore Co.'s mine near Queensboro, and the Nichols Chemical Co.'s property at Sulphide. The earliest mining of iron pyrites in Ontario was done in 1868 on the Billings property near Brockville. The mines were closed down in 1879 under the assumption that they were exhausted. Many other

Jan 8, 1916

By Benjamin C. Allen

The surface tensions of liquid chromium and manganese were determined by a modification of the dynamic drop-weight method and found to be, respectively, 1700 * 50 and 1100 * 50 dynes per cm at their melting points. Molten drops were formed LITTLE is known about the surface tension of liquid chromium and manganese, even though they are technologically important metals and widely used in steelmaking. In the past, direct determinations have been hampered by their high reactivity on the lower end of a vertically held rod inductively heated under argon. The technique essentially reproduced surface tensions reported for liquid nickel and zirconium using static drop-shape methods. and vapor pressure. In this work, surface tensions were measured by the drop-weight method, using induction heating under argon. EXPERIMENTAL WORK Chemical analyses of rods used are given in Table I. Chromium rods were prepared from iodide-process crystals which had been are-melted, hot-extruded, warm-swaged, and centerless-ground.'

Jan 1, 1964

By J. W. Downey, A. E. Dwight, M. H. Mueller, H. Knott, R. A. Conner

Sixty new ternary equiatomic compounds are reported with a hexagonal crystal structure that is isostructural with or very similar to Fe2P, D3h-P62m. HoNiAl is a typical example, with a, = 6.9893 ± 0.0003Å, C, = 3.8204 ± 0.003Å, and c/a = 0.54 7. Three holmium atoms occupy (g): x,0,1/2 three aluminum atoms occupy (f): x,0,0; one nickel atom occupies (b): 0,0,1/2; and two nickel atoms occupy (c): 4, + , 0. The nonequivalent 1(b) and 2(c) sites give rise to two sets of unequal interatornic distances (i.e., Ho-Ni and Al-NL in the case above), which account for the prevalence of Fe2P-type tertmry compounds and the scarcity of binary examples. Unit-cell constants are presented for the sixty compounds and density measurements on the compounds HoNiAl and UFeGa confirm that three formula weights are present per unit cell. Neutron and X-ray powder diffraction intensity measurements were made on CeNiAl and HoNiAl, respectively. The atomic posiLiotml parameters in CeNiAl were determined from neutron data to be x = 0.580 5 0.001 for cerium and 0.219 5 0.001 for aluminum. An investigation of the quasibinary section between the binary compounds CeNi2 and CeA12 revealed a new ternary compound CeNiAl. The compound has a hexagonal structure and is isostructural with the prototype compound Fe2P. Additional examples discovered or confirmed in this investigation provide a total of sixty ternary compounds that are isostructural with or closely related to Fe2P. Previous investigators1'2 reported the unit-cell constants for the hexagonal compounds UFeA1, UCoAl, UIrA1, ZrNiAl, ZrNiGa, HfNiAl, and HfNiGa and the present investigation has confirmed that the compounds are isostructural with Fe2P. Independently, Steeb and petzow3 reported the same structure type for UCoAl, UIrA1, and UNiA1. However, the present results suggest a different atomic site occupancy for the component atoms in the three compounds. A detailed investigation of the relative positions of the three kinds of atoms in the compounds CeNiAl and HoNiAl will be discussed. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The equiatomic alloys were prepared from elements of 99.9+ pct purity by arc melting under a helium-argon atmosphere. After homogenization at temperatures from 700" to 900' C, a metallographic examination was performed by conventional methods, and density measurements were carried out by the immersion method in CCl4. A powder sample was prepared for diffraction studies by crushing a portion of the annealed button. X-ray diffraction patterns were obtained with a Debye-Scherrer camera, in which the annealed powder was glued to a quartz filament, and indexed with the aid of a Bunn chart. Unit-cell constants were calculated from the computer program of Mueller, Heaton, and Miller4 and d spacings were obtained by the program of Mueller, Meyer, and Simonsen.5 The intensity values were calculated from the relation I, ~ (m)(L.P.)F2 by a computer program written by Busing, Martin, and Levy.6 The absorption and temperature correction factors were neglected. An X-ray study of HoNiAl was carried out to take advantage of: large differences in atomic scattering factors for holmium and aluminum, X-ray patters free of background darkening, negligible oxidation at room temperature, and negligible weight loss in the preparation of this alloy. The neutron diffraction studies were made on a powder sample of CeNiAl contained in a -in. diam V tube and a pattern was obtained with neutrons of wavelength The neutron scattering factors employed (x 10-12 cm). In contrast to the scattering amplitude for X-rays, cesium does not have the largest cross section, however, there is a sufficient difference in the neutron scattering amplitudes to distinguish between the atomic species. The neutron transmission was high, 86 pct; therefore, absorption corrections were not necessary for the cylindrical sample. Most reflections could not be observed individually, because of the relatively large unit cell (a = 6.9756 and c = 4.0206Å) and relatively short neutron wavelength; therefore, the intensity of grouped reflections was considered. The Kennicott modification7 of the Busing-Martin-Levy program6 was employed to determine the identity of the atoms at the various lattice sites and the positional parameters. RESULTS A structure for the prototype compound Fe2P was first reported by Hendricks and Kosting;8 however, the structure was in error. The correct structure, as reported by Rundqvist and Jellinek,9 is as follows. The unit-cell constants and volumes per formula weight (V/M) are given in Table I for the sixty compounds examined in this investigation and classified as Fe2P-type compounds. The structure type was determined initially from a comparison of the unit-cell constants of HoNiAl with other known examples of this structure type1' and from the density of HoNiAl, given in Table 11. The density indicated that three formula weights comprised a unit cell, as in the prototype compound Fe2P. The assignment of the three species to lattice sites was made initially on the basis of atomic size. The large holmium atoms were assigned to the 3(g) sites that have a relatively large interatomic distance to nearest neighbor positions, the small nickel

Jan 1, 1969

By V. Koump, T. F. Perzak, R. G. Olsson

The rate of dissolution of recrystallized alumina in molten iron oxide in equilibrium with iron at 1450°C was studied by rotating alumina disks in the melt. The samples were rotated from 1 to 12 min at speeds from 54 to 3270 rpm. It is concluded from the experimental results that the process is limited by diffusion in the liquid boundary layer. The interdiffusion coefficient for the dissolution of alumina disks in pure molten iron oxide was estimated to be about 3 xl0-5= sq cm per sec. THE erosion of refractory materials is of considerable importance in iron- and steelmaking processes. Since many refractories contain alumina, this investigation was undertaken to develop a further understanding of the erosion mechanism. Shurygin et al.1-3 have investigated the rate of dissolution of alumina in molten silicates and molten fluorides by rotating alumina disks in various melts. The rates were reported to be limited by diffusion in the liquid boundary layer. In the present investigation the rate of dissolution of alumina in molten iron oxide in equilibrium with iron was studied in a similar manner; alumina disks were rotated at different speeds in molten iron oxide at 1450°C. The relationship between the rate of dissolution of the flat surface of the disk and the speed of rotation was used to determine whether the process is limited by diffusion in the liquid boundary layer or by some chemical reaction mechanism. APPARATUS AND EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE A schematic diagram of the experimental apparatus is shown in Fig. 1. The iron oxide melts were contained in 2-in.-diam high-purity iron crucibles that were centered in a cylindrical graphite susceptor. Prior to each sequence of experiments, sufficient reagent-grade ferric oxide was added to a crucible to form approximately 350 g of molten iron oxide; the depth of the melt was about 11/2 in. To prevent excessive erosion of the crucible, about 70 pct of the required iron was added to the crucible in the form of iron powder. The mixture was melted in an atmosphere of purified argon by induction heating with a 250-kc generator. After the oxide was molten, a Pt/Pt-10 pct Rh thermocouple at the exterior of the crucible was calibrated against an iron-sheathed thermocouple immersed in the melt and was thereafter used to regulate the melt temperature. All experiments were conducted at 1450°C with a probable error of 10°C. The alumina disks were constructed from pure re-crystallized alumina having a density of 3.7 g per cu cm (porosity approximately 6 pct). For each disk sample a 1-cm-diam alumina cylinder of known length (0.9 to 1.0 cm) was cemented into a ground seat at the end of a 1.27-cm-OD centerless ground alumina tube. The ends of the tube and cylinder were flush and served as the disk surface. When mounted in the apparatus the alumina tube was guided by tungsten carbide bearings and rotated by a variable-speed motor. The bearing and drive assembly could be raised and lowered in order to allow the sample to be quickly moved in and out of the melt. At the start of an experiment, a sample was preheated for several minutes directly above the melt, and then immersed in the middle of the melt to a depth of a in. and rotated for 1 to 12 min at speeds of 64 to 3270 rpm. The speed of rotation was measured by a hand tachometer. At the start and completion of each experiment, a melt sample was withdrawn with a cold copper rod and the alumina content was determined by chemical analysis. During individual experiments the alumina concentration of the melt changed by the order of 0.25 wt pct. Average melt compositions for individual experiments were used in the subsequent computations and were in the range between 0.12 and 4.3 wt pct alumina. The extent of dissolution was determined by sectioning the end of the sample and measuring the final length of the alumina cylinder with a microscope. Since the exposed end of the cylinder, i.e., the disk surface, was etched in a manner characteristic of this geometry, a number of measurements were made on

Jan 1, 1969

By N. N. Breyer

A specially built "hard" tensile machine with characteristics permitting the precise detertnination of the drop of the load at the yield point has been used to study the magnitude of the yield-point phenotnenon in prestrained martensitic 4340 steel. A new phenonzenon, the appearance of a secondary yield point, has been observed by holding the specimen at constant strain in the plastic region. Furthermore, it has been found that a series of yield-point drops could be introduced by successive constant strain holds in the plastic region. The isothermal kinetics of the development of the secondary yielding point lave been studied at four temperatures: 24° 0° -18°, and -79°C. From the results of the kinetic investigation, equations for the In a previous investigation1 it was shown that, contrary to generally held opinion, steels of medium carbon content, such as 4340, 4140, and 86B30, in the as-quenched martensitic condition, can be cold-drawn through a die with reductions in area of up to 10 pct without cracking. Tensile specimens of 4340 machined from bars quenched and prestrained in this manner exhibited tensile strengths of about 400,000 psi coupled with 30 pct reductions in area. In addition, it was found that each sample of such steels exhibited a yield point in the quenched, cold-drawn condition. Since these studies were conducted on a commercial hydraulic testing machine of a type which is not well-suited to detailed study of yield-point behavior, it was decided to study this phenomenon more thoroughly on a rigid straining machine. In this new investigation, use of such a "hard" machine not only allowed study of the magnitude of the yield-point drop but also revealed a new phenomenon—secondary yielding of the martensite introduced by stopping crosshead motion after plastic deformation of the sample had begun. The present paper is a report of these findings. MATERIALS AND PROCESSING The material used was a commercial 4340 steel of the composition shown below: 0.41 0.80 0.013 0.019 0.31 0.85 1.76 0.28 1 0.42 0.77 0.015 0.024 0.30 0.84 1.69 0.28 0.08 2 1 = Ladle analysis. 2 = Laboratory analysis. Bars of this steel were processed in the following way: 1) machined to predetermined diameters; 2) austenitized at 870°C for 1 1/2 hr; 3) oil-quenched; 4) cooled to -115°C for 1/2 hr; onset and increase in magnitude of the secondary yielding in this temperature region have been found to fit the relationship ?Ys = Atn where ?Ys is the magnitude of the secondary yield Point in psi, t is the time in seconds, and A and n are parameter characteris-tics of the material. Although the occurrence of the primary and secondary yield points could be rationalized qualitatively on the basis of stress-induced ordering of carbon atoms in the stress fields of dislocations, as postulated in an earlier paper, the kinetics of the secondary-yield-point development were interpreted to indicate that the ordering involves more than just single jumps of carbon atoms from high-energy to neighboring low-energy sites. 5) pickled and lime-coated; 6) drawn through a carbide die. The predetermined diameters were chosen so that drawing through the same die gave the various reductions desired. Tensile specimens of 0.252 in. diam with a 1 1/4 in. gage length were then prepared from the drawn bars and tested. In order to study the stress-strain behavior at the yield point in detail, a rigid tensile machine with a high spring constant was constructed. Columns of large cross section (relative to the specimen cross section) constituted the machine frame. A dc motor was used to drive a screw via a gear reducing train and a "crane" thrust bearing. In this relatively simple device small deformations could be observed un-blurred by the slow response and lower spring constant inherent in hydraulic machines.' A strain-gage dynamometer permitted load changes as small as 8 lb to be read. RESULTS Tensile test samples machined from bars in the as-quenched condition with no subsequent drawing and samples from bars with 3.8 pct reduction after quenching gave stress-strain curves typified by those shown in Figs. I and 2. The time lapse between predrawing and tensile testing varied but usually ranged between 3 to 6 days at room temperature. The strain rate during testing was 0.003 in. per in. per min. The as-quenched curve is seen to have a broad serrated maximum whereas the stress on the specimen prestrained 3.8 pct rose linearly to point A, Fig. 2, fell abruptly to B, and then gradually to C. The abrupt drop to B was accompanied by evidence of incipient necking. The drop of the stress at the yield point in the prestrained samples (A to B in Fig. 2) changed with the percent prestrain, as illustrated on Fig. 3. Although the tensile strength increased continuously with the amount of previous cold drawing, the magnitude of the yield point drop first increased—up to about 6 pct prior reduction—and then decreased. Specimens from bars predrawn more than 8 pct broke in a brittle fashion in the elastic portion of the stress-strain curve.

Jan 1, 1967

By G. F. Comstock

In the literature of metallography there is a large amount of material describing the various non-metallic inclusions found in iron and steel, and the appearance of sulfides, silicates, oxides, or alumina in steel under the microscope is fairly well known. The inclusions found in non-ferrous metals are, however, not so well known, at least judging from published writings, and the author has been interested in examining small castings of copper, brass, or bronze with certain inclusions purposely mixed with the metal, to see what was the characteristic appearance of each kind of inclusion, and if they could be readily distinguished from one another. The method employed in most cases consisted in overheating and oxidizing a small charge of copper, then cooling it somewhat, and adding a suitable amount of the element whose oxide it was desired to observe. This element was stirred in well and given time to react with the oxygen in the copper, then the melt was poured in a sand mold in the form of a cylinder about 21/2 in. (63 mm.) in each dimension, with a sprue about 11/2 in. (38 mm.) in diameter and 3 in. (76 mm.) high on top of the cylinder, the sprue forming the only riser. Samples for examination were cut sometimes from the center of the casting, and sometimes from the sprue or riser. A few of these samples were cast in chill molds. The appearance of sulfides was studied in an alloy containing 10 per cent, each of tin and lead, with which a flux of plaster of Paris was used. The appearance of foundry sand was studied in several alloys, one of them having sand stirred into the metal intentionally, and others having cut into the molds badly when poured, so that the castings were spoiled by included sand. As all this work was done on alloys having copper as the chief ingredient, the natural starting point was copper oxide, the appearance of which in a micro-section is well known. Cuprous oxide is soluble in molten copper, but separates out in freezing and forms a eutectic containing 3.5 per cent. Cu20, or 0.39 per cent. oxygen. If there is less

Jan 1, 1919

By Frank C. Kelton

A method is outlined for the analysis of large cores, developed primarily for the purpose of obtaining reliable data on fractured or vugular limestones. Porosity and fluid saturations are determined by a modified Dean-Stark extraction after initially bringing the samples to 100 per cent liquid saturation by a vacuum-pressure method. Horizontal permeabilities on the whole samples are determined in two directions, parallel and perpendicular to the di-rection of principal fracturing. Results are presented for various types of formations. A comparison is made between data obtained by this special method and the method of conventional analysis, and discussion is given of the relative advantages and limitations of each. In view of this comparison a modified method for the analysis of fractured and vugular formations is proposed, which method retains the advantages of the previously outlined techniques but gives promise of speeding up the analysis. INTRODUCTION For many years the greater part of the production in the Permian Basin was from formations of Permian and Pennsylvanian age. While production from these formations is still the predominant production. deeper prospecting has brought to light older formations with oil productive characteristics. Attempts to core these deeper horizons were at first usually characterized by poor recovery. The old rule of thumb, "good core recovery — poor well" was originated and remained in effect until recently. With the advent of diamond coring and the increased efficiency in drilling and coring operations. the old adage has lost its significance. Formations of Devonian. Silurian and Ordo-vician ages were successfully cored with varying degrees of recovery. The cores thus obtained were surprising and in some case; disappointing. Good recovery from these formations led to speculation as to the feasibility of analysis and the meaning of data obtained from conventional analysis. Commercial laboratories were engaged to analyze these cores. and their results indicated that data obtained by conventional methods would be of little value. From visual inspection it was apparent that in many cases the effective porosity for storage of hydrocarbons. and permeability. were contained largely in fractures and solution cavities rather than in the primary crystalline structure of the formation. In other cases the solution cavities augmented the effective porosity of the primary crystalline structure, or fractures enhanced the permeabiilty of the latter so that the formation might respond favorably to acidization and become commercially productive. Since the spacing of the cavities and fractures was often comparable to the core diameter, it was evident that the entire core should he analyzed instead of small fragments. On the basis of these observations, commercial laboratories were requested to devise a system of analysis which would yield data of practical value. Pro- cedures have accordingly been developed which seem to meet this requirement, and to date nearly 12,000 large core samples have been analyzed. It is the purpose of this paper to describe the methods used, to present typical results for several fractured formations and to compare the data obtained by this special analysis with that obtained by conventional analysis. Certain modifications and alternative procedures are finally suggested to speed up the analysis. CORE ANALYSIS PROCEDURE Fluid Saturations and Porosity The core sample, in segments up to 15 in. in length. is marked, weighed and examined under ultra-violet light to determine the presence of oil saturation. If present, the approximate quantity of oil and its location on intercrystalline, fracture or vugular surfaces is noted. This information is carefully recorded. The degree of fracturing and/or vugular development is also noted. The sample is then placed in a pressure cell and the air evacuated with a high speed vacuum pump. This evacuation is continued only long enough to reduce the pressure to approximately the vapor pressure of water in order not to remove excessive amounts of water. Water is admitted to the cell and allowed to penetrate the sample under atmospheric pressure, filling the pore space initially occupied by air and replacing the small amount of water removed by evacuation. Pressure up to 200 psi is applied to force water into the smaller capillaries, and the sample is left sub-

Jan 1, 1950

By R. G. Brown

Tars paper will present a general description of the different mineral belts in the Butte City region (limited, however, to the copper and contiguous silver veins) such as may serve to give an intelligent idea of the distribution and characteristics of the deposits, forming thus a groundwork of information, which it is hoped will have value, when later writers enter into particularized detail.

Jan 1, 1895

By J. L. Jernegan

IN a former paper laid before the Institute, entitled Lead and Silver Smelting in Chicago, I endeavored to give a description of the manner in which argentiferous lead ores from the far West were treated in that city, and also described the method employed in the desilverization of the silver-lead produced from the ores. It will perhaps be remembered, that very siliceous ores, principally from the Emma mine, Utah, containing over 40 per cent. of silicic acid, were then being treated at the works of the Chicago Silver Smelting and Refining Company in the reverberatory furnace, with the use of metallic iron, in the form of borings, as a precipitating medium for the lead ; and that the extraction of the silver from the resulting bullion was effected by the Balbach process. The Swansea Works, also the works at Brighton, just outside of this city, and those of S. P. Lunt, were at that time treating ore of a similar character by the same method. The inadequacy of the process for the ores then under treatment was, in a manner, pointed out by me in the paper above referred to. Since the time of its writing, many and important improvements have been made in the metallurgical treatment of Western ores in Chicago. Most ores are now roasted previous to reduction, and the latter operation is conducted in the shaft-furnace instead of the reverberatory. Such is the fact at least at the Swansea Works, the largest in the city, and here it was where the first steps were taken in this direction. In selecting these works as the subject of this paper, I am in hopes that the description given of the various metallurgical operations, as they are there now conducted, will serve to give an idea of the improvements introduced

Jan 1, 1876