Search Documents

By John W. Rushton

What role does maintenance play in the design of a new mineral processing facility? Consider the fact that most new plants never reach design capacity the first year-or the second, third, or fourth years. The fact is, according to data collected from several plants which have started up in the last ten years, mill throughput and equipment availability doesn't peak, on the average, until the fifth year.

Jan 3, 1978

By J. F. K. Brown, E. E. Roecker

For three years The Hudson Coal Co. has used egg anthracite instead of coke in its foundry cupola. It has long passed the stage of being told it cannot be done—the metal would be cold, of poor quality, or the speed of operation would be low. From observation, from use and from test. we know that our metal is about average; the cast iron invokes no adverse comment from the machine shop and the speed suits our foundry requirements. We have there-iore resolved into practice anthracite combustion processes in an industrial furnace formerly using coke, under conditions suitable to our needs. When it comes to translating what we know into use in another cupola, however, where operating conditions may be different, or to explaining why, with seemingly the same conditions in our own cupola, we have attained sometimes a temperature of 2800° in the metal and at another time 2600°, or a speed of 5 tons per hour against 2 35 tons per hour, we cannot do it. We cannot do this because there seems to be an unbridged gap between laboratory ideas on combustion and practical ideas on com-bustiqn, which we have been unable to cross in terms understandable to us as practical consumers. This gap or bridge centers around the problem of how combustion actually takes place; and we believe it is controlled by two factors: (I) the character of the surface of the fuel and (2) the space provided and needed within which the oxygen of the air is allowed to or can act on that surface. It has long been contended on behalf of coke that porosity is an important factor in combustion, although, admittedly, there are two schools of opposing thought on this question, as revealed in technical literature. It has been understood generally that a light, porous coke is the best metallurgical fuel because there are more square inches of carbon exposed to the blast of air, therefore more useful carbon-dioxide reactions can take place in the given space between the entrance of the air and the point where useful work is done. It is now our general idea that the heavier and the harder the coal, the better the metallurgical fuel, provided the surface of that fuel is suitable for fast reaction with the oxygen. Time and Space A cupola is loaded in layers of fuel and iron. The horizontal line where the first charge of iron rests on the coal is the top of the bed coal. With us that is 22 in., usually, above the tuyeres where the air enters. This means 600 lb. of coal. Every subsequent coal layer is 100 to 125 lb. of coal, and that 100 to 125 lb. of coal melts 1000 lb. of iron at around 2700° in the ladle. This quantity of coal represents a 3-in. layer spread across the cupola. The question arises: If this 3 in. of coal will melt 1000 lb. of metal, why was it necessary to use 600 lb., or 22 in., of coal beneath and between the first charge of iron and the air entrance?

Jan 1, 1944

By E. E. Roecker, J. F. K. Brown

For three years The Hudson Coal Co. has used egg anthracite instead of coke in its foundry cupola. It has long passed the stage of being told it cannot be done—the metal would be cold, of poor quality, or the speed of operation would be low. From observation, from use and from test. we know that our metal is about average; the cast iron invokes no adverse comment from the machine shop and the speed suits our foundry requirements. We have there-iore resolved into practice anthracite combustion processes in an industrial furnace formerly using coke, under conditions suitable to our needs. When it comes to translating what we know into use in another cupola, however, where operating conditions may be different, or to explaining why, with seemingly the same conditions in our own cupola, we have attained sometimes a temperature of 2800° in the metal and at another time 2600°, or a speed of 5 tons per hour against 2 35 tons per hour, we cannot do it. We cannot do this because there seems to be an unbridged gap between laboratory ideas on combustion and practical ideas on com-bustiqn, which we have been unable to cross in terms understandable to us as practical consumers. This gap or bridge centers around the problem of how combustion actually takes place; and we believe it is controlled by two factors: (I) the character of the surface of the fuel and (2) the space provided and needed within which the oxygen of the air is allowed to or can act on that surface. It has long been contended on behalf of coke that porosity is an important factor in combustion, although, admittedly, there are two schools of opposing thought on this question, as revealed in technical literature. It has been understood generally that a light, porous coke is the best metallurgical fuel because there are more square inches of carbon exposed to the blast of air, therefore more useful carbon-dioxide reactions can take place in the given space between the entrance of the air and the point where useful work is done. It is now our general idea that the heavier and the harder the coal, the better the metallurgical fuel, provided the surface of that fuel is suitable for fast reaction with the oxygen. Time and Space A cupola is loaded in layers of fuel and iron. The horizontal line where the first charge of iron rests on the coal is the top of the bed coal. With us that is 22 in., usually, above the tuyeres where the air enters. This means 600 lb. of coal. Every subsequent coal layer is 100 to 125 lb. of coal, and that 100 to 125 lb. of coal melts 1000 lb. of iron at around 2700° in the ladle. This quantity of coal represents a 3-in. layer spread across the cupola. The question arises: If this 3 in. of coal will melt 1000 lb. of metal, why was it necessary to use 600 lb., or 22 in., of coal beneath and between the first charge of iron and the air entrance?

Jan 1, 1944

[James C. Gray, President W. B. Stephenson, President-Elect A. B. Cummins, Past-President E. G. Fox, Eastern Regional Vice-President H. C. Weed, Western Regional Vice-President Donald W. Scott, Central Regional Vice-President John Cameron Fox, Secretary 29 W. 39 Street New York 18, N. Y. After September 7, 1961 345 East 47 Street, New York 17, N. Y. D. R. Tone, Assistant Secretary Nathaniel Arbiter, Treasurer]

Jan 1, 1961

By W. H. Echols

An oil-emulsion mud, consisting of a mixture of oil-base mud and bentonitic water-base mud, has been used experimentally in drilling 8 of the 35 wells in the Sivells Bend field, Cooke County, Texas. Experience indicates the oil-emulsion mud can be controlled in much the same manner as a water-base mud, and the "drilling" functions of the two types of mud are comparable. The average water-loss for the oil-emulsion mud was 3.8 cu cm per well. When using oil-emulsion mud to drill the last 2000 ft of 7000 ft wells, the mud costs were approximately 2½ times that of water-base mud. There is nothing to indicate well productivities have been affected through the use of oil-emulsion mud. However, drilling time and bit footages were increased and the holes were maintained more closely to bit guage. The apparent advantages gained through the use of oil-emulsion mud in the Sivells Bend field do not appear to justify the increase in mud costs. Introduction until a comparatively few years ago most of the development of drilling mud was directed toward improving the functions of the mud as related to actual drilling operations. The industry has long recognized that one disadvantage of rotary drilling over cable-tool drilling is the possibility of injury to producing zones through the blocking effect resulting from the infiltration of water or mud into the sands. Recognizing this disadvantage, considerable attention has been diverted toward the development of muds that will improve the quality of well com-pletions through the reduction or elimination of water into the sands, but without sacrificing too many of their "drilling" functions and at a cost commensurate with the benefits derived from their use. This phase of mud research has already found practical application, for example, in the development of the Rangely field, Colorado, it appears the use of oil-base mud during drilling-in operations will contribute appreciably toward making this exploitation more profitable. Much of the discussion to follow will be better understood if a brief sketch of the Sivells Bend field is given. The Sivells Bend field, discovered by The Texas Co. in 1944 and still in the process of development, is in a large bend on the Texas side of the Red River about 85 miles north of Dallas. Geologically, the structure is an unsymmetrical anticline, with faulting having contributed to its development. The productive sands are of the Strawn series of Pennsylvanian age, the sands being lenticular in character and varying considerably in development from well to well. At Present there are 35 producing wells in the field, producing from seven different sand lenses. The productive sand lenses vary from 15 to 50 ft in thickness and the individual sands have average permeabilities of from 75 to 375 md. The presently productive sands are encountered at depths of from 6300 to 7300 ft, but testing has indicated that commercial production might be obtained from other sands as high as 5200 ft. Histories of older Strawn

Jan 1, 1948

By W. H. Echols

An oil-emulsion mud, consisting of a mixture of oil-base mud and bentonitic water-base mud, has been used experimentally in drilling 8 of the 35 wells in the Sivells Bend field, Cooke County, Texas. Experience indicates the oil-emulsion mud can be controlled in much the same manner as a water-base mud, and the "drilling" functions of the two types of mud are comparable. The average water-loss for the oil-emulsion mud was 3.8 cu cm per well. When using oil-emulsion mud to drill the last 2000 ft of 7000 ft wells, the mud costs were approximately 2½ times that of water-base mud. There is nothing to indicate well productivities have been affected through the use of oil-emulsion mud. However, drilling time and bit footages were increased and the holes were maintained more closely to bit guage. The apparent advantages gained through the use of oil-emulsion mud in the Sivells Bend field do not appear to justify the increase in mud costs. Introduction until a comparatively few years ago most of the development of drilling mud was directed toward improving the functions of the mud as related to actual drilling operations. The industry has long recognized that one disadvantage of rotary drilling over cable-tool drilling is the possibility of injury to producing zones through the blocking effect resulting from the infiltration of water or mud into the sands. Recognizing this disadvantage, considerable attention has been diverted toward the development of muds that will improve the quality of well com-pletions through the reduction or elimination of water into the sands, but without sacrificing too many of their "drilling" functions and at a cost commensurate with the benefits derived from their use. This phase of mud research has already found practical application, for example, in the development of the Rangely field, Colorado, it appears the use of oil-base mud during drilling-in operations will contribute appreciably toward making this exploitation more profitable. Much of the discussion to follow will be better understood if a brief sketch of the Sivells Bend field is given. The Sivells Bend field, discovered by The Texas Co. in 1944 and still in the process of development, is in a large bend on the Texas side of the Red River about 85 miles north of Dallas. Geologically, the structure is an unsymmetrical anticline, with faulting having contributed to its development. The productive sands are of the Strawn series of Pennsylvanian age, the sands being lenticular in character and varying considerably in development from well to well. At Present there are 35 producing wells in the field, producing from seven different sand lenses. The productive sand lenses vary from 15 to 50 ft in thickness and the individual sands have average permeabilities of from 75 to 375 md. The presently productive sands are encountered at depths of from 6300 to 7300 ft, but testing has indicated that commercial production might be obtained from other sands as high as 5200 ft. Histories of older Strawn

Jan 1, 1948

By Benjamin Petkof

The mineral mica, which has been known to man since ancient times, has played an impor¬tant role in the development of our modern industry. In the latter part of the 19th century sheet mica began finding use as a dielectric insulating material in the newly developing electrical industry. Later, when modern elec¬tronics began to develop, it became a vital insulating and dielectric material for use in electronic equipment. Both the electrical and electronic industries were greatly dependent on some form of natural mica. The manufacture of electric motors of varying sizes, electronic tubes, and other electronic items was dependent on an adequate supply of sheet mica. During World War II this material was so vital to national defense that special efforts were made to mine it in the United States as well as to obtain it from overseas mica-producing areas. However, advancing technology has successfully begun the progressive development of man-made mica-based and non-mica-based materials that can replace mica for many uses. In addition, developing technology has dictated changes that have made sheet mica unnecessary for some uses. As the demand for sheet mica declined, the demand for scrap and flake mica has continued to increase. In fact, today the domestic production and use of scrap and flake mica far outshadows the necessity for good¬quality sheet mica in this country. Historically the United States has always been dependent on foreign sources of material for good-quality sheet mica and imports practically its entire requirement. In the case of scrap and flake mica, the United States is the dominant world producer and consumer. End Uses Sheet mica (Chowdhury, 1941; Rajgarhia, 1951; Skow, 1962) is available in many com¬mercial forms, but these forms can be broadly classified into manufactured and unmanufac¬tured mica. Manufactured mica consists of mica that has been shaped, punched, or other¬wise processed into some form, suitable for a particular end use. Unmanufactured mica con¬sists of partially hand-trimmed or processed material that has not been prepared for any particular end use. Unmanufactured mica is broken into two commercial classes consisting of sheet mica and scrap and flake mica. These classes of mica differ greatly in their ultimate end uses and marketed forms. Sheet muscovite mica can be classified by color, degree of prep¬aration of the crude material, thickness, size, visual appearance, and electrical quality. In addition, phlogopite mica is also classified by its thermal stability. Scrap and flake mica consist of mine, trimming shop, and factory scrap that occurs as remnants from mining, processing, and manufacturing operations, and small particle size mica that is available from the beneficiation of pegmatites, clays, schists, or other mica-rich host rock. The end uses for sheet mica vary so greatly from those of scrap and flake mica that it is necessary to discuss them separately. Sheet Mica Sheet mica consists of relatively flat sheets of material which have been mined as naturally occurring books or runs of mica. These sheets are hand-trimmed to remove any imperfections and are punched or stamped into specified shapes for industrial use. Sheet mica can be further processed and is described or specified as block, film, or splittings based on thickness. Block mica is not less than 0.007 in. thick with a minimum usable cross-sectional area of 1 sq in. Film mica is split from the better quali¬ties of block mica to specified thickness groups ranging from 0.0012 to 0.004 in. Splittings are sheets of mica with a maximum thickness of 0.0012 in. and a minimum usable area of 0.75 in. Other small sized, lower quality block mica

Jan 1, 1975

By AIME

PROBABLY no greater world traveler has ever been Chairman of one of the Institute's Divisions than Henry Frederick Hebley. To begin with, he was born almost as far away as possible-in Christchurch, New Zealand, Dec. 15, 1893. There he grew up, studying mechanical engineering at the local Seddon Memorial Technical College. Then he went over to Sydney, Australia, for a bit of work before sailing for the U.S.A. in 1915. After a few months as draftsman in a San Francisco office he moved over to Clarkdale, Ariz., in the engineering department of the United Verde copper smelter, which had just gone into operation. But the war was on, and Henry thought he belonged in France with the Canadian Engineers, the United States still remaining aloof from the conflict, and that was the last the copper industry saw of him. After almost two years in France he was wounded, convalesced in England and Canada, and then went back to his native New Zealand to design concrete factory buildings. But soon the United States called again, and this time he landed in Salt Lake City with the Oregon Short Line R.R. Co. Then to Chicago in 1920. where he really got into the coal industry for good, working for the Allen K Garcia Co. on the design and operation of coal mines, beneficiation plants, and combustion equipment; and joining the Institute.

Jan 1, 1946

By Max W. Ball

An intelligent discussion of the oil situation and its needs, whether from the standpoint of the prospector, the operator, the engineer, or the public administrative officer, must be founded upon a knowledge of the law under which oil lands are obtained. A consideration of new legislation must be prefaced by an understanding of the present law and its results. This paper undertakes to present no new remedy for the ills of the present situation, no new solution of the problems the oil business is facing. It attempts merely to summarize the present law, its provisions, its origin, its development, and its effects. The discussion does not pretend to be exhaustive from a legal standpoint. It aims to avoid legal intricacies which tend to. confuse rather than clarify. It seeks but to present the essentials of the existing situation. The title to government lands known to contain valuable deposits of petroleum may be acquired only under the terms of the placer law as embodied in Section 2329 et seq. of the Revised Statutes. As a preliminary to considering the desirability of this situation it is profitable to examine into its origin. Origin of the Law Congress has left no room for doubt as to the legal applicability of the placer law to oil lands. The Act of Feb.11, 1897(29 Stat., 526), provides: "that any person authorized to enter lands under the mining laws of the United States may enter and obtain patent to land containing petroleum or other mineral oils, and chiefly valuable therefor, under the provisions of the laws relating to placer mineral claims.' . The immediate cause for the passage of this Act was stated in a brief report in the, House of Representatives (there was no debate in the Senate) to be a decision of the Department rendered Aug. 27, 1896 (Union Oil Co., 23 L. D., 223), directing the cancellation of an oil placer entry on the ground that land containing petroleum cannot be located and entered as a placer mine. The report of the Public Lands Committee of the House contains the following interesting statements Congressional Record, vol. xxix, p. 1409):

Jan 1, 1915

By T. B. Brooks

THE iron ores of the Marquette region are mostly extracted in open excavations ; hence the process is more properly quarrying. Several attempts at underground work have been made, which have not, on the whole, been successful. The Edwards mine has been almost entirely wrought by candle-light. The slate ore pit, No. 1, of the New England mine, is now worked in the same way, as is also the Pioneer furnace pit of the Jackson mine. The Champion mine was opened systematically for underground work, with two levels, 60 feet apart, and three shafts at distances apart along the bed. of 200 feet; but this idea has been practically abandoned, the greater part of the ore in that mine being now taken out in open pits. Several other mines have occasionally worked underground stopes, but only temporarily; if such stopes could not be opened out to day-light, they have usually been abandoned. In brief, it may be said that no considerable amount of ore has as yet (1870).been extracted underground in the region, and of that so mined very little has been taken out at a profit; and I may add that it seems to be the belief of the most experienced mining men that this state of things will hold for some time to come for reasons which will appear. Nearly the same remarks may be applied to the mines of the Iron Mountain region, Missouri, the ores of which are very similar in character to those of Marquette. Some of the New York and New Jersey magnetic deposits are wrought open, but this is the exception, underground mining there being the rule. The following brief sketch of the geological structure of the Marquette deposits will indicate some advantages of the method of mining employed. The iron-bearing (Huronian) series of rocks, are stratified beds, the principal ore formation being overlaid by a quartzite, and underlaid by a diorite, or greenstone. This ore formation is made up, first, of pure ore ; second, of a mixed ore" (i. e., banded * A second part of this paper was read before the American Society of Civil Engineers. Both papers are embraced in Chapter IX, Part I, Vol. II, Geological Survey of Michigan.

Jan 1, 1873

PROF RICHARD ÅKERMAN Stockholm, Sweden ANDREW CARNEGIR New York, N.Y. DR. JAMES DOUGLAS New York, N.Y. PROF HATON DE LA GOUPILLIERE Paris, France R.A. HADFIELD Sheffield England PROF HANS HOEFER Leoben, Austria PROF HENRI LOUIS LE CHATELIER Paris France M FLORIS OSMOND Paris, France JOHN E. STEAD Middlesborugh, England PROF DIMITRY CONSTANTIN TSCHERNOFF St Petersburg, Russia CHARLES D WALCOT Washingtion D.C. PROF DR HERMANN WEDDING Berlin, Germany

Jan 1, 1910

IN comparing the living conditions of the worker or peasant of the past with those existing today, his-torians might point out many strange contrasts. From the Doomsday Book we learn that at the time of Wil-liam the Conqueror the 1,375,000 inhabitants of Eng-land and Wales owned less than 1000 horses and 5000 oxen. Even as recently as 1871 when England and Wales had a population of 31,845.000, the total number of horses in the country was estimated at 1,110,000. Compare the necessary drudgery of labor in those days with conditions in Canada today where a population of less than ten million people own 3,500,000 horses. Re-member that there is also a turbine installation in` this country of more than four million horse-power, besides steam boilers and locomotive and automobile engines which reduce the traction and hand labor of the farm and factory. Frequently, poetic license has glossed over the poverty and hardship of the common people in the "good old days," and the imagination has created an idyllic world, far from being justified by the condi-tions which actually prevailed. Simon Patten's de-scription of the Middle Ages as "A Thousand Years Without an Ice Box" came nearer portraying the true situation. No one is likely to forget that the discovery of America was an incident in Europe's attempt to find a short route to the Indies, but the fact is usually for-gotten that the summer diet in Europe in 1400-an ice-less age-was such that spices were more precious than gold. Though the glamor of the Indies may never sur-round the modern refrigerator, certainly the modern housewife is likely 'to feel that the applied art called "cookery? may attain to higher levels with the assist-ance-6f such an adjunct. Those who have spoken slightingly of the uniformity of the modern apartment and have eulogized some of the exceptional hand-made furniture which has been bequeathed by former generations, have failed to com-pare modern house furnishings with those in the typical peasant's hovel. Machine-made furniture, though with-out particularly good lines, contrasts quite favorably with the pile of rags in the corner, and the poorest gas or oil stove is better than an open fire on a dirt floor. The scientist's application of the theories of physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics .to practical prob-lems has brought about a series of kaleidoscopic trans-formations in agriculture, industry and commerce. Large scale production, improved means of communica-tion and the prevailing higher standard of living are terms which imply a very human meaning when in-terpreted as actual changes in individual living. Though the student and the teacher may deprecate the influence of commercialism upon science, humanity as a whole has received great benefits from the close relationship which has developed between science and industry, and industry in turn has done much for science through the building and endowment of laboratories and by supply-ing funds to maintain research workers.

Jan 11, 1927

By Ole Singstad

The legislatures of New York and New Jersey, determined in 1919 that a vehicular tunnel should be built under the Hudson River. On July 1, 1919, an engineering staff was organized with the late Clifford M. Holland as chief engineer. After preliminary investigation it was decided to build the tunnel from Canal St., New York, to 12th St., Jersey City, which is the center of the heaviest traffic across the Hudson River. It was also decided to build two tunnels—one for west-bound traffic and one for east-bound—the tunnels to be of cast iron, built up of segments and bolted together, each tunnel to have a roadway 20 ft. wide and a clear head room of 13 ft. 6 in. The tunnels have an exterior diameter of 29 ft. 6 in. The interior lining is of concrete, the sidewalls, tiled with a vitreous white tile, and the roadways are paved with granite block. The entrances and exits at both ends are separated by two blocks so as to reduce traffic congestion. Basis of Ventilation It was recognized very early that one of the most important problems confronting the engineers was a proper ventilation system. It was estimated that each tunnel as planned would have a traffic capacity of 1900 vehicles per hr. The tunnels are 8500 ft. long between portals, and it was considered that the ventilation should be based on all of these vehicles being operated by gasoline engines. That presented a problem in ventilation unlike any other either in magnitude or character. There have been vehicular tunnels built in Europe, principally in London, but they are shorter and have a smaller traffic capacity. Up to the present time, at least, they have handled a very large percentage of horsedrawn vehicles so that the necessary ventilation has been provided for by the natural draft through the portals and open shafts. Within the last few years, however, a small mechanical ventilating plant has been installed in the Blackwall Tunnel, which has been in operation about 27 years. I might mention that at the time this work was started, it was considered by many that the problem of ventilation was insuperable and it

Jan 1, 1927

By Juan Sodi, John F. Elliott

The standard free energy of ReS2 has been measured in the range of 1050° to 1250°K using H2/H2S mixtures and a slight variation of the method described by Hager and Elliott.1 The result is: The experimental method and apparatus were modified slightly for this study. Measurements on Cu2S were made to verify the application of the method to the work on ReS2. THE EXPERIMENTS AND RESULTS Briefly, the experimental method consisted of exposing a chip of copper or rhenium at a known temperature for 8 hr to a slowly flowing gas stream at the same temperature in which Ph2S and PH2 were known. The chip was withdrawn quickly from the hot furnace, and subsequently it was inspected for the presence of a sulfided surface. In the experiments described here, there was no ambiguity in any case as to the presence or the absence of the sulfide. At a given temperature, gas compositions for sulfidization were explored systematically until two compositions were found whose values of ?G°, Eqs. [I] and [2], were within approximately 100 cal of each other, one of which was sulfi-dizing and the other was not. These are termed the "straddle" compositions and it is assumed that the equilibrium composition lies between them. The chief modification to the apparatus, which is shown schematically in Fig. 1 of Ref. 1, was to support the metal specimen on a small alumina boat which could be moved along the reaction tube, 6 mm ID, by platinum wires. An appropriate seal at each end of the reaction tube permitted the sample to be moved from the cold end of the tube into the hot zone in 2 to 3 sec, and the sample could be withdrawn equally rapidly. Thus, it was possible essentially to quench the specimen from the reaction temperature with the reaction gas or helium flowing and without danger of breaking the reaction tube. The usual practice at the end of the experiment was to switch the gas system to the helium tank, flood the reaction chamber with helium, and pull the sample out of the hot zone. The purpose of the modification was to permit study of the sulfidization of copper without the complication of the back-reaction between the gas and the specimen as the latter cooled during slow withdrawal of it from the hot zone; this was a problem in the earlier work.&apos; A further improvement located the tip of the temperature-indieating thermocouple and the specimen precisely at the hottest part of the furnace. A carefully calibrated thermocouple, with its tip at the position of the specimen and with other conditions duplicating those of an actual experiment, showed that in the temperature range of 900° to 1122°C the temperature of the specimen differed from that of the tip of the indicating thermocouple by less than 0.5°C. The two positions were 0.5 cm apart. The reaction gas was prepared from ultrahigh-purity hydrogen (<l ppm O2, <0.5 ppm H2O) and CP grade hydrogen sulfide (99.5 pct H2S). High-purity helium (99.995 pct He) was used. All of these gases were purchased from the Matheson Co. All flow meters were recalibrated by the soap-bubble method with hydrogen, H2S, helium, and several gas compositions used during the study. These calibrations gave a linear relationship with a slope of 1.0 for the plot of log flow rate vs log pressure drop across the flow meter, in accordance with the Hagen-Poiseuille equation. The analysis of the gas was determined in the same manner as was reported previously. Good checks were obtained between the composition of the gas established by the flow-meter settings and by chemical analysis of the gas taken after the mixing bulb and ahead of the furnace. The pressures of H2S, H2, S2, and HS in the equilibrium gas at temperature were calculated from the following data :3 The pressures of the species S and S8 were negligible for the conditions of the experiments.3 There was no sign of vaporization of ReS2 either by weight loss or deposits in the reaction tube. Thus it is not possible to account for the apparent volatility of the compound reported by Juza and Biltz.2 The inlet gas composition and the calculated equilibrium ratio of PH2 S/PH2 for the "straddle" points of each experiment are shown in Table I. The specimens of metal for the experiment were small clippings of annealed copper (99.9+ pct) sheet 0.005 in. thick that was obtained from Baker and Adamson and of "high-purity" rhenium (99.9+ pct) sheet 0.005 in. thick that was purchased from Chase Brass and Copper Co. A specimen was removed from the apparatus; inspected for the presence of the sulfide, and then stored in a sealed vial. A fresh clipping was used in each measurement. The condition of the surface of each specimen after the experiment is noted in Table I.

Jan 1, 1969

By H. W. R. Wardlaw

This paper shows how the cost of the drilling operation per 100-ft drilled can be related directly to bit weight, rotary speed and hydraulic horsepower variations. This enables optimum drilling conditions to be determined in a rapid and concise manner. The paper also shows how data for such calculations cun be obtained quickly and accurately by the "drill-off" method suggested by Lubinski. Examples are given to illustrate the principles and methods used. INTRODUCTION The problem of drilling oil wells at lowest cost and hazard needs little introduction, since it has been with us virtually from the earliest days of our industry. With better understanding of the effect of the various factors of bit weight, rotary speed and hydraulic jet action, however, the problem has recently taken on a more scientific aspect, and engineers or groups of engineers have been assigned to study many of the facets of this problem not immediately apparent to the general observer. Moreover, the availability of better equipment and materials has enabled certain practices to be adopted which were hitherto impractical or uneconomic. This has paved the way for further efforts to reduce footage costs, and so on. The improvements to be made in drilling technology and cost reduction are by no means exhausted, and we still frequently hear of new records being set and new materials and equipment becoming available. Some of the analytical methods used by the author to assist in promoting faster and more economic methods of drilling, particularly in Venezuela, form the basis for this descriptive study. STATEMENT OF THEORY AND DEFINITIONS In a highly competitive industry, it is no longer permissible to regard penetration rate as the sole criterion for drilling efficiency. Every new technique, however spectacular, must nowadays be viewed in the cold light of whether it will eventually lead to lower cost per foot drilled. In the exposition which follows, therefore, actual drilling rates will play only a secondary role, and attention will be focused on the more important aspect of cost per foot drilled. Changes in drilling factors such as weight and rotary speed will be studied in the light of how they directly affect the cost of operations. The advantage of this method is twofold—(1) cost increments are indicated directly; and (2) the relationships are, surprisingly enough, simpler than those relating to drilling rates. To achieve these advantages, it is necessary to introduce a new unit of measurement which, although unfamiliar, is readily understood. The unit in question will be referred to as the "actual drilling cost factor" and will be designated by the symbol h. The unit is defined as the number of rotating hours taken to penetrate 100 ft of formation. The unit can be obtained immediately from the actual drilling rate (r) in feet per hour; thus, This latter transformation is so easily effected that it may be convenient to use h as an international symbol for drilling cost, and to delay conversion to dollars, bolivars, pounds, etc, per foot until actually required (e.g., for fiscal reasons, etc.). In actual operations, h was found to vary in a relatively simple manner with increases in bit weight. The variation in h with rotary speed was found to be somewhat more complex. However, this also could be enormously simplified by introducing a further factor known as L or relative bit life. The factor L is also defined very simply by dividing 1,000 by the rotary speed (N) in revolutions per minute.

By P. L. Weston, S. E. Khalafalla

A systematic study was made by the Bureau of Mines on the effect of so me hypothesized accelerators for the process of wustite reduction in carbon monoxide. When small concentrations of promoter materials in the order of 0.69 at. pct were added to the reducible charge, the rate of reduction to iron was increased. Promotion phenomenon prediction was made in light of a suyface reduction mechanism with the aid of Vol&apos;kenshtein&apos;s effect regarding the propagation of crystal lattice disturbances by small amounts of relatively larger interstitial ions. The acceleration produced by a typical promotor, such as potassiunl, increases with protnoter concentration up to a maximum, beyond which the reduction rate decreases. Concentration for maximum promotion depends on the nature and physicochemical properties of the promoter. The extent of reduction rate enhancement is found to be directly proportional to the atomic volume and electronic charge of the additive. DESPITE the enormous volume of literature on iron oxide reduction, very little is reported concerning additive or impurity effects on this important metallurgical process. The beneficial effect bf calcium compound additions on the reducibility of iron oxide sinters has been reported by Tigerschiold,1 vor dem Esche,2 and Edstrom. Doi and Kasai~ found that the addition of lime or limestone to iron ores helps to break up any unreducible compounds, such as fayalite or ilmen-ite. and thus free the combined iron for reduction. Schenck et al. 5 suggested that the increased reduction rate obtained when adding lime could be accounted for by the instability of wustite in the presence of lime. Acid-base slagging reactions resulted in wustite disproportionation according to The dicalcium ferrite formed will yield iron and calcium oxide during reduction. Regenerated calcium oxide dissociates more wustite. This mechanism has been used by Seths and white7 to explain their experimental results. Recently, Strangway and ROSS&apos; attributed the calcium carbonate acceleration of iron oxide agglomerate reduction to increased porosity, both initial as well as that developed during reduction. Aside from calcium carbonate, or oxide, no other promoter was noted in the literature, except for a brief mention by Barrett and woodg on the effect of sodium carbonate and aluminate as activators for the hydrogen reduction of magnetite at 600°C. The present investigation systematically studied a host of other promoters, including calcium and sodium, in an attempt to elucidate the mechanism by which promotion takes place and to fit the results into a simple chemical model. To attain this goal, the effect of promoter physical properties, such as atomic volume, electronic charge, and concentration are related to wustite reduction kinetics in this paper. Wustite reduction to iron, rather than the overall hematite reduction, was chosen since this reaction is known to be the slowest, and hence the rate-deter mining step for the overall iron oxide reduction process. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Raw Materials and Their Preparation. The pure or impregnated wustite pellets were prepared from minus 400-mesh chemically pure hematite powders. A known weight of hematite was thoroughly and uniformly mixed with a calculated weight of the additive. The mixed paste containing 35 wt pct water was gradually heated from 400" to 1200° C and fired at 1200°C for approximately 4 hr in an air atmosphere. After cooling, the sinter was pulverized to minus 100 mesh and pelletized into minus 4- plus 5-mesh spheres. Pellets were fired, similarly to the paste mix, air-cooled, sized, and stored. An appropriate weight of the charge (20 g) was placed in a zirconia reduction tube maintaining a uniform oxide bed height of 1 cm and a cross section of 7.1 sq cm for all of the test runs. The samples were supported in the vertical reaction tube by a bed of fragmented insulating firebrick plus 3- to 6-mesh alumina beads. The hematite was then transformed to wustite by reduction with a 30 pct CO2-70 pct CO gas mixture at 1000°C in a globar furnace. Complete conversion to wustite was ascertained by a continuous infrared gas analyzer recording the CO-CO2 content of the effluent gas until no carbon monoxide was absorbed from the inlet gas, and inlet-outlet gas analysis remained constant for 30 min. The wustite sample was then reduced with 100 pct CO at 100WC. From the recorded data, an initial rate of reduction was determined by the initial slope of the graph percent reduction vs time. In order to estimate the accuracy of the data, five separate determinations of the reduction curve of pure wustite, under otherwise identical conditions, were performed. The maximum deviation from the average reduction at 14 min amounted to 2 2 pct reduction. This deviation corresponds to 3.8 pct variation based on the percent reduction of the sample. Aiiy impurity effect below the limits of this maximum deviation was considered a spurious result. If the effect exceeded + 4 pct, then it was considered as a positive one. Considerable care was exercised in determining the initial rate from the slope of the initial segments of the curve. Each reduction curve was examined separately on large graph paper and the best tangent to the curve at zero time was drawn. The slope of this tangent was taken as a measure of the initial fractional reduction per minute. Although the time required to reach 50 pct reduction may be of special practical significance, initial rate measurements are invaluable in fundamental studies. These rates provide a measure of the process kinetics on the initial

Jan 1, 1968

By Sam Tour

OF the new alloys achieving commercial prominence during the year, an aluminum-silicon magnesium casting alloy, which is similar in many respects to the 4 per cent copper alloy, developed about 1921, which has attained such a wide field of service, may be mentioned. The new alloy, like the old, is a heat-treatable type and develops about the same physical properties. The alloy casts easily and is relatively insensitive to high pouring temperatures. Its ability to produce substantially leak- proof castings is noteworthy. A second casting alloy development is the new Aluminum Co. of America No. 132, "Lo-Ex" piston alloy, a result of nearly eight years of research. The alloy contains about 14 per cent silicon and varying amounts of nickel, copper, and magnesium. It exhibits a low coefficient of expansion and thus permits small piston clearances. Its lower specific gravity is a further advantage.

Jan 1, 1932

By Fred C. Bond

MOST investigators are aware of the present unsatisfactory investigatorsstate of information concerning the fundamentals of crushing and grinding. Considerable scattered empirical data exist, which andare useful for predicting machine performance and give acceptable accuracy when the installations and materials compared are quite similar. However, there is no widely accepted unifying principle or theory that can explain satisfactorily the actual energy input necessary canexplain commercial installations, or can greatly extend the range of empirical comparisons. Two mutually contradictory theories have long existed in the literature, the Rittinger and Kick. They were derived from different viewpoints and logically lead to different results. The Rittinger theory is the older and more widely accepted.&apos;TheRittinger In its first form, as stated by P. R. Ritted.&apos;tinger, it postulates that the useful work done in crushing and grinding is directly proportional to the new surface area produced and hence inversely proportional to the product diameter. In its second form it has been amplified and enlarged to include the concept of surface energy; in this form it was precisely stated by A. M. Gaudin&apos; as follows: "The efficiency of a comminution operation is the ratio of the surface energy produced to the kinetic energy expended." According to the theory in its second form, measurements of the surface areas of the feed and product and determinations of the surface energy per unit of new surface area produced give the useful work accomplished. Computations using the best values of surface energy obtainable indicate that perhaps 99 pct of the work input in crushing and grinding is wasted. However, no method of comminution has yet been devised which results in a reasonably high mechanical efficiency under this definition. Laboratory tests have been reported- hat support the theory in its first form by indicating that the new surface produced in different grinds is proportional to the work input. However, most of these tests employ an unnatural feed consisting either of screened particles of one sieve size or a scalped feed which has had the fines removed. In these cases the proportion of work done on the finer product particles is greatly increased and distorted beyond that to be expected with a normal feed containing the natural fines. Tests on pure crystallized quartz are likely to be misleading, since it does not follow the regular breakage pattern of most materials but is regularrelativelybreakage harder to grind patternat the finer sizes, as will be shown later. This theory appears to be indefensible mathematically, since work is the product of force multiplied by distance, and the distance factor (particle deformation before breakage) is ignored. The Kick theory4 is based primarily upon the stress-strain diagram of cubes under compression, or the deformation factor. It states that the work required is proportional to the reduction in volume of the particles concerned. Where F represents the diameter of the feed particles and P is the diameter of the product particles, the reduction ratio Rr is F/P, and according to Kick the work input required for reduction to different sizes is proportional to log Rr /log 2." The Kick theory is mathematically more tenable than the Rittinger when cubes under compression are considered, but it obviously fails to assign a sufficient proportion of the total work in reduction to the production of fine particles. According to the Rittinger theory as demonstrated by the theoretical breakage of cubes the new surface produced, and consequently the useful work input, is proportional to Rr-l.V f a given reduction takes place in two or more stages, the overall reduction ratio is the product of the Rr values for each stage, and the sum of the work accomplished in all stages is proportional to the sum of each Rr-1 value multiplied by the relative surface area before each reduction stage. It appears that neither the Rittinger theory, which is concerned only with surface, nor the Kick theory, which is concerned only with volume, can be completely correct. Crushing and grinding are concerned both with surface and volume; the absorption of evenly applied stresses is proportional to the volume concerned, but breakage starts with a crack tip, usually on the surface, and the concentration of stresses on the surface motivates the formation of the crack tips. The evaluation of grinding results in terms of surface tons per kw-hr, based upon screen analysis, involves an assumption of the surface area of the subsieve product, which may cause important errors. The evaluation in terms of kw-hr per net ton of —200 mesh produced often leads to erroneous results when grinds of appreciably different fineness are compared, since the amount of —200 mesh material produced varies with the size distribution characteristics of the feed. This paper is concerned primarily with the development, proof, and application of a new Third Theory, which should eliminate the objections to the two old theories and serve as a practical unifying principle for comminution in all size ranges. Both of the old theories have been remarkably barren of practical results when applied to actual crushing and grinding installations. The need for a new satisfactory theory is more acute than those not directly concerned with crushing and grinding calculations can realize. In developing a new theory it is first necessary to re-examine critically the assumptions underlying

Jan 1, 1953

By Fred C. Bond

MOST investigators are aware of the present unsatisfactory investigatorsstate of information concerning the fundamentals of crushing and grinding. Considerable scattered empirical data exist, which andare useful for predicting machine performance and give acceptable accuracy when the installations and materials compared are quite similar. However, there is no widely accepted unifying principle or theory that can explain satisfactorily the actual energy input necessary canexplain commercial installations, or can greatly extend the range of empirical comparisons. Two mutually contradictory theories have long existed in the literature, the Rittinger and Kick. They were derived from different viewpoints and logically lead to different results. The Rittinger theory is the older and more widely accepted.&apos;TheRittinger In its first form, as stated by P. R. Ritted.&apos;tinger, it postulates that the useful work done in crushing and grinding is directly proportional to the new surface area produced and hence inversely proportional to the product diameter. In its second form it has been amplified and enlarged to include the concept of surface energy; in this form it was precisely stated by A. M. Gaudin&apos; as follows: "The efficiency of a comminution operation is the ratio of the surface energy produced to the kinetic energy expended." According to the theory in its second form, measurements of the surface areas of the feed and product and determinations of the surface energy per unit of new surface area produced give the useful work accomplished. Computations using the best values of surface energy obtainable indicate that perhaps 99 pct of the work input in crushing and grinding is wasted. However, no method of comminution has yet been devised which results in a reasonably high mechanical efficiency under this definition. Laboratory tests have been reported- hat support the theory in its first form by indicating that the new surface produced in different grinds is proportional to the work input. However, most of these tests employ an unnatural feed consisting either of screened particles of one sieve size or a scalped feed which has had the fines removed. In these cases the proportion of work done on the finer product particles is greatly increased and distorted beyond that to be expected with a normal feed containing the natural fines. Tests on pure crystallized quartz are likely to be misleading, since it does not follow the regular breakage pattern of most materials but is regularrelativelybreakage harder to grind patternat the finer sizes, as will be shown later. This theory appears to be indefensible mathematically, since work is the product of force multiplied by distance, and the distance factor (particle deformation before breakage) is ignored. The Kick theory4 is based primarily upon the stress-strain diagram of cubes under compression, or the deformation factor. It states that the work required is proportional to the reduction in volume of the particles concerned. Where F represents the diameter of the feed particles and P is the diameter of the product particles, the reduction ratio Rr is F/P, and according to Kick the work input required for reduction to different sizes is proportional to log Rr /log 2." The Kick theory is mathematically more tenable than the Rittinger when cubes under compression are considered, but it obviously fails to assign a sufficient proportion of the total work in reduction to the production of fine particles. According to the Rittinger theory as demonstrated by the theoretical breakage of cubes the new surface produced, and consequently the useful work input, is proportional to Rr-l.V f a given reduction takes place in two or more stages, the overall reduction ratio is the product of the Rr values for each stage, and the sum of the work accomplished in all stages is proportional to the sum of each Rr-1 value multiplied by the relative surface area before each reduction stage. It appears that neither the Rittinger theory, which is concerned only with surface, nor the Kick theory, which is concerned only with volume, can be completely correct. Crushing and grinding are concerned both with surface and volume; the absorption of evenly applied stresses is proportional to the volume concerned, but breakage starts with a crack tip, usually on the surface, and the concentration of stresses on the surface motivates the formation of the crack tips. The evaluation of grinding results in terms of surface tons per kw-hr, based upon screen analysis, involves an assumption of the surface area of the subsieve product, which may cause important errors. The evaluation in terms of kw-hr per net ton of —200 mesh produced often leads to erroneous results when grinds of appreciably different fineness are compared, since the amount of —200 mesh material produced varies with the size distribution characteristics of the feed. This paper is concerned primarily with the development, proof, and application of a new Third Theory, which should eliminate the objections to the two old theories and serve as a practical unifying principle for comminution in all size ranges. Both of the old theories have been remarkably barren of practical results when applied to actual crushing and grinding installations. The need for a new satisfactory theory is more acute than those not directly concerned with crushing and grinding calculations can realize. In developing a new theory it is first necessary to re-examine critically the assumptions underlying

Jan 1, 1953

By I. R. Kramer

The apparent activation energy, U, JOY plastic deformation of aluminium, copper, and gold single crystals and polycrystalline aluminum was found to he dependent upon surface condition. At low strains, the value for U for aluminum single crystals was 4200 cal per mole ; however, this value decreased to 920 cal per mole when the specimens were polished during the test at a rate of 50 X 10-5 win-1 The activated volume also was found to increase with the rate of metal removal. That the surface plays an important role in plastic-deformation processes has been adequately demonstrated.1-4 Of particular interest at this time are the observations4 that the creep rate of single crystals of fee metals is increased markedly when specimens are polished during the deformation process. These observations were interpreted in terms of a dislocation debris layer at the surface regions of the crystal. This layer, which appears to be a region containing a high concentration of dislocations or segments of dislocations, not only will impede the egress of dislocations on the primary slip system, but will also provide a barrier against which dislocations may pile up. By this means, a stress which opposes the motion of dislocations will be generated. It is considered that this stress must be taken into account in any theory which describes the plastic-deformation process. Although a detailed dislocation model cannot be given at this time, it may be stated that the stresses opposing the motion of dislocations arise from the dislocations in the debris layer, Ts, and ti due to the resistance to motion imposed by internal obstacles such as Lomer-Cottrell barriers, subgrain and grain boundaries, forest dislocations, and so forth, as well as the resistance due to the presence of jogs on dislocations and the interaction of the stress fields of dislocations, and so forth. In essence, we have added an additional term, ts, to the usual form of the equation T = Ta- Tb, where Tb is the back stress due to the various types of obstacles which impede the motion of dislocation. Accordingly, the net stress, t, acting on a dislocation may be written as where Ta is the applied shear stress. For deformation which occurs by a thermally activated process5,8 ?=Ae-u/kT = A e(u,-VT)/kT [2] and U = Uo- Vt PI where U = activation energy for plastic flow, y = shear strain rate, Uo = activated energy for plastic deformation in the absence of stress and depends upon the particular deformation process, V = activated volume, k = Boltzmann constant, T = temperature, OK, and A = frequency factor. From Eqs. [I] and [3], U = Uo- V(Ta - Ti - TS) [4] and it is seen that if Ts decreases, the activation energy, U, must decrease if V remains constant. However, as will be shown, V is a function of the surface conditions. In their work on aluminum, Lytton and coworkers7 reported that at low strains the activation energy was 3400 cal per mole and at high strains it was 28,000 cal per mole. The lower value was interpreted in terms of the energy necessary to overcome the Peierls force, while the higher value was associated with the energy necessary for dislocations to move by a cross-slip process. It will be shown that the lower activation energy is associated with the surface debris layer rather than with the Peierls force. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Single crystals having a nominal cross section of 1/8 in. and a 3-in. gage length were prepared by a modified Bridgman technique using a multiple-cavity graphite mold. The initial purity of the metals was 99.997, 99.999, and 99.999 pet for aluminum, copper, and gold, respectively. The orientation of the specimens is given in Fig. 1. The measurement of the activation energy as a

Jan 1, 1964