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By R. A. Morse, W. O. Keller

The properties of limestone reservoir rocks such as the distribution and degree of continuity of the pore systems, and the relative volumes and permeabilities of the systems making up the complex cause large variations between performance of individual limestone reservoirs and their susceptibility to secondary recovery methods. The effects of these factors on the mechanism of fluid flow cannot be adequately evaluated with presently developed concepts, laboratory data, and geological information. The observance and interpretation of the performance of individual limestone reservoirs provides, at present, the most adequate approach for evaluating the integrated effects upon performance of the many. now immeasurable variations in the properties of limestone reservoirs. INTRODUCTION The development and application of techniques for increasing the efficiency of oil recovery from natural reservoirs is a problem of primary importance to the industry. During the past several years, a great deal of effort has been expended by the technical personnel of the industry toward the improvement of present known methods of oil recovery. and evaluating the factors which control the susceptibility of particular reservoir types to economic application of secondary recovery methods. Providing adequate and accurate laboratory data on the properties of the reservoir rock and its contained fluids. together with good production statistics, are available, methods have been evolved for estimating with reasonable accuracy the performance of an oil reservoir under either continued natural depletion or conditions imposed by introducing additional displacing fluid into the reservoir from an extraneous source through the injection of gas and/or water. The susceptibility of limestone reservoirs to secondary recovery by gas injection is very much dependent upon gas-oil relative permeability relationships for the reservoir in question. In a rock formation in which the porosity is of the intergranular type such as is found in sand stones and some non-fractured dolomites, a representative sample of the pore structure can be obtained in a small core plug. In this type of reservoir, it has been shown that relative permeability data obtained from laboratory experiments can be Properly applied to evaluate the flow relationships actually observed during the depletion of a reservoir. In addition, a good idea of the fraction of the reservoir which will be swept by the injected gas may be obtained from the spacing pattern used and the permeability profile of cored wells. From these data, it has been demonstrated that reliable estimates of performance and recoveries under gas injection operations can be made for reservoirs in which the Porosity is of the intergranular type. Limestone reservoirs on the other hand often present much more complex problems. One reason that the performance of limestone reservoirs is so variable is that there may be, in reality. two or more pore systems, the integrated performance of which will depend upon the physical properties of each system and their inter-relationship. For instance, in a limestone reservoir, the main pore structure, as far as void spaces for storage of hydrocarbons is concerned, may be represented by the intergranular openings of the rock. Usually in limes and dolomites, the intergranular pore openings are very small and the matrix permeabilities extremely low. Often, as in the case of Many dolomite and oolitic lime reservoirs, this is the only pore system, and performance is observed to be very similar to that of a sand stone of similar permeability. However, in the great majority of' the limestone reservoirs, there is present, in addition to the intergranular pore system, a complementary system of openings caused by fracturing or solution.',' The openings in the latter system are usually many times more permeable than the intergranular pore system due to their much larger size, and may contribute almost all the fluid carrying capacity of the formation, even though their volume may be a very small part of the total pore space in the reservoir. Obviously, the performance of such a complex under either primary or secondary control will deend upon the distribution and degree of continuity of both systems, the relative volumes and permeabilities of the

Jan 1, 1949

By Frank L. Gaddy

Falls of roof account for over 50% of the fatalities that occur in coal mines in the US. Thus, roof control is one of the more important phases of underground mining. In reality, the control of roof influences the system of mining and is a major determinant of the width and spacing of working places, operations at the mining face, ventilation control, and surface subsidence. Frequently, the control of roof is the largest single cost item. Roof control is a never-ending task, not only at the working face and throughout sections where men are working, but along haulways and air- ways that must be maintained for the life of the mine. This is because roof, even the best of roof, slowly deteriorates, so it must be frequently examined, with corrective support applied when needed. As coal is excavated, stresses are set up in the roof because the previous equilibrium is upset, resulting in pressures that cause fractures and slight movements that are frequently hard to detect. Unless the immediate roof, in the excavated area, is given support by artificial means, it might fall or there might be a succession of falls, varying from a thin scale to several feet, depending on the nature of the top. Exceptions to this are those rare mines, or sections of mines, with hard, strong, nonweathering roof that requires no support. GENERAL CLASSIFICATION OF ROOF There are two broad types of roof as far as support is concerned: the immediate roof above the coal and the main roof. Artificial support for mining purposes is only concerned with the immediate roof as nothing except large blocks of solid coal, or massive concrete, will support the main roof. The immediate roof is generally a few feet thick but can vary from inches to 6.1 m (20 ft) or more. There are examples of where there is no immediate roof as the massive main roof lies directly on the coal

Jan 1, 1981

By Frank Feuille, Edward Schuster

As the time allotted is short, we can present only a general idea of the oil laws in the Latin-American republics, as a supplement to Bulletin 206 of the Department of the Interior compiled under the direction of J. W. Thompson of the Bureau of Mines and entitled "Petroleum Laws of All America." We shall not discuss the European colonies in Latin-America nor the island republics. As to the countries discussed, we shall attempt to give the main features of such special petroleum legislation as has been adopted prior to the early part of this year; where no special petroleum laws exist, we must look to the mining codes for light on the petroleum policy. As the laws and regulations for the extraction of the metals are often difficult of application to, and are lacking in many essentials for, the petroleum industry, it is best for persons or companies desiring to enter, on a large scale, into the petroleum exploration and development of countries not having special petroleum legislation, to obtain a concession contract from the executive of the country under consideration, and to have the concession approved by the congress. If this concession, which would then be a special law, contains nothing contrary to the constitution of that country and does not infringe on vested rights of third parties, it should be reasonably safe. If in such country there is some doubt as to whether the petroleum subsoil is owned by the nation or the private surface owner, only public lands should be covered with the concession. Guatemala is the only republic in the group that discriminates directly against foreigners. Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico and Venezuela require waivers of diplomatic protection.' Colombia requires foreigners to agree to be bound by its alien law. In addition,Mexico makes it unlawful for foreigners to acquire direct ownership of real estate, including mines, within a zone of 50 km. along the coasts and one of 100 km. alongitsland

Jan 1, 1923

By Edward Schuster, Frank Feuille

As the time allotted is short, we can present only a general idea of the oil laws in the Latin-American republics, as a supplement to Bulletin 206 of the Department of the Interior compiled under the direction of J. W. Thompson of the Bureau of Mines and entitled "Petroleum Laws of All America." We shall not discuss the European colonies in Latin-America nor the island republics. As to the countries discussed, we shall attempt to give the main features of such special petroleum legislation as has been adopted prior to the early part of this year; where no special petroleum laws exist, we must look to the mining codes for light on the petroleum policy. As the laws and regulations for the extraction of the metals are often difficult of application to, and are lacking in many essentials for, the petroleum industry, it is best for persons or companies desiring to enter, on a large scale, into the petroleum exploration and development of countries not having special petroleum legislation, to obtain a concession contract from the executive of the country under consideration, and to have the concession approved by the congress. If this concession, which would then be a special law, contains nothing contrary to the constitution of that country and does not infringe on vested rights of third parties, it should be reasonably safe. If in such country there is some doubt as to whether the petroleum subsoil is owned by the nation or the private surface owner, only public lands should be covered with the concession. Guatemala is the only republic in the group that discriminates directly against foreigners. Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico and Venezuela require waivers of diplomatic protection.' Colombia requires foreigners to agree to be bound by its alien law. In addition,Mexico makes it unlawful for foreigners to acquire direct ownership of real estate, including mines, within a zone of 50 km. along the coasts and one of 100 km. alongitsland

Jan 1, 1923

By H. Colijn

Belt scales are frequently used in the mining industry because of the ability to handle large tonnages without interrupting the material flow, fitting easily into all types of bulk handling systems and being relatively inexpensive. Although manufacturers claim weighing accuracies better than Y2%, many operators experience, in practice, much larger errors and they have become apprehensive about the use of belt scales. However, in spite of these disappointing instances, a belt scale is one of the most valuable tools for process and inventory control. Since it is a measuring device, care should be given to the design and installation of belt scales. The basic components of a belt scale are: (1) conveyor belt, (2) scale suspension, (3) sensing device, (4) integrating and recording. The first component of this system is of great importance to the overall accuracy and has been thoroughly discussed in earlier papers. This paper will review primarily the various scale hardware designs currently available, and will be confined to the last three components of the system.

Jan 1, 1973

By Malcolm F. Hawkes

AUSTENITE grain size has long been recognized by metallurgists as an important property of steels because of its influence on toughness, hardenability, machinability and creep strength. Much research has been carried out on wrought steels to develop methods for disclosing austenite grain size, and to provide knowledge of the grain-size -characteristics of steels produced and heat-treated in various ways. Much less work in these fields has been done on steel castings; partly because, owing to the variable and complex microstructures of cast steels, it is frequently very difficult to obtain results that are not questionable. The object of this investigation, therefore, was to establish, for a wide variety of carbon and alloy cast steels, suitable methods for disclosing austenite grain size and some knowledge of the grain-size variations to be expected. The steel foundryman is interested in austenite grain size at two different stages in the manufacture of his products; one is just after the steel is cast, and the other is after any reheating operation carried out above the critical temperature range. In both, it must always be kept in mind that the grain size being sought is actually a previous austenite grain size, and that the austenite no longer exists once the steel has cooled to room temperature. The problem of the investigator is always to use evidence obtained from the structure at room temperature to deduce this previous austenite grain size, which was established the last time the steel existed at a temperature above the critical range. Since most steel castings today are at least annealed or normalized, the measurement of austenite grain size established by heat-treatment will be considered first. More than So commercially produced cast steels representing a wide variety of compositions and melting practices were used in the study. For each steel, grain-size determinations were made after each of three widely varying heat-treating schedules; namely, one hour at 1550°F, one hour at 1700°F, and six hours at 1700°F. The list of steels and results obtained on them will be found in the appendix. (See page 21.) A discussion of the knowledge gained on the applicability of various test methods and on grain-size characteristics of cast steels in general follows. MEASUREMENT OF AUSTENITE GRAIN SIZE ESTABLISHED BY HEAT TREATMENT METHODS SUITABLE FOR DETERMINING AUSTENITE GRAIN SIZE AFTER HEAT- TREATMENT AT ORDINARY TEMPERATURES AND TIMES It was desired, as one of the results of this investigation, to be able to recommend to steel foundries a method, or methods, of disclosing grain size best suited to accurate

Jan 1, 1947

By Ferris E. Sainsbury

As most mining companies utilize contractors rather than in-house drilling departments, it is difficult for most mining engineers to become familiar with drilling techniques This chapter will explain the various drilling options available to the mining industry through the services of a drilling contractor. It will also suggest improvements in program planning and specification writing by the mining company representatives to enable them to derive maximum benefit from the contractor.

Jan 1, 1979

By M. Van Siclen

THE outstanding fact in connection with dust disease in the United States at present is the growing recognition of its seriousness by state officials and by the more progressive operators of mining, metallurgical and allied industrial plants. The same may perhaps be said of labor in some of its better organized centers, but the average independent non-union workman continues, as of yore, to suffer the toll of disability and even of death from dust inhalation without realization of the source of his ill-being. Progress in the betterment of the handling of sufferers from dust disease and of the conditions creating dust hazards in mining and allied industries is pursuing a course similar to that of the now widespread campaign against accidents, in which the risk is more obvious, more severe, and was naturally recognized. sooner. The coming on of dust disease is generally relatively slow and its immediate effects not infre-quently masked by or attributed to other diseases. Marked exceptions to this general rule have occurred in districts where the dust is particularly pernicious, such as the Rand and Joplin; yet such exceptions, unhappy in themselves, opened the eyes of medical men, and of those in other localities charged with the responsibility for the welfare of industry, to the much more widespread if less spectacular hazard existing from the inhalation of dust in all rock-excavating operations and all industrial operations creating inorganic dust, whether it be crushing and grinding, sand-blast-ing, granite-cutting, or what not. Advancement to date in the United States in prevention and treat-ment has been slow, yet the record shows that quantitative methods for determining the degree of hazard and means for decreasing it were being developed as far back as 25 years ago; and that more rapid progress may be looked for from now on. In 1908, in this country, F. L Hoffman?(1) discussed the mortality from consumption in dusty trades, especially brass foundries; and in 1913 E. R. Hayhurst(2) described the effects of inhalation

Jan 1, 1933

By D. E. Wolfson, H. J. Gluskoter, M. R. Geer, John A. Harrison, H. F. Yancey, I. S. Latimer

When this chapter was prepared for the kst edition in 1942, continuous mining machines virtually were unknown, and hand loading in underground mines, which gave an opportunity to discard impurities, accounted for 55 percent of the production of bituminous coal and lignite as compared with the 1965 figure of 11 percent. Only 24 percent of the total production was cleaned mechanically, compared with the present (1965) figure of 65 percent. The amount of refuse discarded during preparation for the same period increased from 13 to 21 percent. Changes in the equipment used in the cleaning process were as follows: [ ] Unclassified nearly 8 percent. Data on the amount cleaned by flotation was not collected until 1960 when 1.8 million net tons was so treated. In 1965 this figure increased to 6.9 million tons. Although the great increase in mechanization and full seam mining has resulted in substantial increases in the impurity content of the raw coal as well as in a finer size consist, some phases of face preparation are still important, particularly the variability of the distribution and thickness of the interbedded impurities and the changes in the character of the roof and floor from place to place in the mine. Knowledge of these factors in relation to all phases of the mining operation, particularly selective mining, are still of importance to the treatment of raw coal in the preparation plant. The major characteristics of coal and impurities from the standpoint of mechanical cleaning are particle size composition, generally called size consist, density differences, the relative friability of the coal and of its associated impurities, hardness, and strength. Some of the other factors related to preparation are petrographic composition and rank. COAL PROPERTIES Rank Perhaps 95 percent or more of the coal cleaned mechanically is of bituminous rank. Only a very small tonnage is subbituminous and prac-

Jan 1, 1968

By Benjamin Smith Lyman

THE importance of topography to geology is so commonly underrated as to deserve to be pointed out again and again. The relation of topography to the different branches of geology may be seen best by a glance at them all. Geology is well understood to consist of the observation of facts about rocks as materials of the earth (geognosy ), and the explanation of those facts (geogeny). The facts to observe are: I. GEOMETRICAL, as (1) structure, including the dip and strike at different points, the size, shape, and position of basins and saddles; (2) vertical section, that is, the thickness of rock groups and of their parts ; (3) horizontal or geographical position. II. PHYSICAL, such as texture, whether sedimentary or crystalline ; and, if crystalline, whether granitic, porphyritic, amygdaloidal, globular, or concretionary; whether compact or granular; coarse or fine; pervious or impervious; hard or soft; firm or tender; with cleavage or without; massive or thin; the microscopic structure; also whether magnetic or not; soluble or insoluble; fusible or infusible; and the constituent minerals. III. CHEMICAL, that is, the composition of the rocks and of their minerals and their affinities. IV. PALÆONTOLOGICAL, as what kind of fossils are in the rocks,

Jan 1, 1873

By Forbes K. Wilson

Dick Hunt is known for having said, "Ore bodies are found but mines are made." This was certainly true of the Ertsberg-it was stumbled upon, literally, by a group of mountain climbers, but to develop it into a mine took 12 years of concerted effort. For more than a century, explorers had attempted to penetrate the jungles of New Guinea and climb the snow-covered Mt. Carstensz, named for a Dutch navigator who first saw it in 1620. But the first to succeed was the Colijn expedition which reached the 5030-m (16,500-ft) pinnacle in December 1936 after starting out from the south coast57 days earlier. Members of that expedition were A. H. Colijn and Jean Jacques Dozy, employees of Shell Oil Co., and Lt. Wissel, a pilot in the Royal Dutch Navy.

Jan 6, 1977

By Max Mason

IN 1923 a Western mining company was experimenting with the device of an inventor designed to locate buried ores by radio. Because the progress was slow and the results were confusing, the company began to doubt the usefulness of the method and invited me to review the whole question of the application of physics to ore detection. I was fortunate in securing the cooperation of several physicists who had worked with me during the war on the problem of submarine detection. This group has been increased and has been studying the problem of physical exploration for ores since that time. It was evident that the problem is a big one, with many angles of approach. Its general features may be set down, in rough outline, as follows: The soils, rocks and ores hidden beneath the surface differ, one from another in many respects. These differences may be made to furnish a clew for the physicists working from the surface. To bring these differences into action the physicist creates some kind of an effect, which penetrates into the ground and is distorted and, reflected when it meets boundaries between different sorts of underground structure. In other words, he sends a message down, and the rocks and ore send back signals in, reply. In picturing this process, we should not regard the ground as dense and impenetrable. The kind of messages used pass through the earth about as readily as a sound wave travels the air. If, then, the fundamental procedure is to shout down questions in the hope that an orebody will hear and answer back to us, it is clear that a large part of the expert's study must relate to the kind of questions best suited to the temperament and intelligence of orebodies. It will be easier for the ore to, reply to some of our questions than to others, and it is for us to find the right questions. In certain cases, we are-spared the necessity of using a messenger, because nature has already provided one. For example, we already have a terrestrial magnetic field which auto-matically and continually conveys messages from underneath. We also have available the earth's gravitational field which furnishes us

Jan 1, 1927

The Institute maintains a dual relationship with students: (1) an individual relationship with a Student Associate; and (2) a relationship with local organizations of students, known as Affiliated Student Societies or Student Chapters. 1. The conditions of Student Associateship are set forth in Section 9, Article I, of the Bylaws of the Institute (see page 64 and following pages). During 1934, sundry amendments were made for the purpose of improving the student relationship. Postgraduate students are now eligible; and associateship can be maintained, with the payment of the regular dues of $2 per year, for 18 months following graduation in June. With his regular dues, each Student Associate is entitled to receive during the year his choice of MINING AND METALLURGY, METALS TECHNOLOGY, MINING TECHNOLOGY, PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY, or two "classes" of Technical

Jan 1, 1943

By J. W. Stewart

ONE of the postwar problems posed for mineral engineering educators is the desire of some mature student veterans to finish their college education under the G. I. Bill of Rights as quickly as possible, a desire that is quite understandable. Not only have they lost several years of education, which they wish to make up as quickly as possible, but many are married and have families and want to become productive as soon as possible in order to support their families properly. The obvious solution to this problem, if it really is serious, would appear to be a continuation of the wartime Accelerated Program, as it was carried on in most colleges and universities. As a matter of fact some schools are known to have continued their wartime programs in one or another form. To ascertain just what our mineral engineering schools generally are doing to meet this postwar problem, last April a questionnaire was sent to administrative officers at colleges and universities

Jan 1, 1946

By R. H. Richman, F. Borik

A 0.3 pct C-12 pct Cr-6 pct Ni steel was rolled to 93 pct reduclion in area as austenite at 510°C, and then partially transformed as desired to ~rlartensite by qnenching to - 196°C. Pole figures for the austenitic matrix and for the martensitic product were separately determined by an X-ray transmission method. The deforitration texture of' the warm-worked austenite is characlerized by (110)(225) components, and is thus closely similar to those produced in a brasses. The pole jigure of the martensite in partially transformed material agrees well with that which can be constructed by transfortnation of the {110)(225) orientations according to either the Kuvdjuniov- Sacks or the Nishi-yatuu relatiotship. Howeuer, an important result of this construction is that me-third of the predicted orientations are missing. A graphical analysis can then be used to show that in deformed austenite certain crystallographic variants of martensite (related to the most probable austenite slip systems) are suppressed, resulting in this preferred transformation. The evidence for preferred transformation is corroborated by the measured elastic anisotropy of warm-rolled and fully transformed H-11 steel. EXTENSIVE plastic deformation of a polycrystal-line aggregate in a manner that causes flow predominantly in one direction results in a preferred orientation of the constituent crystallites. The particular orientations that are produced depend upon the crystal structure and composition of the material, as well as upon the temperature, mode, and degree of deformation; in any case, the preferred crystallo-graphic orientations, or textures, are reflected in directionality of mechanical properties. Although such anisotropy may be exploited in certain specialized applications, it is more commonly diminished or eliminated by heat treatment lest it interfere undesirably in subsequent forming operations or in structural design. In the recently developed thermomechanical treatments that significantly enhance the strength of some steels,1,2 considerable deformation of the metastable austenite prior to the martensite transformation is essential to the strengthening process. If the austenite is textured by the deformation, and if the transformation to martensite proceeds according to one of the relationships established for transformation in annealed austenite, then it must be expected that the martensite will also possess a preferred orientation even though the multiplicity of martensite orientations possible in a given austen- ite crystal will tend to restore some degree of randomness. The existence of a residual anisotropy, both mechanical 3-6 and crystallographic,' has been substantiated. In the latter crystallographic investigation, preferred orientations were determined for the martensitic structure of an SAE 4340 steel rolled 72 pct as austenite at 833°C and then quenched. However, the choice of a composition that transformed almost completely to martensite during the quench to room temperature did not permit direct measurement of the prior austenitic texture. In fact, when the "ideal orientations'' associated with well-known fcc rolling textures were converted, alone or in combination, to martensite according to the Kur-djumov-Sachs (K-s)' or Nishiyama8 relations, the agreement obtained with the observed martensite texture was only fair at best. Recently a pertinent aspect of the austenite to martensite transformation was reported by Bokros and parker,10 who found that certain habit-plane variants of martensite were suppressed by tensile deformation of Fe-31.7 Ni single crystals prior to the necessary subzero cooling. It might be anticipated that the consequences of such preferred transformation are sustained during the formation of martensite in warm-worked austenite that has a well-developed deformation texture. The present investigation was undertaken first to establish more firmly the relation between preferred orientations in plastically deformed austenite and in the resulting martensite, and second to examine the textures for evidence of deformation-induced preferred transformation. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES An alloy containing 0.3 pct C, 12 pct Cr, 6 pct Ni, and the balance iron, was selected because the mar-tensite-start temperature (M,) of about -100°C allowed convenient experimental manipulation of either austenite or martensite at room temperature. Furthermore, this composition can be readily deformed as metastable austenite at moderately elevated temperatures without intervention of appreciable isothermal or athermal decomposition products. The alloy was austenitized at 1150°C, aircooled to 510°C, rolled unidirectionally at this temperature to 93 pct reduction of cross-sectional area, and finally oil-quenched to room temperature. Partial transformation to martensite was accomplished by quenching to -196°C as needed. The rolled stock was reduced in thickness from 0.067 to 0.010 in. by etching in a solution of 5 pct HC1, 45 pct HNO3, and 50 pct water, and further thinned by careful mechanical polishing to maintain the two sides of the sheet parallel within 0.0003 in. After mechanical polishing to 0.005 in., electropolishing in 1:9 perchloric-acetic acid solution produced a final thickness of 0.002 in. The preferred orientations were determined from

Jan 1, 1968

By P. C. Kapur

A principal first-order and a minor summation term contribute to the solution to the discretized batch-grinding equation when formulated in cumulative retained mode. Depending on the inter relations hips between the selection and breakage parameters, the minor term may be advantageously modified in a number of ways. The reduced grinding equations thus obtained are solved by iterations to give relatively simple solutions which are tested against experimental data. The irn-plications and advantages of the reduced grinding equations are briefly discussed. In many instances, the trajectory of the particle-size distribution in a batch mill may be extracted from a set of particle mass balance equations as follows

Jan 1, 1971

By E. A. Barnard

ARSENIC is a very old substance. The ancients speak of it in their writings, and its use has developed very little until recent years. The ancients used it in making pigments, in medicine, and for poison. They also tell of the difficulties of handling it-an experience which is very similar to our own. Until about 10 years ago, arsenic was very cheap and was a drug on the market. About that time the boll weevil began making serious inroads on the American cotton crops, and after much investigation the Depart-ment of Agriculture developed a very successful poison for this pest, consisting of calcium arsenate. The weevil pest has continued, and as the cotton planters have become convinced that calcium arsenate is the best material to use against the weevil, the demands for it have been steadily increasing, resulting not only in a rising price of arsenic but in a very serious shortage so far as our country is concerned. So serious has this shortage become, and so vital is it to the cotton growing industry, that Congress has appointed a committee to investigate and report on the situation. A meeting of arsenic producers and consumers was held in New York last December to take stock of the situation and to see what could be done. The extreme increase in, the market price of arsenic-from 6 c. to 15 c. per lb. in less than a year-has been very harmful to the producers as well as to the consumers. Some very interesting' data were brought out at this meeting, as follows: CONSUMPTION PER YEAR, SHORT TONS Arsenate of lead 2,000 Paris green 1,200 Proprietary mixtures 750 Sheep dips : 1,000 Weed killers 1,500 Glass : 2,000 8,450 1922 Consumption as calcium arsenate 4,000 12,450 1923 Estimated consumption as calcium arsenate... 12,000 Estimated 1923 consumption 20,450

Jan 8, 1923

By Donald E. Cummings

MEASURES appropriate for the control of the silicosis hazard in mining cannot be formulated precisely, but sufficient has accumulated during the past quarter century to permit the suggestion of useful, though partly empirical, rules for its alleviation. The industrial hygienist today recognizes that the peril incurred by the inhalation of harmful dust is a function of two variable factors-the degree of harmful exposure and the specific susceptibility of the exposed individual to pulmonary injury. Control of the danger arising out of prolonged contact with pernicious air- borne particulate matter is consequently best exercised by influencing both of these recognized variables. Obviously the problem has two broad aspects-one, medical; the other within the province of the engineer. I-FACTORS COMPRISING THE DEGREE OF INDIVIDUAL SUSCEPTIBILITY Thorough investigations conducted among miners who have labored for years in the presence of recognized silicosis hazards usually reveal an impressive difference in the injury incurred by men whose exposure to dust has been nearly identical. After a quarter century underground, one individual is short of breath and incapacitated with miners' complaint, while a fellow workman suffers no pulmonary embarrassment and is in good health. Physicians ascribe this oft-observed difference in reaction to individual susceptibility and express a universal regret when they deplore the fate that chose to make the predisposed youth a miner rather than a farmer. To trust the health of miners to fate at the present time is even more unfortunate, because many of the factors that influence man's susceptibility to dust are known, and can be accurately determined by competent medical methods. Among the most important factors comprising susceptibility to injury by dust are the anatomical peculiarities of the individual's respiratory mechanism, his physiological response to the inhalation of dust, his previous dust exposure, the existence of pulmonary infections or other pathological processes in his lungs, his age,

Jan 1, 1938

By Raymond Wilson

GRINDING costs are an important item in cement manufacture, and the cost of power is one of the large items in grinding costs. Even where power is of secondary importance, cost items dependent on mill capacity are influenced by the efficiency with which the mill uses power. Tube mills typify the grinding mills most generally used in cement plants, though other types are in use. Tube mills have been widely criticized as being extremely inefficient, and this feeling regarding them has led to many attempts to design more efficient grinding equipment. Other types may be an improvement over tube mills, but the improvement has certainly not been revolutionary, at least as applied to clinker grinding. The very fact that there is doubt regarding the relative efficacy of various types of mills is an indication that an adequate basis for an analysis of performance is lacking. The development of methods of analyzing mill performance has been hampered by the lack of a suitable method for measuring the work actu-ally done in pulverizing. There has been no acceptable standard to which mill performance might be compared. As a consequence, it was not known whether the margin of possible improvement in pulverizing operations was large or small. Even direct comparison of different types of mills was seldom possible because most plants had only one type of mill for each type of service. Comparisons between plants were difficult because of differences in the grinding characteristics of various clinkers. Some recent developments complete a chain of circumstances that place the cement, industry in a particularly fortunate position for the study of its clinker-pulverizing operations. Modern investigators of grinding phenomena have generally agreed that the best measure of mill performance is the production of new surface. For most materials this measure of performance is largely theoretical and has a rather remote connection with the practical aims of the grinding operation. In clinker grinding, on the other hand, surface area is intimately connected with the properties conferred on the cement by grinding. Moreover, the determination of surface area is rapidly coming into routine use as a test

Jan 1, 1937

By Edward B. Durham

At the Richmond mecting in February, 1901, I presented for discussion the proposed rail-specifications of Committee No. 1 of the American Section of the International Association for Testing Materials, with a review of their work, and other matters relating to the heat-treatment and chemical composition of steel (Trans., xxxi., 455). In order to bring out the views of our members on the important points referred to, I offered for discussion the following questions and comments (trans., xxxi., 972): " 1. The advantages to be gained by using more metal in the flanges and web of the heavier sections of rails.

Jan 1, 1903