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By Perry Olcott

The Texas Gulf Coast had a rather disappointing year in the type of oil fields found. Although 17 fields were found in the area during the year, as against 21 fields in 1938, no field of major proportion was discovered. Of these 17 fields, 11 were oil fields, 4 were gas and distillate fields, and 2 were gas fields. The wildcat activity for the year resulted in about 400 dry holes, although probably 10 per cent of these were edge wells close to proved areas. During the year, 1455 oil and gas wells were completed as compared to 1637 wells in 1938, a decrease of 11 per cent. Production for the Texas Gulf Coast area for the year was 100,253,937 bbl. as against 92,530,467 bbl. produced in 1938, an increase of 8 per cent. The daily average production was 274,668 bbl. for the 365 days in the year, although only 252 producing days were allowed by the Railroad Commission; that is, 69 per cent of the time as compared to 71 days shut in for 80 per cent of the time producing in 1938. The total number of oil and distillate wells producing at the end of 1939 was 9495 as against 8451 at the end of 1938—an increase of 1044 wells, or 12 per cent. Of these wells, 6547 were flowing and 2948 pumping, or 69 per cent flowing. At the end of the previous year, 66 per cent of the wells were flowing. New Fields Angleton, Brazoria County.—The Angleton field was discovered by the completion of Glen McCarthy's No. 1 Carr in October for an initial production of 180 bbl. a day of 50" gravity oil through 11/64-in. choke with 3400 Ib. on tubing. The field is 1½ miles east of the town of Anchor. The discovery undoubtedly can be credited to the reflection seismograph, since several companies worked the area from 1933 onward with this type of exploration. The principal block was taken by the Humble company in 1934. Two deep holes by Humble revealed the presence of structure, although both were dry. The Humble and Sun companies later contributed money and acreage toward the drilling of the discovery well. The production is from a sand in the Frio, about 1700 ft.

Jan 1, 1940

By E. O. Kirkendall

THE investigation reported herein was undertaken to obtain data to supplement those presented in an earlier paper,' particularly for longer times at a higher temperature. This information may further develop our knowledge of the mechanism of diffusion in substitutional solid solutions. Diffusion of solute atoms interstitially dissolved is not difficult to visualize; it can take place without much disturbance of the solvent atoms. The mechanism of diffusion of solute atoms substitutionally dissolved is not so easily understood. Many theories have been advanced. Rosenhain,2.3 Frenkel,4 Smekal,5 Langmuir,3,6 Steigman, Shockley and Nix,7 and Johnson8 all proposed theories to explain diffusion. Langmuir's proposed mechanism consisted of a simple cyclic interchange of atoms involving an interchange in lattice positions of four or more atoms. This mechanism, accepted by the author at the time of his previous publication,' and apparently quite generally accepted, required a net exchange in positions of both solute and solvent atoms in equal numbers. In other words, the rate of diffusion of the solvent and solute atoms would be the same. That this cyclic interchange in lattice positions of solute and solvent atoms in equal numbers is the only true mechanism of diffusion is denied by the evidence presented in this paper. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE This modification of similar procedure1 will be outlined briefly. The method consisted of the following steps: I. A pure Muntz metal (60.6 per cent Cu, 0.1 per cent total impurities) that was almost all beta brass at 780°C. was chosen. 2. The brass was turned between centers in a lathe to a diameter of 0.5965 inches. 3. After the brass was cleaned, it was electroplated with pure copper to a diameter of about one inch. 4. The sample was heated slowly to 400°C. under reduced pressure and held at that temperature for 4 hr. to remove occluded gases. It was then cooled to room temperature. 5. The sample was heated to 780°C. ±3°C. and held at that temperature for different lengths of time; then quenched. Samples were cut off each time after quenching. Metallographic samples 34 in. thick were removed at I hr., 6 hr., 24 hr., 96 hr. and 701 hr. After 96 and 701 hr. samples of about I in. were removed for X-ray analysis. 6. The metallographic samples were polished on the cross section and photo-micrographs were taken. 7. The I-in. samples were polished and etched on both ends. With the aid of a microscope each was carefully mounted in a four-jaw chuck in a lathe, so that they could be accurately bored for an arbor. 8. Turnings were taken for each X-ray sample. After each set of turnings, the sample was heated in an oil bath for about 3a hr. at 300°C. It was then etched in 25

Jan 1, 1942

By Oswald J. Heinrich

The deposit of rock salt along the shores of Lake Huron, in Canada, has been brought before the public during the last six months, in consequence of the developments made by the diamond drill at Goderich. It is likely to be of more than common interest in the future, since now actual operations have been commenced to exploit the deposit and work it by regular mining. The methods of mining rock salt being but little known in this country, it may be of interest to make a few general remarks in regard to them before entering, upon the description of this new mining enterprise. According to the conditions under which salt is .found in nature, various methods have been resorted to, in course of time, to make it available for the human race. They consist in: A. Natural or solar evaporation. B. Artificial evaporation, either exclusively or in connection with the former. C. Mining the rock salt in its natural state, and converting it to a marketable product, if need be, by simply pulverizing it. Without going into the details of the various methods of making salt available in an economical point of view, dependent on its degree of pority, or on various local influences, we cannot refrain from alluding to the general principles which influence the mining and manufacturing of salt in countries where they have been carried on for hundreds of years. ECONOMICAL CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESS. Salt being one of the articles of prime necessity, and one universally distributed throughout nature, it must always be sold at a comparatively low price. It would even be quoted in the market at prices far below those now ruling, if it were not for the high duties generally imposed upon it, for purposes of state revenues. But looking closer into the subject, it will be found that this duty is probably one of the least oppressive, although in some countries it exceeds sixfold the cost of profitable production. To produce the article at the lowest possible cost requires, therefore, a

Jan 1, 1879

By Ralph Monaghan, Arthur Youmans

General principles of scintillation counter-type instruments for radioactivity logging are discussed and the various possible causes for instability are examined. It is shown how instrumentation problems are solved. Means are discussed for minimizing drift and instability due to "fatigue" of the photomultiplier tube and neutron activation of the crystals. INTRODUCTION Neutron and gamma-ray logs made with logging instruments employing scintillation counters are now routinely available from most of the logging service companies. The superior characteristics of scintillation counters by comparison with older types of detectors promises to bring about important improvements in quantitative interpretation of radioactivity logs. Moreover, new types of logs can be made with scintillation counters which are not possible with other detectors. But in spite of the obvious superiority of these counters with respect to efficiency, speed, and versatility, they suffer from a number of inherent difficulties and weak- nesses. Unless these inherent diffi-culties are fully recognized and satisfactorily overcome by sound engineering of the associated instrumentation, scintillation counter logs are particularly likely to exhibit drift and instability of sensitivity. This defect in logs when they are intended for quantitative interpretation is intolerable and more than outweighs any advantages over the older type of instrumentation when the latter is operating correctly. SCINTILLATION COUNTER OPERATION In general all radioactivity logging instruments consist of a detector sensitive to gamma radiation or to neutron radiation coming from the strata. This radioactivity is either due to naturally decaying radioactive elements in the rock, radioactivity induced in the rock by a neutron source in the instrument, or scattering by the rock of neutrons or gamma rays coming from a source in the instrument. In the scintillation counter the gamma radiation or neutron radiation reacts with the scintillation phosphor to produce light pulses. These light pulses are then converted to amplified electrical pulses by the multiplier phototube. Basically the problem of making a good scintillation counter logging instrument is to make the radiation sensitivity of the system as nearly constant as possible. The size of each scintillation counter pulse is dependent on the energy of the individual quantum of radiation being detected. In normal radiation logging, gamma rays of all energies, up to some maximum value, reach the detector. If a suitable scintillator is used, such as a sodium iodide crystal, each gamma ray produces a number of photons proportional to the energy absorbed by the crystal from the impinging radiation. The light flashes are detected by means of a photo-multiplier tube which contains not only a photo-sensitive cathode from which photoelectrons are collected, but also an amplifier, called an electron multiplier, built inside the photomultiplier tube; the electron multiplier usually has about 10 stages, having an over-all gain of perhaps 500,000. In an ordinary gamma-ray log one wishes to detect all gamma rays down to the lowest possible energy; therefore, one wishes only to reject the "noise" pulses which are invariably present due to thermal emission of electrons from the photo-cathode of the photomultiplier. In other radioactivity logs it may be desired to measure the radiation within a particular energy band, or above

Jan 1, 1958

By P. van Meurs

This paper describes a technique which permits visual observation of oil displacement processes througlrout the interior of a porous structure as thick as 2 in. A model having glass walls is filled with finely powdered glass. Such a model becomes completely transparent if the powdered glass pack is saturated with an oil having the same refractive index as the glass. When water or gar, with a refractive index different from that of the oil (glass) is injected, the model becomes opaque in the space occupied by the water (gar). visual observation and photography of these displacement processes are thus rendered possible. The following processes have been studied: (I) displacement of oil by water (linear drive) in a homo-geneous formation and in a stratified formation, (2) water flooding (five-spot well pattern), (3) solution gas-drive process, and (4) oil-bank formation. INTRODUCTION Most of the scaled model experiments heretofore carried out in the Koninklijke/Shell Laboratorium, Amsterdam, have been done in steel containers, in which oil-saturated sand packs represented the oil-bearing formation. In such experiments, for instance those on the displacement of oil by water, the cumulative oil production was measured as a function of the cumulative water injection. In order to interpret the measured production data, a need has for some time been felt for a means of observing visually what happens in the course of such experiments. Some information of this kind was obtained earlier by observing the water-oil distribution in various cross sections of the sand after the conclusion of the experiment.' However, the technique used did not guarantee that the fluid distribution remained undisturbed. Moreover, the procedure was somewhat elaborate and the information obtained limited. Therefore a new technique has been developed, which is described below. DESCRIPTION OF EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUE AND APPARATUS Glass models simulating part of an oil reservoir are filled with ground Pyrex glass of a specific grain size, representing the porous structure of the prototype. Before an experiment is started, the porous formation has to be saturated completely with an oil having exactly the same refractive index as the Pyrex glass powder. All light-scattering surfaces of the glass grains become invisible and the formation is then transparent. If the oil is displaced by another fluid (e.g. by water in a water-drive experiment, or by gas liberated from the oil in a solution gas-drive experiment) the formation becomes opaque in the region where the oil is expelled from the rock.* The back of the apparatus is painted black and illumination is from the front; therefore, in the photographs of the experiments, the oil-bearing formation appears black, whereas the water- or gas-invaded areas are white.

Jan 1, 1958

By T. B. Counselman

AfteR several years study, the Universal Atlas Cement Co. decided to rebuild its plant at Leeds, Alabama. The entire old plant, which was to operate during the new construction, was then to be scrapped with the exception of two kilns. The quarry was to be mechanized, new and larger kilns installed, with the most modern type of equipment all through the plant. Raw grinding operations at all of the Universal Atlas plants were dry. However, the dust hazard of this operation and the growing emphasis on occupational diseases made wet grinding attractive. Coal at Leeds is cheap, so that a slightly higher coal practice was unimportant. Power was cheap, so that waste-heat boilers were not desirable. Since new kilns were to be installed, these could be made long enough to make filters unnecessary. Wet raw grinding could be either the old practice of open-circuit compartment mills or closed-circuit grinding in accordance with metal-lurgical practice. The latter saved power and steel wear and saved initial investment. This had been demonstrated in cement plants. Also, the elimination of tramp oversize was a most important advantage. Ease of chemical control was another factor. Blending in the thickener, with elimination of slurry mixers had been found practicable. Therefore, if wet raw grinding were used at all, the advantages were clearly in favor of closed-circuit grinding. Detailed layouts of the most modern possible closed-circuit dry-grinding plant and of a closed-circuit wet-grinding plant were prepared, and careful estimates were made of initial investment and operating costs. Full consideration of all the factors involved resulted in a decision to install wet closed-circuit grinding. The capacity of the new kilns was established at 4000 bbl. per day. Two new kilns were installed, each with a capacity of 80 bbl. per hour. Since 625 lb. of raw material is required to make a barrel of finished cement, the capacity of the grinding plant for the new kilns had to average only 1250 tons per day. Sufficient additional grinding capacity had to be provided for the two remaining old kilns, or their possible replacement by a third new kiln. The grinding rate, therefore, was set at 90 tons per

Jan 1, 1939

By Albert R. Ledoux

I AM indebted to The Kaolin Co. of West Cornwall, Conn., and particularly to its engineer, Mr. M. Wanner, for permission to make public, through the Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, the interesting results of his experiments, having in view the winning of kaolin from deep deposits without shaft-sinking or removing of the overburden. So far as I am aware, nothing like it has been accomplished heretofore, although it reminds one of the methods successfully employed in Louisiana for the winning of sulphur from deep beds by the sinking of pipes one within another, injecting superheated steam under pressure through one pipe, the heat of the steam liquefying the sulphur and the pressure forcing it up through the other pipe to bins at the surface. The kaolin-deposit at Nest Cornwall is an alteration in situ-that is, it is not sedimentary. A series of clay-veins dipping about 500 from the vertical, lie between a foot-wall of limonite and a hanging-wall of gneiss and hornblende schist. The clay-veins alternate with veins or seams of more or less broken quartz, and unaltered feldspar. The deposit, which occurs at a point about 600 ft. above the Housatonic river, was opened five years ago, and about 5,000 tons of a superior grade of washed kaolin has been extracted from open pits and sold. It soon became evident that this node of extracting the product would prove unremunerative, by reason of the dip of the vein and the intercalary strata and lenses of -quartz, and a more satisfactory method of working the deposit was sought. It is well understood, that, in the preparation of all clays for market, especially residuary kaolin, the most important as well as the most difficult step is the washing of the crude product. The difficulties increase with the percentage of foreign matter, especially quartz and mica, contained in the product, hence a sys-

May 1, 1906

By F. V. Lenel

Two years ago in Chicago a seminar was held on the theory of sintering of pure metal powders. As an introduction to this seminar D,.. Rhines1 gave an excellent survey of the literature on this subject, His method of presentatioll was to summarize the experimental observations on sintering and from them to develop a composite theory of sintering in which he combined all the important contributions to the theory into one organic whole. In contrast to the mechanism of sintering of pure metal powders, which, of course, al\vays takes place in the solid phase, sintering j,, the presence of a liquid phase, cannot be treated as one unified mechanism, such as the sintering mechanism of pure metals. The reason is that there are really several mechanisms depending upon the type of alloy system which is sintered and the field of its con. stitutional diagram ill which the sintering takes place, Two mechanisms have heen investigated and will be reviewed in this paper. Ill the first lnechanism the liquid is presellt during the entire time while the compacts are at the sintering temperature, In other words they are sintered between the liquidus and the solidus of the alloy system and are ~e~erogelleous during the entire sintering cycle. The second mechallism applies to alloys in which the liquid phase is formed during the sintering process, but disappears before the sintering process is completed through diffusion and formation of a solid solution. These alloys are therefore homogeneous at the end of the sintering cycle. This second mechanism is more complicated because of the two stages of sintering, the liquid and the solid, as they may be called. It is therefore not surprising that the few detailed investigations of sintering in the presence of a liquid phase have been concerned with heterogeneous sintered alloys, namely the tungsten-nickel-sinter ing which is the so-called "heavy alloy," and the cemented carbides. The mechanism of sintering of these systems is characterized by the fact that theoretical or near theoretical density is attained during sintering, while simultaneously a distinct grain growth takes place through solution of the smallest grains of the solid phase in the liquid phase and reprecipitation on the larger grains. In the first part of the survey this sintering mechanism which is called for short the heavy alloy mechanism is treated in detail. In the second part Of the survey experimental observations for the sintering of homogeneous sintered alloys where the liquid phase disappears before the completion of sintering are discussed. Much less systematic work has been done on these alloys to which the conlmercially important Porous bronzes and the iron-nickel-aluminum permanent magnet alloys belong. Emphasis will be laid throughout this survey upon the microstructural and density changes during sintcring because the Sintering mechanism can usually be described directly by these changes. Other

Jan 1, 1949

By Will Mitchell, Ford F. Miskell, C. L. Sollenberger

THE taconites in general are hard, tough ores, difficult to grind. Liberation of iron mineral constituents usually is accomplished by grinding the ore through at least 100 mesh, and often it has been found necessary to grind substantially through 325 mesh to achieve satisfactory recovery and grade in the concentration process. Because of the fineness of grind required and the enormous tonnages of material contemplated for treatment in the future, costs resulting from grinding media wear and power consumption, together with capital investment required for comminution, approach astronomical figures. Economy in any one of these elements per ton of material ground could very well reflect a considerable saving to the ferrous industry in yearly costs. With this in mind, the Research Laboratories of Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co. have launched a program to discover means of effecting this economy. The initial phase of the work as described here deals with a heat treatment of crushed raw ore, followed by thermal shock in cooling, for the preparation of rod mill feed. Several investigators 1-5 have noted an improvement in the grindabilities of ores treated in this manner. One investigator2 subjected low grade iron ores to heat treatment in an electric furnace. Basing his conclusions on screen analyses of crushed products, he observed that treated ore was more easily crushed than the untreated. He reported that observation of the treated and untreated ore through a microscope revealed cracks following the grain boundaries in treated ore, whereas no cracks were present in untreated ore. However, few if any have quantified the improvement in terms of total hp hours saved, reduction of wear of grinding media, or reduction of capital costs of grinding equipment involved. By means of Bond rod mill and ball mill grindabilities6 and by comparative wear tests, the conditions maintained during this investigation have been definitely evaluated. Heat treatment experiments have been made on a batch scale in a muffle furnace, followed by continuous scale experiments in a rotary kiln under various conditions of temperature, atmosphere, retention time, and quenching to determine the combination that would give the greatest improvement in the grindability of a taconite without affecting adversely the magnetic susceptibility of the magnetite. From these data, relative costs have been calculated for grinding both untreated and heat treated ore on a basis of plant capacity of 120 tons per hour. Heat requirements for a rotary kiln, as well as the kiln capacity required for the treatment, have been estimated. For these tests 50 tons of ore were obtained from the Aurora mine of the Erie Mining Co., Hibbing, Minn. The ore was reported' to have been selected from the magnetic portion of the lower chert horizons. An average chemical analysis of this portion is shown in Table I and an approximate mineralogical analysis is shown in Table II. No attempt was made to differentiate between the various silicates because the compositions vary widely on the different horizons and depend on the degree of oxidation. Minnesotite, however, is the predominant silicate. The siderite grains were dispersed throughout the ore but were essentially associated with the rock-forming minerals. In a series of preliminary tests in which batches of -6 mesh ore were heat-treated in a muffle fur-

Jan 1, 1952

T.P. 1958 D. H. DAVIS.*-Mr. Carris has ably pre¬sented the problems of coal preparation, particularly those brought about as the result of increased mechanical loading. Many mines are now crushing the run-of¬-mine raw coal through 12 or 15 in. immediately after it is dumped from the mine car and before it is handled by conveyors. At certain mines the removal of large slate mechanically has been solved by the installation of scalping screens consisting of bars or rails set at spacing of 12 to 15 in. on the top deck of the main raw-coal sizing screen. At the plants where these are in use, the plus 12 or I5-in. raw material contains 60 per cent or more free rock or slate, so that it is easier to pick coal than to pick rock. After the screening at 12 or 15 in. is accomplished, the oversize material is diverted to one side of the shaker, where a picker allows the refuse to pass off the shaker into a chute and guides the coal back onto the shaker. After the large rock has been removed, it is then advisable to reduce the size of rock by crushing before putting it onto a conveyor. A great saving in picking labor has been made by the use of such scalping screens, which in addition has maintained the plant capacity when handling a dirtier feed. The great increase in percentage of coal under 1/4 or 3/8 in., coupled with a greatly increased percentage of free impurities in this size, is the most serious problem that has been brought about by mechaniced loading. Many plants that formerly prepared good quality 1/4-in. to o or 3/8-in. to 0 slack by air¬cleaning are faced with installing facilities for wet-cleaning mechanical and heat-drying and water clarification. The change to wet prepa¬ration of fines usually affects the marketing problems for many coal companies. There will also be problems involving wastage of fine solids and stream pollution. Much work will be necessary for improvements in present practice. Pneumatic and electrostatic methods for cleaning fine coal should receive consider¬able attention in an attempt to avoid wet¬cleaning of fines. The preparation supervisor and the plant personnel should not be satisfied merely to run the cleaning-plant machinery and assume that the job will be done for them. Coal is a heterogeneous substance and in many instances is constantly changing. This is more true when full-seam methods are in use. Only persons trained to observe closely and make the necessary changes in plant operation will be able to solve the many problems that will be imposed on the preparation plants. The plants will require skillful and observant operating men. With full-seam mining methods, seams of roof coal will often be mined. Under the former mining systems these strata were not mined and frequently they contain a high per¬centage of bony and banded partings. The mining of this coal will greatly alter the washability and specific gravity characteristics of the feed to the plant. Often the percentage of 1.40 to 1.60 sp. gr. increased from 3.5 to 7.5 per cent, or nearly a 1.0 per cent increase in the ash content of the 1.60 sp. gr. float coal. Thus the cleaning problem is much more difficult, and it is unlikely the same ash content of cleaned coal can be produced as before without a decrease in recovery or the produc¬tion of a "middlings" product. Mr. Carris had this in mind when he said "The quality of the

Jan 1, 1946

By David W. Wisecarver, James F. Reynolds

INTRODUCTION The Department of Energy is cooperating with Snowmass Coal Company near Carbondale, Colorado to introduce the longwall mining method in moderate to steeply pitching coal seams in the United States. This venture is part of a coal mining research program directed toward development, trial, and analysis of mining technique8 to improve production and recovery in the more difficult mining conditions such as thick, multiple, and steeply pitchly seams found in the Western U.S. The project at Snowmass is the first attempt in the United States to operate a longwall in a steep coal seam. Plans are to mine three adjacent, successively downslope panels in the eight foot thick seam which varies in pitch from 27 to 33 degrees. During this work, researchers and mine engineers are expected to obtain answers to many engineering questions relative to panel design and development, selection of face equipment and beet operating techniques and procedures. They are also committed to obtaining hard data on costs, recovery, production, safety, and behavior of underground mine structure as the three panels are mined. This information is essential to future mine engineering and profitable mining of pitching Western coal reserves. Development of the first trial panel was begun in 1979 and completed in June 1981. The longwall mining equipment was then installed in the starting room and retreat mining begun on August 11, 1981. Project duration is expected to be about five years during which over tm million tons of coal will be produced. TRAINING The longwall mining method is new to Snowmass. For years the mine produced coal by room and pillar methods using conventional techniques to mine upslope rooms and Alpine F6A miners to cut entries and rooms on strike. Miners were experienced in room and - pillar mining from other mines. News of the longwall demonstration was received enthusiastically by Snowmass miners. Employee interest in the project was 100%. However, there was minimal longwall experience on site. In fact, most of the work force had not even seen a longwall. Mine and company management were well aware of the immediate need to develop trained longwall face mining crews and maintenance people qualified to work on longwall equipment and also expertise in longwall planning, equipment selection, power distribution design, ventilation requirements and panel development. The first approach to answer this huge deficiency in longwall mining experience was obviously training. Hence a training program directed toward those mining specifics most urgent to the beginning mining phases was initiated in mid-1980. Classroom lectures and hands on training, using instructors from equipment suppliers and available company longwall expertise, was conducted in longwall subjects to include face mining procedures, panel development, operation of equipment, equipment assembly and maintenance, electrical circuitry and controls, ventilation, move of longwall equipment, and safety procedures. At the same time, responsible engineers and foremen were sent on a tour of European pitching longwalls to see first hand how other mines working under similar seam conditions conducted their operations. Development techniques, types of equipment, methods for transport of men and materials, and ground control techniques were discussed with engineers, foremen and officials at each mine. This look at European longwall mining operations gave Snowmass good insight into the unique problems associated with longwall mining on 30' pitch. Mining considerations such as face conveyor/ support system slippage downslope, panel development, maintenance, safety considerations, manpower requirements, and haulage methods were covered with European experts

Jan 1, 1982

By W. J. Parton

The efficient recovery and preparation of small sizes of anthracite called No. 4 Buckwheat (3/32 by 1/32 in.) and No. 5 Buckwheat (1/32 in. by 0), pre-sent a difficult problem to the anthracite operators. In many instances preparation of these sizes, particularly No. 5 anthracite, is extremely inefficient. In many of the older preparation plants, inadequate facilities, and often none at all, were provided as an integral part of the plant for cleaning this fine anthracite. Consequently, much of the material smaller than 3/32 in. was discarded. As the demand for these sizes increased, facilities for preparing the fine sizes were often crowded into existing structures with consequent sacrifices of capacities and efficiency. In addition to this condition, the methods of preparing the finest sizes are being developed in an attempt to improve their efficiencies. Because the demand for small sizes of anthracite still is increasing, many operators would benefit by investigating and improving the cleaning equipment employed on these sizes. The object of this paper is to de- scribe a stationary screen device from which the underflow is restricted by orifices, called a launder screen, along with operating results of several applications of this screen; a settling tank in which two classified products are produced by the installation of a cylindrical partition of smaller diameter than the original tank, one product being recovered from the small tank created by the partition and one product from the space between the inner and outer tank walls; a small pocket classifier or hydraulic trap for use in removing high ash particles from a sludge flow; the classification or segregation of sludge solids occurring in a 16 in. diam pipe flow by analysis of samples procured at different zones; and the operating results of a Fahrenwald sizer, as well as the performance of the concentrating tables handling the classified products. These simple devices were employed at the collieries of the Lehigh Navigation Coal Company Incorporated, Lansford. Pa., in order to improve preparation results on the fine sizes of anthracite. Launder Screens The launder screen is a screening and dewatering device which probably could be used advantageously in the flow diagram of many fine coal plants. Fig 1 shows that it consists of a stationary screen constructed by placing 6 in. high partitions every 6 in. along a launder. Holes are then drilled on 6-in. centers across the bottom of the launder to receive pipe bushings of the desired diameter. The screen cloth is tacked on top of the partitions. When water and solids are fed to the screen, only a small portion of the total water is removed through the orifices in each compartment so that the water in the feed is distributed evenly over the whole length of the screen. The screening action which results is very efficient because the solids are kept in a fluid condition for the full length of the screen. Blinding of the screen can be minimized by the use of screen cloth

Jan 1, 1950

By John C. Branner

Stratigraphic Position of the Deposits.—During the progress of the geological survey of Arkansas, in the northern part of that State, it was found that the interval between recognizable Lower Silurian rocks below and recognizable Lower Carboniferous rocks above contains no representatives, or but poor representatives, of the whole Upper Silurian and Devonian series. In some places one passes in the space of a foot from Lower Silurian rocks to the Lower Carboniferous—the Boone chert of the Arkansas survey, or the " Burlington " beds; at other places this interval is 3 or 4 feet thick, but it is generally concealed by the ready decay of the black shale—the Eureka shale—which fills it, so that for a long time it was passed over undetected. It was only after considerable work in the region lying north of the Boston mountains, and by the valuable palzeontologic work of Dr. Henry S. Williams, of Yale University, who kindly accompanied me on a trip through this part of the State, that the importance of this interval came to be recognized, and the thin beds occupying it to be critically studied. It then appeared that this interval was occupied, for the most part, either by a greenish or black shale or by a sandstone; and eventually the sandstone was found to have a maximum thickness of 40 feet on South Sylamore creek in 15 N. 11 W., Section 21. It was, therefore, called Sylamore sandstone. The shale of this interval is generally from 3 to 10 feet thick; it is a constant feature of the geology through Carroll county, and is well exposed in the streets and cuts in and about Eureka Springe, and was for this reason named the Eureka shale. Its maximum thickness is 50 feet in the northwestern part of Benton county. The relations to each other of the Sylamore sandstone and the Eureka shale I have never determined satisfactorily; for

Jan 1, 1897

By J. S. Hegwer, P. M. Dunlap

An improved acid for the treatrrzent of sulfate-con-raining limestones and dolomites is described. The acid is designed to reduce he reprecipitation of dissolved calcium sulfate and the possibility of plugging permeable flow channels. In addition, this improved acid has a much lower reaction rate than that of regular acid; the advantages of a "retarded" acid are obtainable. Field testing of the acid has shown it suitable for use in sulfate-containing formations. Substantial improvements in productivity generally resulted. INTRODUCTION Acid treatments of limestones, dolomites and other formations bearing carbonate deposits are frequently unsuccessful when the calcareous formation contains sulfate, either as anhydrite (CaSO,) or gypsum (CaSO4. 2H2O). Preliminary dissolution in acid followed by redeposition of calcium sulfate appears to be a major factor contributing to poor well performance after acidizing. The precipitate is usually the gypsum form of calcium sulfate, but in higher temperature formations it may be anhydrite. The freshly precipitated crystals are nearly always very small and needle-like. They may occupy a gross volume many times that of the original anhydrite crystals and will obviously constitute an impediment to flow through newly enlarged flow channels. It is believed that the redeposition problem is most severe when anhydrite lines the fracture systems and large pores which supply the effective permeability of a formation. Microscopic inclusions of calcium sulfate also present large sulfate surface areas for dissolution in acid. In either case, great amounts of calcium sulfate may dissolve before the acid can be spent on formation carbonates. For regular spent acid (originally 15 per cent hydrochloric acid) the precipitate could be as much as 270 Ib gypsum/1000 gal acid. Two techniques have been applied by the industry for reducing sulfate plugging during acidizing. The method'.' commonly employed in the field is the attempted removal of a quantity of regular treating acid before it has reacted completely with the formation. This is practiced because the solubility of calcium sulfate is greater in a solution that is still acidic than in one which has been largely spent on the formation rock. The chance of precipitative plugging is therefore reduced if the withdrawal is successful. However, it is often impossible to get the acid out of the formation before precipitation occurs. A second possible method, which at first glance appears practical, involves addition to the acid of sequestering agents which form strong soluble complexes with calcium ions. These chemicals do increase the "solubility" of calcium sulfate in fresh acid, but to a lesser extent in spent acid. The sequestering agents have, therefore, proved unsatisfactory because the amount of sulfate eventually deposited from the spent acid may be greater than that from regular acid. Another logical approach to the problem of calcium sulfate reprecipitation is the prevention of the initial dissolution of calcium sulfate by the common ion effect. This may be accomplished by adding a soluble calcium salt to the fresh acid. The use of calcium salts in treating acids is not entirely new. An earlier suggested use of a soluble calcium salt in hydrochloric acid apparently failed to recognize the full extent to which the solubility of calcium sulfate could be suppressed. The present study extends this earlier work and adds certain improvements toward the development of a practical anti-anhydrite acid. LABORATORY DEVELOPMENT Calcium Sulfate Solubility Table 1 shows the results of a laboratory study performed to establish the effect of calcium chloride concentration on gypsum solubility. Because of the strong tendency of calcium sulfate to form supersaturated solutions, accurate solubilities are difficult to determine. These solubility data probably are reliable to within ± 15 per cent. The solubility of calcium sulfate in 15 weight per cent hydrochloric acid increases with increasing temperature. This trend is also followed in hydrochloric acid which cantains calcium chloride. This is contrary to the solubility behavior of calcium sulfate in water, wherein the solubility decreases with increasing temperature.

By Charles C. Fatino, Joel S. Hirschhorn

Loose compacts of strained and annealed stainless-steel powders were sintered at various temperatures and times to determine the effect of residual strains on the sintering behavior. The atomized powders were prepared by annealing, ball milling, and rean-nealing. The residual strains and domain size were determined by a Fourier analysis of X-ray diffvaction dala. The specimens were prepared by siwzultaneously sintering cylinders of both strained and unstrained powder. The evaluation of the sintered compacts included density measurements, metallographic examinations, and analyses of X- ray diffraction data. The results of these studies reveal a definite increase in sintered density and sintering rate for the strained powders. THE pressure compacting of metal powders causes deformation of the particles, mechanical interlocking, and increased contact area. After the deformation, severe residual strains remain in these particles. The subsequent contributions of these strains to the sintering process have been considered to be negligible, since the recovery and recrystallization temperatures usually occur prior to the temperature required for the sintering process. Sintering is con-sidered to be the process by which the powders are transformed into solid compacts at temperatures below their melting points. The sintering operation for stainless steel usually takes place in the range of 2050" to 2400°F (0.84 to 0.95 T,, where T, is the absolute melting point or liquidus temperature) while the temperature required for recovery is approximately 1800°F (0.75 T,). However, it has been shown for several metal powders that densification becomes significant in the range of 0.35 to 0.45 T,.' It is the purpose of this study to determine what effect residual strains have upon the sintering behavior of stainless-steel compacts. Loose compacts were selected for study in order to isolate the strain contributions and eliminate the variables inherent in sintering of pressure-formed compacts. Additional variables were minimized by using only one mesh size, one composition, one particle shape, and also by simultaneously sintering both types of powder. Very little work has been carried out previous to the present study to delineate the effect of strains on sintering behavior. Lenel et 01.2 observed that residual stresses in copper compacts caused shrinkage at comparatively low temperatures. Delisle3 loose-sintered ball-milled electrolytic iron and observed that bonding among particles began at a lower temperature as compared to the behavior of annealed powder. Increased densification of ball-milled oxide powders has also been noted.4'5 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES Powder Preparation. The powder used for this study was a commercial-type 316L stainless steel made by the atomization process. A typical chemical analysis is: C- 0.025 pct Mo- 2.2 pct Cr-18.6 pct Ni-12.5 pct Fe—Balance The atomizing process is essentially the rapid freezing of liquid droplets. This nonequilibrium cooling causes coring to occur and two distinct phases are present within the solid particle, the austenitic phase and the ferritic phase. Due to the presence of this ferritic phase, the particles tended to fracture as well as become cold-worked during the subsequent ball-milling operation. (It was also found that this type of cooling produced a broadened and shifted

Jan 1, 1968

By Nelson Severinghaus

Following the end of hostilities of World War 11, a resurgence of industrial and home building has given impetus to the use of many products of the stone industry. Shortage and high prices of some building materials such as lumber have aided wider acceptance of materials such as concrete products which have been relatively plentiful and which have not risen so rapidly in price. Ingredients for many of these substituting materials come from the stone industries, often from by-products of stone operations. Most of the tonnage of the stone industry in the State of Georgia comes from granite and marble. There are extensive dimension stone operations in granite in the Elberton and in the Lithonia areas. Building and monumental marble from the Tate area has been used throughout the country. Cutting operations in both types of stone have their by-products in faulty blocks and in spalls. In the State there are three large crushed-stone plants utilizing granite, One near Camak, One near Lithonia and one at Stockbridge. All have had excess fines Or in in the past but this excess is largely disappearing with development of new uses. At times this "waste" has amounted to as much as 20 pct of the stone quarried. Handling Of this large tonnage from point of screening out to storage piles presented a costly problem and large areas were taken up by the piles. Crushed 'tone is generally sold with a a narrow margin Of price over cost, so any elimination of disposal cost or increase of income by marketing of by-products is highly desirable. By-products of Granite Dimension Stone It sometimes becomes difficult to differentiate between main product and byproduct. In the cutting of granite dimension stone in the Lithonia district of Georgia, a considerable quantity of remnants of Uneven shape and size is produced. The larger of these pieces have long found use as building rubble, particularly for retaining walls and building foundations (Fig I), They are broken down to one man size by plug drilling and wedging and by hammer. In recent times, demand for this former by-product has grown so that quarries have been opened for the production of rubble as a main product. Local masons have attained skill in using these irregular shapes to form economical and attractive walls. Areas such as Elberton, Georgia, which do not have a large building market nearby, tend to accumulate piles of large pieces of reject stone. When a road job or other local construction offers a quantity market for crushed stone, a portable crusher works this material down to crushed aggregate. Spalls and finer chips from granite stone-cutting operations have generally found their way into crushers and thence to the many uses for crushed aggregate. One company near Lithonia started marketing the smaller by-product crushed sizes for chicken grit about ten years ago. This use has grown to nation-wide distribution and the tonnage is now so great that they have opened a large quarry with

Jan 1, 1948

By J. A. Hafford, J. K. Kerver, J. G. Richardson, P. M. Blair, J. S. Osoba

This paper presents the results of laboratory measurements of relative permeabilities to oil and gas on small core samples of reservoir rock by five methods, and describes the influences of such factors as boundary effect, hysteresis, and rate upon these measurements. The five methods used were the "Penn State," the "single core dynamic," the "gas drive," the "stationary liquid," and the "Hassler" techniques. In those methods in which the results are subject to error hecause of the boundary effect, the error may be minimized hy the use of high rates of flow. In order to avoid complexities introduced by hysteresis, it is necessary to approach each saturation unidirectionally. Observed deviations of relative permeabilities with rate can be explained as a manifestation of the boundary effect, and disappear as the boundary effect vanishes. The results indicate that all five methods yield essentially the same relative permeabilities to gas. Of the four methods applicable to the determination of relative permeability to oil, three, the Penn State, single core dynamic, and gas drive, gave relative permeabilities to oil which were in close agreement. The Hassler method gave relative permeabilities to oil which were consistently lower than the results obtained by the other methods. INTRODUCTION The relationship between the effective permeability of a reservoir rock to each of the fluids flowing through it and the corresponding fluid saturation is an important characteristic of the reservoir rock. Knowledge of this characteristic is and gas reservoirs and of the ultimate recovery to be expected extremely important in the prediction of the behavior of oil under various operating conditions. These effective permeabilities are usually expressed as the "relative permeability" to a fluid phase, defined as the ratio of the effective permeability to the permeability of the rock to a single phase at 100 per cent saturation. Relative permeability-saturation relations are not the same for all kinds of reservoir rock, but may vary from formation to formation, and within the different portions of a heterogeneous formation. In studying the performance of a specific reservoir, it is necessary, then, that the relative permeability characteristics of the individual portions of the reservoir be measured. These measurements may be made in the laboratory on small core samples from the reservoir. Various techniques have been proposed for the measurement in the laboratory of relative permeability-saturation relations. In varying degree, difficulties attend the use of all of the methods which have been proposed. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the factors which influence the measurement of relative permeability, the difficulties encountered in several methods, and to present comparative results obtained by the use of various techniques. FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE THE MEASUREMENT OF RELATIVE PERMEABILITY It is necessary that the relative permeability data measured in the laboratory yield the same relative permeability-saturation relationships that would govern the flow of fluids through the sample if it were to occupy its original position in the reservoir. Since the core sample upon which the laboratory measurements are made is not surrounded by similar core material as it was in the reservoir, an error in measuring the relative permeabilities may arise from the "boundary effect" which results from a discontinuity in capillary properties of the system at the effluent end of the core. Again, the rates of

Jan 1, 1951

By Nelson Severinghaus

Following the end of hostilities of World War 11, a resurgence of industrial and home building has given impetus to the use of many products of the stone industry. Shortage and high prices of some building materials such as lumber have aided wider acceptance of materials such as concrete products which have been relatively plentiful and which have not risen so rapidly in price. Ingredients for many of these substituting materials come from the stone industries, often from by-products of stone operations. Most of the tonnage of the stone industry in the State of Georgia comes from granite and marble. There are extensive dimension stone operations in granite in the Elberton and in the Lithonia areas. Building and monumental marble from the Tate area has been used throughout the country. Cutting operations in both types of stone have their by-products in faulty blocks and in spalls. In the State there are three large crushed-stone plants utilizing granite, One near Camak, One near Lithonia and one at Stockbridge. All have had excess fines Or in in the past but this excess is largely disappearing with development of new uses. At times this "waste" has amounted to as much as 20 pct of the stone quarried. Handling Of this large tonnage from point of screening out to storage piles presented a costly problem and large areas were taken up by the piles. Crushed 'tone is generally sold with a a narrow margin Of price over cost, so any elimination of disposal cost or increase of income by marketing of by-products is highly desirable. By-products of Granite Dimension Stone It sometimes becomes difficult to differentiate between main product and byproduct. In the cutting of granite dimension stone in the Lithonia district of Georgia, a considerable quantity of remnants of Uneven shape and size is produced. The larger of these pieces have long found use as building rubble, particularly for retaining walls and building foundations (Fig I), They are broken down to one man size by plug drilling and wedging and by hammer. In recent times, demand for this former by-product has grown so that quarries have been opened for the production of rubble as a main product. Local masons have attained skill in using these irregular shapes to form economical and attractive walls. Areas such as Elberton, Georgia, which do not have a large building market nearby, tend to accumulate piles of large pieces of reject stone. When a road job or other local construction offers a quantity market for crushed stone, a portable crusher works this material down to crushed aggregate. Spalls and finer chips from granite stone-cutting operations have generally found their way into crushers and thence to the many uses for crushed aggregate. One company near Lithonia started marketing the smaller by-product crushed sizes for chicken grit about ten years ago. This use has grown to nation-wide distribution and the tonnage is now so great that they have opened a large quarry with

Jan 1, 1948

By Wheeler P. Davey

In an article in the General Electric Review, January, 1915, reference was made to the X-ray examination of a steel casting 9/16 in thick. Fig. 1 shows one of the radiographs thus obtained. All these radiographs showed plainly the tool marks on the surface of the casting. All but one showed peculiar markings the shape of which strongly suggested that they were indeed the pictures of holes in the interior. A circular piece, 1 in. in diameter, was punched from the casting at a point where the radiograph shown in Fig. 1 indicated that a blow-hole should be found. (Location of sample shown by circle in Fig. l.) Fig. 2 is a photograph of the end of the punching, showing the hole that was found. Since that article was written it has seemed desirable: (1) to obtain data from which the exposure necessary for any thickness of steel could be at once calculated; (2) to find the thickness of the smallest air inclusion which could be radiographed in a given thickness of steel; (3) to determine in what direction to hope for further progress; and (4) to develop the technique of radiographing metals. In order to gain some preliminary data, several pieces of 1/2-in. (12.5-mm.) boiler plate were obtained, 5 by 7 in. (12.5 by 17.5 cm.) in size. In one of these, holes were drilled in such a way that the axis of each hole was midway between the faces of the steel and parallel to those faces. The diameters of these holes were as follows: Hole number Diameter I.........................................1/4 in. =6.3 mm 2........................................1/8 in. =3.l mm. 3................................... 1/16 in. = 1.6mm. 4....................................... 1/32 in. = 0.8 mm. 5........................................1/64 in. = 0.4 mm. Exposures were made on Seed X-ray plates at 20 in. (50 cm.) distance with Coolidge tube X-117, operated on Scheidel-Western induction coil with mercury turbine break. The X-ray plate was placed on a sheet of 1/8in. (3.1-mm.) lead. The steel was placed above this and a Iead

Jan 1, 1916

By Harold M. Mooney

WHEN apparent resistivity data are taken with the symmetrical Wenner 4-electrode spread, a fixed center position is used and readings are taken for values of electrode separation. Basic data consist of apparent resistivity plotted against separation of adjacent electrodes . The interpreter attempts to infer geologic structure, such as the depth to discontinuities and the nature of subsurface earth materials. An earlier paper' described methods for interpreting resistivity data. All of these involve a severe assumption, namely that the earth in the region of interest consists of horizontal layers, electrically homogeneous and isotropic. The actual earth never satisfies this assumption exactly and may deviate from it so much that none of the above methods can be applied. Attempts in three directions have been made to modify the assumption so that it approaches known geologic complexity more closely. First, curves have been calculated for dipping discontinuities. Stern' and Aldredge hose a few widely separated dip angles. Trudu confined his attention to small dips. Berel'kovskiy and Zubanov computed gradient curves for widely separated dip angles. Unz as given the most complete solution, with a brief attempt to treat the three-layer case. Second, anisotropy can be taken into account. It seems geologically probable that layered materials have different vertical and horizontal conductivities. Cagniard, Maillet, and Pirson et up methods for finding an equivalent hypothetical isotropic medium. Standard interpretation methods can be applied to this, and the actual medium can then be deduced. Belluigi'" discounts the practical importance of anisotropy; Geneslay and Rouget do not agree with his conclusion. Third, the effect of variable resistivity in a layer can be considered. Keck and Colby" examine the mathematics of an exponential increase in a surface layer. Several authors, for example, Stevenson,'' consider a continuous variation of resistivity with depth. The present paper deals with a linear variation of resistivity in a surface layer. Geologically, surface variations should be expected. Unconsolidated materials such as glacial drift show marked irregularities over short distances. The effects of weathering change with depth. The moisture content of material above the water table may vary from a dry sand to a saturated clay, and both of these will be changed by rainfall. Figs. 1 to 6 present apparent resistivity curves to show the effect of a variable surface layer. In all cases resistivity varies linearly with depth down to a depth of one unit. Material beneath this depth has constant resistivity. Electrode separation is plotted in depth units. Insets on each figure show the corresponding cross-sections, plotting true resistivity against depth. To illustrate, consider curve A of Fig. 1. The true resistivity of material at the surface of the earth is taken as 0.4 units. Resistivity increases with depth, reaching a value of 1.0 at 0.5 depth units and 1.6 at 1.0 depth units. Below a depth of 1.0, all the material has very low resistivity (zero, for purposes of calculation). Curve A in the main part of Fig. 1 shows how apparent resistivity varies for this case as the electrode spacing is increased. To illustrate further, curve E of Fig. 4 corresponds to true resistivity of 1.2 units at the surface, 1.0 at a depth of 0.5 units, 0.8 at a depth of 1.0, and 1.5 for all depths greater than 1.0. Apparent resistivity curves have been plotted logarithmically so that the shape of the curves becomes independent of the units, giving the curves wide validity. A certain drift-covered area, for example, shows a gradual decrease of resistivity from 230 ohm-meters at the surface to 150 ohm-meters at the bedrock surface, 275 ft down; bedrock resistivity is 800 ohm-meters. Curve E of Fig. 5 indicates that true resistivity decreases from 1.2 units at the surface to 0.8 at a depth of 1.0, then increases abruptly to a constant value of 4.0 units. Since resistivity and depth ratios are the same, this can be used to predict the field curve. For Fig. 5, multiply true resistivity and apparent resistivity by

Jan 1, 1955