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By B. Chalmers, L. Bäckerud

The growth temperature of dendrite tips has been measured in a binary alloy system, Al-Cu, as a function of rate of formation of solid phase. Metallographic examination has rerealed the dendritic structure dereloped during different stages of the freezing process and factors influencing the undercooling, such as solute buildup, surface tension, and kinetic effects, have been estimated. Practical implications of the results are discussed. THE development of a dendritic growth pattern during the solidification of metals and alloys has an influence at least equal to that of grain size on the properties of the casting or ingot being produced. and consequently much interest has been devoted to the study of this phenomenon. A review of the knowledge gathered up to 1964 has been given by Chalmers.' Among recent publications in the area the works of Jackson et al 2 and Flemings and his coworkers3,4 are of special interest. This work is an experimental study of the factors which influence the development of a dendritic pattern during the solidification of a typical binary alloy system, A1-Cu, when there is no heat source in the liquid. This means that the temperature and the temperature gradient are controlled by the heat extraction from and latent heat evolved by the growing crystals. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Samples were prepared from a master alloy made up of aluminum, 99.995 pct, and copper. 99.99 pct, of the concentrations given below and of sufficient size to fill cylindrical graphite molds of 35 mm ID and 35 mm height. Bottom. wall. and lid of the graphite molds were all of 6 mm thickness, Fig. 1. Thin ceramic thermocouple shields could be introduced at different positions in the sample through holes in the lid. The assembly was heated in a small vertical resistance furnace to a suitable temperature. 700° to 720°C. which is well above the melting point of the sample. It was thereafter taken out of the furnace and chilled at selected rates, and the temperature changes in the sample were recorded. For high sensitivity in the temperature recordings, a reference thermocouple was held in a solidifying pure aluminum melt. which was very well insulated and therefore was at a constant temperature. 660°C, for nearly half an hour. The thermocouples were connected so that the difference voltage was fed into the recorder of which the most sensitive range was 1 mV. Temperature variations could be read to within 0.l°C. The thermocouples used were of the Chromel-Alumel type (28- or 38-gage wires) and the recorder a two-pen Moseley strip chart recorder. The different rates of chilling were obtained in the following way. a) The graphite crucible was wrapped in one or two layers of an insulating. feltlike material (Fiberfrax paper from the Carborundum Co.). The drop in temperature per unit time after complete solidification could thereby be varied from 8" to 18°C per min. This corresponds to a rate of heat extraction in the given samples from 0.08 to 0.17 cal cm-' sec-I. 6) The bare graphite mold was placed free on a piece of firebrick. The measured temperature drop was around 50°C per min (-0.5 cal cm-" ' sec- I). c) By blowing compressed air through a tube with many holes surrounding the mold in a ring shape. the rate of heat transfer could be raised to 150' to 200°C per min (-1.7 cal cm-3 sec- I). d) Cooling rates around 1000 C per mill (-9.4 cal cm-3 sec-l) were obtained by substituting the air in the device used in c by water. The range of cooling rates used in these experiments correspond to technical casting processes from slow solidification as obtained in sand molds to very rapid freezing which occurs in some continuous casting and welding processes. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS The A1-Cu system was chosen for the experiments: the relevant part of the phase diagram is reproduced in Fig. 2. Observation of the Center Temperature. When a thermocouple is inserted in the center of the melt. the type of cooling curves obtained at slow solidification rates differs little from numerous published curves from similar systems. and the solidification pattern

Jan 1, 1970

By D. A. Belforti, M. P. Lepie

Spectroscopically pure copper was melted on sapphire plaques in a zydrogen atmosphere. The surface tension of the liquid metal was determined using the sessile drop technique. Measurements were made by direct observation with the aid of a specially const,mcted telescope. The value obtained, 1268 dynes per cm, is compared to that found in the literature. THERE is at this time considerable interest in the use of ceramics for vacuum tubes. The crystalline material is superior to the more conventional glass in mechanical strength, chemical inertness, dielectric properties, ability to withstand high temperatures, and so forth. However, ceramics are much more difficult to seal hermetically with metals than are the glasses. For this reason an investigation was undertaken to determine the wetting and adhesion of metals to ceramics. The sessile drop technique offers a convenient means at elevated temperatures for measuring liquid surface tension, wetting angle, density, spread- ing coefficient, and work of adhesion. Thus, from the contour of a drop of liquid at rest on a solid surface one can obtain a quantitative evaluation of the degree to which the two substances will bond. To this end a special apparatus was constructed so that various molten metals could be observed. Standardization of the apparatus was done initially by measuring the surface tension of copper since this is well documented in the metallurgy literature. Although there are many methods available for the measurement of surface energy,'+ the sessile drop technique has been used most extensively for molten metals and ceramics.5"' Fig. 1 illustrates the dimensions to be measured. From these values, the surface tension of the liquid can be obtained using the Bashforth and bdams' equation and tables.

Jan 1, 1963

On August 22, 1966, just 20 months after writing sales agreements with Japanese steel mills, Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd made its first contractual shipment of 52,000 tons to Yawata Iron and Steel Co Ltd. As world news, the event was not spectacular. But to mining men it represented an astonishing achievement. Twenty months of feverish effort and the expenditure of more than $100 million had created a large open-pit iron ore mine, a crushing plant, storage and load-out facilities for sized ore, and a supporting township at Mt Tom Price; a 182-mile standard gauge railway; and port and loading facilities for a nominal loading capacity of 6000 tph as well as a port town, Dampier, on King Bay. The project was executed in the sparsely inhabited, arid, dissected-plateau country of the Hamersley Range in the northwest sector of Western Australia. Hamersley, 60% owned by Conzinc RioTinto of Australia Pty Ltd and 40% by Kaiser Steel Corp, holds sale contracts for ore and pellets valued at $770 million. The main contracts are with the Japanese, who are to be supplied with 65.5 million tons of ore during the 16 years from August 1966 to August 1982 and 18 million tons of pellets over a 10-yr period beginning in early 1968. Of lesser importance at this time, but presaging trends, are contracts for a total of nearly 1.5 million tons to be shipped to England and Western Europe during the years 1966-68. A pellet plant with a capacity of 2 million tpy is now under construction at Dampier and is to be on stream early next year. Another interesting project for which the plans are set, is a desalination plant for sea water to supply industrial requirements and potable water for the town of Dampier.

Jan 5, 1967

By M. C. Leverett

THE dynamic behavior of a multiple fluid system is completely describable in terms of driving forces and resistances to flow. The latter are proportional to the vis-cosity of the fluid under consideration and inversely proportional to a property of the system termed the " effective permeability" to that fluid, a property therefore defined by this relation. Since three phases are usually present in oil reservoirs, it is essential to know the effective permeabilities to the several fluid phases, and the relationship between the composition of the fluid in the pore space and that of the flowing stream, in order to handle satisfactorily certain problems of oil production. In this regard, there are many unknown factors and parameters, and many that can be evaluated only indi-rectly. However, it is expected that work along lines similar to this present under-taking will help materially in solving these problems. Previous workers in this field have inves-tigated the two-phase systems, water-gas,1 water-oil2 in unconsolidated sands, and water-gas3 in consolidated sands. The ex-tension of the study of the flow of hetero-geneous fluid systems from two to three phases involved only slight changes in technique. The apparatus used in the present work, except for slight changes to be described, was that used by Leverett in his water-oil experiments.2 Correlation and interpretation of data were made by methods analogous to those used in two-phase work. The relative permeability to a phase-the effective permeability divided by the permeability of the system to a homogeneous fluid-was employed through-out in correlating the rate of flow of that phase with the composition of the pore space. Quantitative measurements of two inde-pendent physical properties of the system were required to determine the composition of the pore space. As in the two-phase work, the fraction of water was determined electrically. The gas fraction was deter-mined by measuring changes in volume accompanying measured pressure changes. Suitable account was taken of the solubility of the gas in the liquid phases, and of the vapor pressure of the water phase. Since this work was exploratory in nature, no attempt was made to obtain highly accu-rate numerical results. Reasonable precision and reproducibility were sought.

Jan 1, 1940

By R. M. Brick

Segregation can occur only in cast alloys that solidify over a range of temperatures with a difference in composition of liquid and solid phases within this range (ignoring monotectic systems and chemical reactions as in rimming steels). Thus a pure binary eutectic alloy should show no segregation unless undercooling occurs for one of the solid constituents of the eutectic; e.g., chill-cast Al-I2 per cent Si alloys. The phasial condition implicitly described above—solidification over a range of temperatures with a compositional difference between solid and liquid—is found in nearly all solid solutions or combinations of solid solutions and eutec-tics, Metastable conditions of solidification of these types of alloys cause coring; i.e., a difference in composition between the center of a dendrite and its periphery. This composition gradient can be detected usually only by microscopic examination of etched structures; it is a "micro" effect. The gradient of more immediate industrial concern is that between the center of a cast section and the surface layers. This gross (macro) effect is usually deter-minable only by sampling of the casting at different points, with chemical analyses of each sample. If the compositional difference is of the same type as in coring, the first parts to freeze being enriched in higher-melting-point constituents, and vice versa, the effect is called normal segregation. When what is apparently the first part of the casting to solidify shows a higher concentration of low-melting-point constituents, the effect is called inverse segregation. These macro effects are quite separate from the micro effect, coring, yet the latter must be described first because it is an essential part of the picture. Coring Solid Solution, Ni-Cu The nickel-copper phase diagram is reproduced in Fig. Ia, in which the solid lines represent the equilibrium liquidus I, 3, 7 and solidus 2, 5, 8, and where the vertical I, 4: 8 represents a 55 per cent Cu alloy. Upon moderately rapid solidification, the first dendritic axes of composition 2 (see Fig. Ib) start to form at a temperature somewhat under I. Solidification continues by growth of the dendritic nuclei, but at temperature 4 the increment solidifying is of composition 5. The rapidity of this crystal growth prevents diffusion of nickel and copper atoms from adjusting the composition of the entire dendrite at 5, which it would be under equilibrium conditions. The average composition of a specific dendrite, or the entire solid phase, at temperature 4 might be that indicated

Jan 1, 1945

By Frank Tolonen

IRON-ORE beneficiation is becoming of vital importance to the Lake Superior region, since only a few decades will be needed to exhaust the direct shipping ores even if generous allowances are made for discoveries of new orebodies. If the region is to continue as the chief source of ore to the steel industry of the United States, it must concentrate or otherwise beneficiate the enormous tonnages of available iron formations. A beginning along this line has already been made. About one-fifth of the total shipment, even now, is the product of some sort of concentrating process, while another fifth is improved in physical structure by crushing, screening, drying, sintering, or some other similar method. The amount of material amenable to these processes is limited, however; and, in order to be able to utilize the billions of tons of iron formations that cannot be so beneficiated, an intensive study of their nature and concentration possi-bilities is necessary. As long as high-grade ores are available in ample quantities, ore dressing is economically impossible, but as soon as the supply nears exhaustion it becomes necessary. At first the products of ore dressing must meet as nearly as possible the same specifications as the rich ores in order to be adapted to the reduction processes already established. The future requirements as to quality will depend on the one hand upon the ability of the ore dresser to eliminate undesired constituents and charac-teristics in the material, and on the other upon the adaptation of the reduction processes to the product that can be economically supplied. A better understanding of the blast furnace and other reduction reactions, and improvements in the preparation of raw materials, should enable the Michigan districts to continue to supply ore for a long time to come. The study and testing of the iron formations necessary to bring a utilization of the low-grade ores, though requiring time and effort on the part of all concerned, should not be postponed, especially since the economic situation forces the use of the highest grade ore in preference to the leaner material.

Jan 1, 1933

By Basil Prescott

A thorough knowledge of the peculiarities of this type of orebody is necessary in sampling these limestone replacement deposits. Oxidized ores are often overestimated because of error in determining specific gravity and actual cross-section of the orebody, and sulfide ores are often underestimated because it is difficult to scatter the samples so that they will accurately represent the area under consideration. This paper describes various methods of sampling and cites factors that enter into the estimation of these deposits. IN THE science of evolution of the species, there is a law which, simply stated, avers that the history of the individual repeats the history of the race. Similarly, if unassisted by the experience of others, each successful engineer would perfect and develop his methods and technique from the rough grab sample up to the carefully taken, recorded and studied samples and observations which now determine and decide the expenditure of the large sums required for modern mining. Hence real progress results from the interchange of experience, as in that way the entire experience of the profession can be made available to every engineer. The literature of this subject is already voluminous, but some progress has been made in the gathering of data and in their compilation or presentation.

Jan 3, 1924

By E. T. Hunter

Surrounded by the 13,000-ft high peaks of the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colo., the town of Silverton is the site of the extensive development operations initiated 20 months ago by Standard Metals Corp. Appropriately termed the Silverton Project, Standard's operation has now passed the half-way point in its program to reopen two mines that were once sizeable producers of copper, lead, and zinc ores.

Jan 1, 1961

Dr. F. W. C. Schniewind, New York, N. Y.:—Mr. Vogel speaks of briquetting the flue-dust by means of lime. I learned recently in Europe of a process employed with considerable success at one of the blast-furnaces, where blast-furnace cinder is used with lime. The lime and cinder are mixed with the flue-dust, and exposed to superheated steam, which converts the blast-furnace cinder into cement. Briquettes are then formed in the usual way. Mr. Vogel :—The process referred to is the " Scoria process," which has not been in use for some time past. For that reason, I did not mention it. Prof. Arthur L. Walker, New York, N. Y.:—I would ask the commercial name for magnesium chloride, and where it can be obtained ? Mr. VoGel :—I mentioned magnesium chloride, because it has been used abroad to a large extent. In Germany it is obtained as a by-product in the manufacture of potash-salts; in the United States we have been using chloride of lime, which is cheaper. Otto Sussman, New York, N. Y.:—What is the cost of this process ? Mr. Vogel :—The cost is exceedingly low. I can give you the figures from abroad, but not for the United States, because the system has not -yet been used here commercially to

Jan 1, 1913

ALABAMA. Anniston.-Noble, A. E., 20th St. and Wilmer Ave. Auburn.-Brown, R. L., Box 0. Belle Ellen.-Hutcheson, W. C. Bessemer.-Abbott, C. E., T. C., I. & R.R. Co Dobbs, G. G., Box 97. Ferguson, V., U. S. C. I. Pipe & Fdy. Co. Williams, E. P., Tenn. C., 1. & R. R. Co. Birmingham.-Aldrich, T. H. Aldrich, T. H., Jr., 406 Woodward Bldg. Allen, A. W., 1616 S. 14th Ave. Bowron, J., 1401 S, 20th St. Burbidge, T. A., Brown-Marx Bldg. Coxe, E. H. Tenn. C., I. & R. R. Co. Crawford, C. G., Tenn. C., I. & R. R. Co. Crockard, F. H., Brown-Marx Bldg. Ellis, E. E.,1515 Brown-Marx Bldg. Fairbairn C. T., Woodward Bldg. Fies, M. H., 2316 Highland Ave. Geismer, H. S., Keiser-Geismer Engrg. Co.

Jan 1, 1917

By D. W. Hutchinson, W. W. Wen, A. A. Terchick, J. C. Anderson

It is estimated that approximately 3% of the raw coal processed today in coal preparation plants throughout the nation will ultimately report to slurry-tailing disposal (Anderson, 1975). The usual disposal method is to pump refuse slurry containing - 48 mesh (300 pm) refuse into dams or impoundments constructed of coarse refuse. The failure of an impoundment at Buffalo Creek, Saunders, WV (Anon., 1972) resulted in an evaluation of refuse disposal methods by various regulatory agencies as well as coal producers. The result of this evaluation was the promulgation of federal regulations dealing with the construction, operation, and final abandonment of coal refuse disposal area. As a consequence of these regulations, the use of the landfill/impoundment method of disposal became in some cases economically unfeasible or technically impossible. US Steel has studied a number of alternative methods of refuse disposal. During an investigation of mechanical dewatering with a pressure filter, portland cement was added to the slurry to solidify the filter cake. Because of the success of the cement addition, it was decided to study the stabilization of fine coal refuse slurry through use of cement-type additives. The goal of the investigation is to develop a process that will use cement-type additives to solidify the refuse slurry into a form that can be handled and stacked with the coarse refuse, thus eliminating the need for slurry impoundments.

Jan 1, 1982

By John Birkinbine

Through the partiality of my fellow-members I have been able, during seven years' service on the Council of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, to note the development of technical societies, a subject which commends itself as an appropriate theme for me, in retiring from the office of President, at a time when we meet in convention with Canadian technical societies. Our next assembly, called at Chicago at the time fixed for an International Engineering Congress, offers additional reason for the selection of this topic. If subsequent statements appear to give to the American Institute of Mining Engineers greater prominence than to kindred organizations, they may be excused upon the ground of long association with and loyalty to its members, and to a personal knowledge of their work. Besides, data as to its growth and development are more accessible; and at a meeting of the Institute features connected with it may be considered as of greater immediate interest than those affecting other organizations. The purpose of this address is, however, to use the record of the Institute as indicating a similar development of other technical societies, rather than to claim preeminence for any organization; the work of each must speak for it. There is a general tendency to form associations at the present time. Organizations have been created and are active in every profession and in all branches of labor, trade, industry, commerce, manufactures, science and art. A record of such associations and their aggregate membership would be startling, and would show how large a percentage of the population of North America is connected with one or more of them; but the figures cannot be even approximately estimated. The class of associations representing national, state, or local trade interests, such as boards of trade, chambers of commerce, etc., may be used as an illustration. A late report shows that in the

Jan 1, 1893

By J. H. Pratt

In a recent paper* on the origin of corundum associated with the peridotites of North Carolina, attention was called to the constant occurrence of the mineral, chromite, in these rocks. The field-data obtained during the preparation of that paper have been used largely in the present paper. During the past summer the general occurrences of chromite have been carefully studied, and those in North Carolina have been especially examined in the field. It is purposed to give, in this paper, the reasons why the chromite should be regarded as having been formed at the same time with the peridotites, having been held in solution by the molten mass of the peridotite, and crystallizing out among the first minerals as the mass began to cool. This theory is essentially the same as that advanced by me for the origin of the corundum associated with the peridotite rocks, and a similar line of reasoning has been used to substantiate the theory proposed. Investigations concerning the igneous origin of some of the ores have been materially aided, during recent years, by the skillful experiments of Morozewicz and Lagorio,§ and by researches that show us, more clearly, why we should regard a fused mass of rock as a liquid, having similar properties to an ordinary solution. These experiments have shown that a molten basic glass, similar in composition to the basic magnesian rocks, dissolves alumina readily, and that upon cooling, the first minerals to separate out are corundum and spinel.

Jan 1, 1900

By Robert Mehl

METALLURGISTS are properly interested in papers dealing with subjects ranging from the theories of the metallic state to very practical details on the use of metals. A review of theoretical metallurgy naturally excludes papers concerned with the usefulness of metals and limits itself to those concerned purely with the science of metals. Even in this more limited field the reviewer is confronted with thousands of papers dealing with facts and theories of metallic behavior, from which he can select only a few hundred. The selection is necessarily highly arbitrary. Certain classes of papers definitely fall within the scope of this review. Thus, papers on the deformation of metals, on the structure of alloys, on recrystallization, to select only a few, are fully represented. Other subjects, which verge on what is generally accepted as the science of metals, such as the magnetic properties of metals, the less familiar electrical properties and theories, adsorption of gases by metal surfaces, and the like, are treated scantily. Particular attention is given to reviews of subjects that fall with in the groups chosen; in a summary such as this, which is largely in the nature of a progress report, capably written reviews are of importance, particularly since the monograph and text book literature is so meager in this field.

Jan 1, 1935

By John Cogan

Field observations were made of rock phenomena in shale, dolomite, and fractured quartzite in the Burgin Mine, Eureka, Utah. Draft closure rates were measured with extensometers and convergence gages. In addition the effects of hydraulic props upon the retardation of closure was also monitored. Drift closure rates were found to be constant and to vary between 0.32 x 10-8 min-1 for dolomite and 23.8 x 10-8 min-1 for soft shale. The installation of props set at constant load served to retard the closure rates. General results show closure to occur at a constant rate for all cases, to be non-uniform around the drift openings, and to be increasingly retarded toward a zero rate by increases in prop load.

Jan 1, 1979

By David Reger

THE value of carbon ratios in determining the boundaries of possible oil deposits appears to have passed the hypothetical stage. The theory that the ratio of fixed carbon in pure coals is an, invariable index of incipient metamorphism in both, surface and underground rocks and that it may be applied in defining the limits of petroleum, advanced by David White,1 has been received with keen interest by many petroleum geologists. Detailed isocarb maps have been prepared of the Pennsylvanian area of North Texas and Eastern Oklahoma by M. L. Fuller.2 A similar map of the coal-bearing area of West Virginia is given here. An isocarb3 is a line showing an equal fixed-carbon percentage, pure coal basis; the term has been proposed by David White to supersede a less expressive nomenclature. The term carbon ratio is applied to the percentage of carbon in pure coal after water and ash have been eliminated. As a comparatively small number of analyses have been made on this basis, it is usually necessary to compute the ratio by dividing the fixed carbon of the proximate analysis by the sum of the fixed carbon and volatile matter of the same analysis. Many thousands of proximate analyses have been made by the West Virginia Geological Survey, covering nearly every county in which coal is found. Numerous others have been made by the. U.S. Geological Survey and the U. S. Bureau of Mines, but as uniformity of results is

Jan 2, 1921

By H. D. Newell

THERE has been much research and commercial development in recent years in the use of chromium and nickel in steels of various types, including those intended for high-temperature service. By "high-tem-perature steels" are meant those specifically designed for service at ele-vated temperatures in steam plants, oil refineries and other industries where high-temperature operations are conducted. This paper is devoted to some preliminary data on the effect of silicon on certain of the most popular chromium-molybdenum steels now being used in quantity by the refining industry and includes a short statement on the influence of copper in steels intended for high-temperature service.

Jan 1, 1937

By Hans Lundberg

IN ORDER to comprehend the help and information that may be expected from electrical prospecting, it is necessary to have at least a general knowledge of the methods and principles involved in preparing and interpreting results obtained in the field. Electrical prospecting is rather complicated, both in theory and practice, and in order to make a brief description clear to the practical mining man it has been necessary to idealize and generalize the problems, at the risk of having such simplification criticized by the theoretical man. This simplification must not be misinterpreted as showing a lack of theoretical knowledge. FIG. 1.-FLOW OF CURRENT IN AND AROUND A CONDUCTING BODY. For its operation, electrical prospecting mainly depends on-the fact that most metallic ores conduct an electric current much more readily than barren rocks. If an electric current flows through a block of ground within which a body of chalcopyrite is enclosed in country rock of schist, the current will find less resistance to its passage through the chalcopyrite than through the schist, even though the passage through the latter be much shorter. This is because the longer path through the chalcopyrite offers less resistance, owing to the superior electrical conductivity of the chalcopyrite (Fig. 1).

Jan 1, 1928

By E. C. Harder

AT a Meeting of the New York Section, on May 23, 1918, the sole subject of discussion was the nature and occurrence of iron ores in certain parts of the world.? Owing to the importance of this subject, it has been deemed' advisable to publish the remarks made at that meeting in the form of a paper, for presentation at the Milwaukee Meeting, instead of in the usual place, under News of Local Sections. The remarks related to the following districts: Brazil, by E. C. Harder, of the U. S. Geological Survey; Scandinavia, by Waldemar Lindgren, of the U. S. Geological Survey; Cuba, by C. M. Weld, of the U. S. Bureau 'of Mines; Southern Europe, by A. C. Spencer, of the U. S. Geological Survey; China, by H. Foster Bain, of the U. S. Bureau of Mines; Alsace-Lorraine, by Sidney Paige, of the U. S. Geological Survey. BRAZIL By E. C. Harder During the years immediately preceding the war, the iron ores of Brazil were attracting the attention of iron operators both in Europe and in the United States. This was clue to the large quantities of practically undeveloped ore available, and to its great purity. It is reasonably safe to state that had capital not been diverted from the exploitation of these deposits to war purposes, Brazilian iron ores would probably now be offered in European and American markets. It is certain that after the war these ores will play a prominent part in the economic reconstruction of Europe and perhaps in the development of America.

Jan 9, 1918

By M. A. Jones

Performance of a pilot flood in eastern Kansas indicates improved recovery and accelerated production resulting from mobility ratio control obtained by adding a high moleculur weight polymer to injected water. Ultimate pilot flood recovery of the 75-cp reservoir oil is anticipated to he 350 bbllacre-ft during the six-year flood life. Cumulative recovery to date totals 242 bbl/acre-ft after 30 months of injection. Reservoir parameters and flood performance are disc~rssed in detail to provide a case history relating to the feasibility of polymer flooding. INTRODUCTION The Vernon Polymer flood of the Brazos Oil & Gas Co., located in Sec. 2, 24 S., 16 E., Woodson County, Kans., was begun in late Oct., 1963. Injection of a 500 ppm solution of Pusher* polymer was initiated in a 15-acre pilot to determine feasibility of improving oil recovery by mobility ratio control. Performance to date and the anticipated recovery of 115,000 bbl from the 329 acre-ft pilot indicate efficient displacement of the viscous reservoir oil. Dependence of flood recovery on the displacing fluid-displaced oil mobility ratio has long been recognized. Displacement efficiency of the reservoir oil decreases with increasing mobility ratio. Therefore, economic reduction of this parameter is an attractive approach to improving oil recovery. particularly from viscous oil reservoirs where mobility ratios are often quite high. Waterflood mobility ratios can be controlled by dilute solutions of certain polymers'; which provide a displacing fluid with considerably reduced mobility. Reservoir parameters and flood performance are emphasized in this paper to provide data relating to polymer flood applicability. THEORY The polymer used in the Vernon pilot exhibits the property of unusually high resistance to flow through porous media.'.' A small concentration in injected water effects a mobility reduction considerably beyond that predicted from increases in bulk viscosity as measured in a capillary or rotating cup viscosimeter. Water mobility in the subject flood is reduced by a factor of 7.55 with the addition of 500 ppm Pusher chemical to injected water while the bulk viscosity is increased from 1.03 to only 1.40 cp at 75F. The exact flow mechanism causing resistance to flow has not been established; however, it is observed only in tortuous flow systems and appears to be influenced by brine properties, rock properties and oil saturation. Consequently, mobility reduction is estimated from flow studies for a given sample of reservoir rock and is expressed in terms of a "resistance factor".' This parameter is defined as the ratio of brine mobility to polymer solution mobility measured at residual oil saturation: RF= ?m/?p= (km/µm)/(kp/µp)M.......(1) where RF = resistance factor (dimensionless) k*. and A, = mobility of water and polymer solution, respectively k,,, and k,, = water and polymer permeability, respectively (darcies) µie and µp = viscosity of water and polymer, respectively (poise). Eq. 1 is similar to the expression commonly used to relate the relative mobility of the water bank at residual oil saturation to oil-bank mobility at irreducible water saturation: where M =mobility ratio of water to oil (dimension-less) A, = mobility of oil k, = permeability to oil (darcies) )i* = oil viscosity (poise). From Eqs. 1 and 2 it is apparent that the polymer-solution-to-oil-mobility ratio can be approximated by dividing the brine-to-oil ratio by the resistance factor RF: Mpn=M10/RF...........(3) where M,-, = mobility ratio of polymer solution to oil (dimensionless). This simplified presentation assumes no dilution of the polymer solution by connate water. Also, the presence of a connate water bank separating the polymer solution from the displaced oil is not considered. Displacement of oil by waterflooding is increasingly dominated by viscous forces as the viscosity of the oil displaced increases. When the oil mobility is less than that of the injected water, the oil-water interface is not a piston-like front.3,' Instead, instabilities occur at the flood front in the form of viscous fingers which tend to penetrate the less mobile oil bank. The magnitude of these protrusions, or the degree of channeling, increases

Jan 1, 1967