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By J. S. Marsh

TUESDAY, Feb. 16, was no day for strolling along the cold sidewalks of New York, and a large number of metallurgists sat down with pleasure to the warming task of wiping a few soldered joints. Presented by a joint-wiper of the modern school, G. M. Bouton, of the well-known team of Schumacher, Bouton, and Phipps, the initial paper brought into focus the theme of conservation of strategic metals and described the technique of making the fillet-type joint now employed by the Bell System. Using an over-all average of only 40 per cent of the solder formerly used by the conventional method. this important development bids fair to stick when the war is over. D. L. Martin and E. R. Parker then described the embrittling effect of hydrogen on silver previously heated in oxygen and the less serious but troublesome result obtained under the converse conditions. An interesting example of grain growth restriction created additional material for the lively discussion that ensued among those who have encountered one or another of these phenomena in silver and copper.

Jan 1, 1943

By A. Aly Selim

A computer model was developed to calculate the fragmentation cost for in situ leaching operations as a function of the blast design and deposit parameters. The model is based on blasting an ore zone only or an ore zone plus overburden by either a coyote blast or a vertical blasthole system. The model calculates the blast design parameters and the fragmentation cost based either on a user input powder factor value or on a powder factor calculated by the model as a function of the overburden height and the ore zone thickness. Examples of blast design parameters calculated by the model are the number and spacing of blastholes for a vertical blasthole system and the number and spacing of crosscuts for a coyote system. The model also calculates the total amount of explosives, the detonating cord length, and the number of primers. The cost of blasthole drilling can be calculated by the model based either on purchasing and operating a drill or on a user input value of the contracted cost of drilling. Application of the model to an example ore deposit showed that the vertical blasthole systems were more economical than the coyote system when there was no overburden and the deposit had an average ore thickness less than 45 meters. With no overburden and ore thickness greater than 45 meters, the vertical blasthole system was either more or less expensive than the coyote system depending on the number of levels used in the coyote system. With overburden, the coyote system was less expensive than the vertical blasthole system for blasting either the ore only or the ore plus the overburden. A coyote blast will usually produce larger particle sizes than a vertical blasthole system. Larger particle sizes can result in lower copper recoveries so that a less expensive coyote blast may not improve the overall economics of an in situ leaching operation. Blasting the ore zone only was generally less expensive than blasting the ore plus the overburden by either blasting system. Also, for the example considered, the coyote system costs were less sensitive to changes in overburden thickness and powder factor while the vertical blasthole system costs were less sensitive to changes in ore thickness.

Jan 1, 1977

By M. R. Tek, R. L. Nielsen

The scaling laws as formulated by Rapoport relate dynamically similar flow systems in porous media each involving two immiscible, incompressible fluids. A two-dimensional numerical technique for solving the differential equations describing systems of this type has been employed to assess the practical value of the scaling laws in light of the virtually unscalable nature of relative permeability and capillary pressure curves and boundary conditions. Two hypothetical systems — a gas reservoir subject to water drive and the laboratory scaled model of that reservoir — were investigated with emphasis placed on water coning near a production well. Comparison of the computed behavior of these par ticular systems shows that water coning in the reservoir would be more severe than one would expect from an experimental study of a laboratory model scaled within practical limits to the reservoir system. This paper also presents modifications of the scaling laws which are available for systems that can be described adequately in two-dimensional Cartesian coordinates. INTRODUCTION Present day digital computing equipment and methods of numerical analysis allow realistic and quantitative studies to be carried out for many two-phase flow systems in porous media. Before these tools became available the anticipated behavior of systems of this type could be inferred only from analytical solutions of simplified mathematical models or from experimental studies performed on laboratory models. To reproduce the behavior of a reservoir system on the laboratory scale, certain relationships must be satisfied between physical and geometric properties of the reservoir and laboratory systems. Where the reservoir fluids may be considered as two immiscible and incompressible phases, the necessary relationships have been formulated by Rapoportl and others.2-5 Rapoport's scaling laws follow from inspectional analysis of the differential equation describing phase saturation distribution in such systems. It will be recalled that these scaling laws presuppose three conditions: (1) the relative permeability curves must be identical for the model and prototype; (2) the capillary pressure curve (function of phase saturation) for the model must be linearly related to that of the prototype; and (3) boundary conditions imposed on the model must duplicate those existing at the boundaries of the prototype. These three requirements seldom if ever can be satisfied in scaling an actual reservoir to the laboratory system because: (1) The laboratory medium normally will be unconsolidated (glass beads or sand) while the reservoir usually is consolidated. Relative permeability and capillary pressure curves are usually quite different for consolidated and unconsolidated porous media. (2) The reservoir usually will be surrounded by a large aquifer which could be simulated in the laboratory only to a limited extent. (3) Wells present in the reservoir would scale to microscopic dimensions in the laboratory if geometric similarity is to be maintained. In view of these considerations, rigorous scaling of even a totally defined reservoir probably would never be possible. The purpose of this paper is to assess the practical value of the scaling laws in the light of the unscalable variables. This has been done by carrying out numerical solutions in two dimensions to the differential equations describing the flow of two immiscible, incompressible fluids in porous media for a field scale reservoir and a laboratory model of that reservoir. While both the reservoir and the laboratory model were purely fictional, each has been made as realistic and representative as possible. The field problem selected as the basis for the investigation was an inhomogeneous, layered gas reservoir initially at capillary gravitational equilibrium and subsequently produced in the presence of water drive. The laboratory model of this reservoir was designed to utilize oil and water in a glass bead pack. The numerical treatment employed was similar to that of Douglas, Peaceman and Rachford6 and it included both capillary and gravitational forces as

By Rollin A. Slater

This paper presents a composite of ideas on materials handling systems by describing the design of an over-all system for a hypothetical steel pellet plant located on the Great Lakes. The bulk materials handling industry has served for years as the skeleton and the central system of nerves and nourishment for the body of basic industries. During the past two decades, this body has undergone substantial growth and mutation to meet the surging demands of our national economy for more and better products. The steel industry has kept pace with spiralling demand by innovation which has resulted in new processes and improved designs which generally yield greater production from fewer units. Materials handling technology has likewise improved its techniques and currently has a new, stronger generation of equipment to perform its necessary supporting function. Drawing upon excerpts from several recent plant designs, this paper describes a basic approach to the selection and application of modern bulk materials handling systems to an entirely new steel plant. Specific details are not available for publication, and therefore the plant described herein is a composite of ideas. This imaginary plant will be located on the United States side of the Great Lakes and its owner will be called the Hypothetical Steel Corp. for purposes of discussion. TYPES OF EQUIPMENT The basic bulk materials handling systems and components required in a plant so situated are: lake boat unloaders; railroad train unloading systems; storage pile stackers and reclaimers; large bins and regulating feeders; and the conveyor systems — with their attendant controls— which connect the foregoing. PROGRAM OF DEVELOPMENT The initial work on the plant must be that of the process engineers who develop and refine the basic data, i.e., the logistics of all raw materials, waste materials and products within the plant. During this phase of study, the materials handling engineer may advance his planning only in basic areas such as movements at the dock and movements at the railroad. This initial planning work is concerned only with defining logical plant locations in the light of channels, currents, existing traffic, governmental regulations, locations of existing railroads and available rights-of-way. These systems alone have their own individual criteria which must be respected and accommodated in the final layout. All other elements, such as the arrangement of the blast furnaces, power house, coke plant, by-product plant, scrap preparation plant, BOF shop, and facilities for continuous casting, degassing, calcining, etc., are dictated by their own specific needs and their relation to each other. In the arrangement of these latter facilities, the materials handling system is secondary and must be designed to accommodate. BASIC LOGISTICS The result of the process engineer's work can be expressed in terms similar to those shown in Table I. Plants are customarily rated in terms of annual tons of ingots. Therefore, the basic size of this plant can be determined by referring to the BOF Shop wherein it is sized at 5 million tpy. From the base, the required hot metal can be traced to the blast furnace, which in turn indicates the amount of required flux, iron bearing materials and coke —which in turn establishes the demand for coal. Likewise, the total demand for flux can be determined by the combined demand of the lime plant and blast furnace. The generation of fines and waste products, which have significant value but are not usable as such, create the need for a sintering plant. From projections such as the foregoing, the complete flow of materials can be established and accommodated. The basic premise upon which this typical materials balance is predicted is that the plant will be a producer of high tonnages of non-SpecialtV- products. All basic raw materials (flux bearing, iron bearing, coal) will be prime quality. For example, the basic iron charge will be pellets, and the iron ore fraction will be sized lump, all of which

Jan 1, 1970

All the TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS and PREPRINTS published in 1932 are available at Institute headquarters. They are also on file in public,, university and technical libraries and, when so indicated in the list, may be found in the TRANSACTIONS. Copies of the TECHNICAL PUBLICATIONS have been mailed to those members of the Institute who are registered in the different classes: A-Metal Mining; B-Milling and Concentration; C-Iron and Steel Division; D-Nonferrous Metallurgy; E-Institute of Metals Division; F-Coal Division;. G-Petroleum .Division; H-Nonmetallic Minerals; I-Mining Geology; K-Mining Administration; L-Geophysical Prospecting. Other members may obtain copies by writing to the Secretary. Copies of PREPRINTS may also be obtained from the Secretary's office. Additional copies are sold at the rate of 1 cent per page; minimum charge, 25 cents. Nonmembers may purchase the papers at the prices mentioned. METAL MINING TECH- NICAL PUBLI- - TITLE AUTHOR MEETING TRANS. CATION VOLUME No. AND PAGE* 484-A.45 Propeller Type Mine Fan at Moose A. S. Richardson New York 102, 86, 93 F.52 Shaft, Butte, Montana (13) Feb., 1932 487-A.46 Progress in the Improvement of Max H. Barber New York, Methods and Equipment at Feb., 1932 Open-pit Iron Mines on the Lake Superior Iron Ranges (9) Pre. Sand Filling through Pipes and Lucien Eaton New York, 102, 33, 41 Boreholes (9) Feb., 1932

Jan 1, 1932

By George W. Harris

In the earlier period of anthracite-mining, much coal was wasted, both underground and in the culm-banks on the surface. Such waste is common in the development of new mining-districts, in which, as a rule, only the richest material can be profitably treated. In the anthracite-region, special causes operated to increase this evil. The mines were generally worked under 20-year leases, and royalties were paid upon such coal only as was actually marketed. The lessees consequently cared for immediate profit solely. They were not bound to win all the coal they exposed, or to leave it in such condition that their successors could win it. Nor was it their interest or duty to educate consumers in the use of their product. The market called for coal of large sizes; and such coal they furnished, throwing away the rest. Any pains taken by them to bring about a more rational use of coal by their consumers would have borne fruit, after their leases had expired, to the benefit of somebody else. A full statement of the situation was given in 1893, in the report of the State Commission, appointed in 1889 to investigate the subject.' That body included the names of Heber S. Thompson, William Griffith and the late Eckley B. Coxe.2 Its report gives special attention to the utilization of the old culm-banks.

Jan 1, 1906

By William H. Spice

No devclopment of major importance has been made in the south central fault-line district of Texas during 1939. Four new fields have been discovcred, all of which appear to be of minor importance, with small wells in the Navarro sand, the Taylor marl or the Austin chalk. Drilling along the fault line has not developed any new prospects in the Edwards lime, the most prolific producing horizon of the district. At the close of the year, a few deep tests for lower producing horizons have been projected and should prove to be of interest, and plans are under way for further development of the Pearsall field, which has been under the control of a single company until recently. Production from the 46 producing fields was maintained at 8,460,000 bbl. for the year, a decrease of approximately 400,000 bbl. under 1938. This decrease is due in part to natural decline of production and in part to decreased allowed production. Approximately 55 producing wells were completed on proven acreage in the Darst Creek and Salt Flat fields. No new lease plays were made during the year, although approximately the same amount of land, 600,000 acres, remained under lease during the year. Some geophysical operations of various types were carried on along the fault-line area itself and also in the Edwards plateau and in the area south and southeast of the main fault line.

Jan 1, 1940

By William H. Spice

No devclopment of major importance has been made in the south central fault-line district of Texas during 1939. Four new fields have been discovcred, all of which appear to be of minor importance, with small wells in the Navarro sand, the Taylor marl or the Austin chalk. Drilling along the fault line has not developed any new prospects in the Edwards lime, the most prolific producing horizon of the district. At the close of the year, a few deep tests for lower producing horizons have been projected and should prove to be of interest, and plans are under way for further development of the Pearsall field, which has been under the control of a single company until recently. Production from the 46 producing fields was maintained at 8,460,000 bbl. for the year, a decrease of approximately 400,000 bbl. under 1938. This decrease is due in part to natural decline of production and in part to decreased allowed production. Approximately 55 producing wells were completed on proven acreage in the Darst Creek and Salt Flat fields. No new lease plays were made during the year, although approximately the same amount of land, 600,000 acres, remained under lease during the year. Some geophysical operations of various types were carried on along the fault-line area itself and also in the Edwards plateau and in the area south and southeast of the main fault line.

Jan 1, 1940

By Claude P. Heiner

W-hile the litle of this paper embraces the entire West Coast, the author, in the interest of simplification, has confined the discussion to California—particularly the central section. California's population has risen 45 pct since 1940. Its electric requirements have also increased, not only because of the growth in industry and population but also because of the widespread tendency of all types of electric consumers to use more electricity than ever before. The growth of California's electric utilities is shown by published data covering operations of three of its large systems and is given in Table 1. New Capacity Steam Driven In meeting these additional electric loads there has been a substantial increase in generation from fuel burning plants as shown by the published energy statistics given in Table 2. Increased Fuel Oil Consumption A study of construction plans of the three electric utility systems named in Table 2 clearly shows that expected new electric loads are to be met, to a large extent, by new steam generating capacity as shown by Table 3. D. D. Smalley, Vice President of the Pacific Gas and Electric Co., in an address before the Pacific Coast Electrical Association in June 1948, stated that California utilities plan to meet new electric loads through greater use of steal11 plank and that in 1951 approximately 45 pct of the area's electric production would be by steam as compared to 33.6 pct in 1946. He stated that if load growth develops as expected and if the year 1952 is dry, thereby requiring high load factor steam operation, the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. would need the equivalent of nearly 25 million barrels of fuel oil. Federal Power Commission reports show that the energy input to the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. system was approximately one billion kilowatt-hours greater in 1947 than in 1946. They also show that the steam plant operating capacity factor in 1946 was approximately 35 pct; in 1947 it, was 72 pct due, probably, to the extreme drought. able 3 shows that Pacific Gas and Electric Co. now has under construction 327,000 kw of hydro capacity which, by 1950, will bring its total hydro generating capacity to 1,313,899 kw. In addition to hydro capacity under construction that company also has 975,000 kw of steam generating capacity under construction, which by 1951 will bring its total steam capacity to 1,560,834 kw. If it is assumed that this total steam electric capacity is operated at a capacity factor of 45 pct, in 1951, over 6 billion kilowatt-hours would be generated. If the load growth on the Pacific Gas and Electric system continues at the current rate of approximately one billion kilowatt-hours per year and if it is assumed that 70 pct of this increase would be generated by steam (30 pct assumed to be generated by hydro facilities with average water conditions), the steam electric production in 1960 would amount to 12 billion kilowatt-hours, which would require fuel the equivalent of 24 million barrels of oil or 6 million tons of coal. Government Projects Inadequate Much has been written with respecl to the plans of the Department of Interior in regard to the installation of hydroelectric plants as a part of multipurpose dams relating to reclamation. flood control, and power generation. An examination of the effect of such plans on the power supply for central and northern California is of interest. The Depart,ment of Interior now has five 73,000 kw units at its Shasta hydro plant on the Sacramento River. It now appears that its three 25,000 kw unit Keswick hydro plant on the same river will be available during the winter of 1949 to 1950. Its estimates show that in a dry year there is sufficient water for operation of Shasta units at an average load factor of 36 pct and Keswick units at a load factor of 41 pct. It is also giving consideration to the development of the Pine Flat and Haas hydroelectric plants on Kings River for generating capacities of 45,000 kw each. The total installation of Government, units in Central Valley and Kings River in California is relat.ively small when compared with t.he

Jan 1, 1950

By P. B. Knuckey, D. Littleford

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

Jan 1, 1972

By Richard P. Rothwell

Fires in mines are so serious in their consequences and of such frequent occurrence, that their causes and the means of extinguishing them are certainly questions of the greatest interest to a large part of the engineering profession. We have already, in this country, many mines which have been burning for years, and though our hard anthracite is so difficult to ignite that for a quarter of a century after it was first discovered it mas not known how to burn it except with the aid of an artificial blast, yet most of the fires which have occurred underground have been in anthracite mines, and in the coal itself. The injury which these fires have caused to properties in various parts of the anthracite regions, and the cost of extinguishing them, would amount to many millions of dollars, and they have also occasioned the loss of many valuable lives. It is not surprising, therefore, that the subject has already attracted much attention, and the exercise of great ingenuity; and the present communication is made less with the expectation of announcing anything new, than with the object of putting upon record the present state of our knowledge on this subject, or, in other words, of indicating how defective are the present means of combating underground conflagrations. Causes of Mine Fires.—Even upon the surface, fire is a terrible foe to contend with, and there is probably no other which inspires such thorough and well-founded alarm. With what feelings, then, must we look upon this destructive element, when its field is in the narrow galleries of a mine, where the poisonous products of combustion, spreading in every direction, protect, in the most effectual manner, the fire itself from the attacks of extinguishers, while, if the face of attack be ventilated so as to enable then] to approach the seat of the fire, the air current simply increases the extent and violence of the conflagration. Fires underground originate in as various ways as those on the surface, and it is scarcely necessary to say that, except in the rare cases where they are the result of design, they are invariably classed as " accidents," and most generally as " unavoidable accidents." In reality, by an intelligent understanding of their causes and with due precautions, they can almost always be prevented. Ignorance and

By Dorsey Hager

The possibilities of finding new oil pools in Oklahoma and Kansas are far from promising. In 1916, the only new pools of importance were the Franchot pool near Bixby, the Garber, and the Billings pools in Oklahoma, and the Virgil and Utopia fields in Greenwood County, Kansas. In the first 8 months of 1917, a small pool of unknown extent was opened south of the Stone Bluff pool in Oklahoma, and a pool near Casey, Paunee County, Oklahoma. In Eastern Kansas, interest has been caused by the sinking of new wells near the old Iola pool, but nothing of magnitude has yet been found. The outlook for new pools is far from encouraging, especially as geological surveys have covered all of Oklahoma and Kansas. There are a few areas where geological surveys throw little or no light on the subject, as exposures are poor, but the chances of finding new pools in such areas are slight indeed, if one can judge from the past history of such areas. So far the geologists have based their opinions largely upon the presence or the absence of geologic structure, such as anticlines, domes, and terraces, but some pools will most certainly be found where no surface structure exists, but where local changes in the sand body favor oil accumulations. However, the possibilities of new pools off structure are small, as fully 90 per cent. of the oil pools are on definite structure. In the past, it is estimated that one test in 150 "wild cats" or new tests has brought in a new field. The writer feels safe in asserting that the proportion will decrease still further, so that but one out of 500 new tests may bring in a pay well in a new area. Prom now on the principal field of work in Oklahoma and in Kansas will consist in developing the present pools. The years 1915, 1916 and 1917 saw the high peak of Oklahoma and Kansas oil production. The Eldorado and the Augusta oil fields present the largest possibilities for continued production in Kansas. These two pools have been scarcely more than one-third developed, and have greater potentialities than any of the present Oklahoma pools. In Oklahoma, pools of magnitude should

Jan 1, 1918

By Dorsey Hager

THE possibilities of finding new oil pools in Oklahoma and Kansas are far from promising. In 1916, the only new pools of importance were the Franchot pool near Bixby, the Garber, and the Billings pools in Oklahoma, and the Virgil and Utopia fields in Greenwood County, Kansas. In the first 8 months of 1917, a small pool of unknown extent was opened south of the Stone Bluff pool in Oklahoma, and a pool near Casey, Paunee County, Oklahoma. In Eastern Kansas, interest has been. caused by the sinking of new wells near the old Iola pool, but nothing of magnitude has yet been found. The outlook for new pools is far from encouraging, especially as geological surveys have covered all of Oklahoma and Kansas. There are a few areas where geological surveys throw little or no light on the subject, as exposures are poor, but the chances of finding new pools in such areas are slight indeed, if one can judge from the past history of such areas. So far the geologists have based their opinions largely upon the presence or the absence of geologic structure, such as anticlines, domes, and terraces, but some pools will most certainly be found where no surface structure exists, but where local changes in the sand body favor oil accumulations. However, the possibilities of new pools off structure are small, as fully 90 per cent. of the oil pools are on definite structure. In the past, it is estimated that one test in 150 "wild cats" or new tests has brought in a new field. The writer feels safe in asserting that the proportion will decrease still further, so that but one out of 500 new tests may bring in a pay well in a new area. From now on the principal field of work in Oklahoma and in Kansas will consist in developing the present pools. The years 1915, 1916 and 1917 saw the high peak of Oklahoma and Kansas oil production. The Eldorado and the Augusta oil fields present the largest possibilities for continued production in Kansas. These two pools have been scarcely more than one-third developed, and have greater potentialities than any of the present Oklahoma pools. In Oklahoma, pools of magnitude should

Jan 10, 1917

By Robert A. Cook

In the increasing struggle to cheapen the cost of our iron and steel products a great deal of attention lias been given to economies in the manufacture of coke; and while but little lias been accomplished in this direction in the United States, the narrow margin between cost and market-price, which has obtained here for the past few years of continuing manufactur ing depression, has brought the coke-maker face to face with the problem, how to save, and benefit by it, the hitherto waste products of distillation. I These may be summed up under three heads, generally rank ing, in value, in the following order: 1. Ammonia salts.. 2. Oil- or tar-products. 3. Gas. There are cases in which the last may assume the position of greatest importance. The greatest obstacle encountered by the American coke maker, on investigating the subject, has been the apparent necessity of discarding his existing plant of bee-hive ovens, and erecting an entirely new and very expensive system of retort ovens, against the product of which Be has probably been prejudiced from his earliest knowledge of the subject. The object of this paper is to bring prominently before our coke-experts a brief history of the development at Sheffield, England, of a most successful system of the utilization of by products in connection with all already existing plant of bee hive ovens. This system has now been in satisfactory operation for about five years, and is applied to a series of blocks of ovens, comprising-about 140- in all At this plant, belonging to the well-known firm of Newton,

Jan 1, 1897

The mining companies on the page opposite are among the elite industrial 500 in Fortune magazine's June Directory of U. S. firms that rang up the largest dollar sales volume in 1967. The companies are listed according to their 1967 sales rank, which is given along with their 1966 rank for comparison. Mergers played an important role in the addition and deletion of several companies to the list. Tenneco, Occidental Petroleum and Gulf & Western Industries made the list of mining companies by their purchases of Kern County Land, Island Creek Coal, and New Jersey Zinc, respectively. In turn, these three companies disappeared from the list. General Aniline & Film acquired Ruberoid, and Ideal Cement is now a part of Ideal Basic Industries -a name change only. Only two companies, St. Joseph Lead and U.S. Smelting, Refining & Mining, were actually displaced from the list. The mining industry increased its sales 14.5%, placing fourth among the 22 industrial classifications listed in the Directory. However, among the ten biggest losers in sales were four mining companies-Kennecott Copper, -33.8% ; Asarco, -21.8% ; Amax, -16.5%; and Anaconda, -15.1%.-which was mostly a result of the copper strike, except for Amax which suffered strikes at its molybdenum and aluminum operations. Mining heads the list of industries for return on sales and assets per employee, while it rests at the bottom with respect to sales per dollar of invested capital.

Jan 8, 1968

By J. B. Austin

In considering so complex a process as the smelting of iron in the blast furnace, there is obviously no single method of calculating efficiency that gives a complete appraisal of the performance of the furnace in all its several functions; such a comprehensive view as is required to evaluate producing ability and manufacturing costs for a given furnace is obtained only by considering a group of efficiencies, each of which measures the performance of the furnace from a specific point of view. For instance, there is the rate of consumption of coke per ton of iron produced, which is probably the most frequently considered, and is certainly one of the most important of the group; there is the efficiency of recovery of iron charged; and there is the efficiency of utilization of energy, both chemical and thermal, in some respects related to the former two yet in other ways independent of either. In each of these cases, the calculation can be made on the basis of the actual input of material or energy, or it may be based upon a comparison with the minimum amount of material or energy that would be required by a "perfect" furnace; that is, an imaginary ideal furnace analogous to the perfect steam engine used in thermodynamic calculations, when this furnace is operating under optimum conditions. Moreover, the furnace itself can be considered either as an apparatus for smelting iron or, taking a somewhat less common point of view, as a gas producer yielding iron and slag as by-products. Some of these efficiencies are more useful than others, yet all are instructive; for a knowledge of them not only leads to good engineering practice from the standpoint of control but also discloses limits to possible improvement in performance and indicates the lines along which improvement is most likely to be profitable. Estimates of some of these efficiencies have appeared from time to time in the literature, but many of them are open to objection because they are based on data of uncertain accuracy or because they have been caleulated without due regard to the thermodynamic principles involved. Moreover, so far as the author is aware. no general survey of the blast furnace comparing its performance in all the aspects mentioned has been made.

Jan 1, 1938

By J. B. Austin

In considering so complex a process as the smelting of iron in the blast furnace, there is obviously no single method of calculating efficiency that gives a complete appraisal of the performance of the furnace in all its several functions; such a comprehensive view as is required to evaluate producing ability and manufacturing costs for a given furnace is obtained only by considering a group of efficiencies, each of which measures the performance of the furnace from a specific point of view. For instance, there is the rate of consumption of coke per ton of iron produced, which is probably the most frequently considered, and is certainly one of the most important of the group; there is the efficiency of recovery of iron charged; and there is the efficiency of utilization of energy, both chemical and thermal, in some respects related to the former two yet in other ways independent of either. In each of these cases, the calculation can be made on the basis of the actual input of material or energy, or it may be based upon a comparison with the minimum amount of material or energy that would be required by a "perfect" furnace; that is, an imaginary ideal furnace analogous to the perfect steam engine used in thermodynamic calculations, when this furnace is operating under optimum conditions. Moreover, the furnace itself can be considered either as an apparatus for smelting iron or, taking a somewhat less common point of view, as a gas producer yielding iron and slag as by-products. Some of these efficiencies are more useful than others, yet all are instructive; for a knowledge of them not only leads to good engineering practice from the standpoint of control but also discloses limits to possible improvement in performance and indicates the lines along which improvement is most likely to be profitable. Estimates of some of these efficiencies have appeared from time to time in the literature, but many of them are open to objection because they are based on data of uncertain accuracy or because they have been caleulated without due regard to the thermodynamic principles involved. Moreover, so far as the author is aware. no general survey of the blast furnace comparing its performance in all the aspects mentioned has been made.

Jan 1, 1938

By Harold S. Morgan

INTRODUCTION The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is being developed in southeastern New Mexico by the United States Department of Energy as a research and development (R&D) facility to demonstrate the safe disposal in salt of radioactive wastes resulting from defense activities. As part of the WIPP R&D program, a series of in situ tests will be performed to determine the behavior of drifts and storage rooms in the creeping salt medium (Matalucci, et al. 1982). Data obtained in these tests will be used to evaluate and improve numerical models used to compute the structural response of these drifts and rooms. Stress has been proposed as one of the parameters to be measured in the tests, and borehole inclusion stressmeters have been included in the instrumentation package. Cages of this type provide an indirect measurement of stress change in that they actually monitor borehole displacements which are then related to changes in the in situ stress away from the borehole. The relationship between stress and displacement is highly dependent upon the constitutive behavior of the rock in which the gage is emplaced. This relationship is well understood for rocks with linear stress-strain behavior (Fossum, et al, 1976), but, for creeping rocks like salt, the relationship has yet to be determined. Thus, inclusion gage response in salt must be investigated fully before stress measurements from the WIPP in situ tests can be used for comparisons with computed stresses The calculations presented in this paper were performed as part of an investigation of inclusion stressmeter performance in salt. They focus on the strain gaged stressmeter (SGS) (Cook and Ames, 1979) and on a hypothetical solid cylindrical inclusion with variable stiffness Issues addressed include the effects of creep and the effects of gage stiffness on stressmeter output for various loading conditions. The

Jan 1, 1984

By David P. Hale

THE Cartersville barite district is near Cartersville, Ga., in the southeastern part of Bartow County, about 43 miles northeast of Atlanta. The area over which active mining is being done extends about six miles in a northeasterly direction and is about three miles wide. Barite production in Georgia began about 1907,1but the existence of the mineral was known much earlier. At present four companies are operating washing plants and three other plants are operating on leases from those companies. The chief impurities in the ores are silica and iron oxide. The silica is easily washed and jigged out and gives little trouble. Any gravity separation between the iron and the barite is generally poor, owing to the slight difference in specific gravity. Two operators have turned to magnetic separation as the solution to the problem and have made remarkable improvements in the finished product. By very close sizing prior to jigging, the separation between iron and barite has been greatly improved. In some localities manganese occasionally appears as an impurity, but is fairly easy to eliminate by gravity methods. A considerable percentage of iron and silica is eliminated by being broken free in crushing. Until methods for the recovery of fine ore were introduced a minimum of crushing was done, but modern methods allow more than formerly. The depression years brought about the need for increased recovery of ore handled on the part of the producers and a demand for a higher grade of product on the part of the buyers. Improvements in milling and mining practice have had a far greater effect, however, than merely the production of a better grade of ore with greater recovery. They have opened for mining large areas that a few years ago were considered noncommercial deposits because of their inaccessibility and their high iron content. It is no exaggeration to say that the new methods have more than doubled present known reserves of barite ore of economic value.

Jan 1, 1938

By Alfred W. Gauger, George A. Burrell

The senior author of this paper, while in Colorado on other official business, made a trip to the Cripple Creek gold-mining district to get more data than are at present available regarding the composition of the gas that issues from the rock into the mines of the district. This was done at the suggestion of George S. Rice, Chief Mining Engineer of the Bureau of Mines. There are -many questions of interest and importance in connection with the ventilation of the mines in the Cripple Creek district, such as the menace to life and mining of a suffocating gas entering the mines from the rock, the danger due to powder smoke (from blasting operations), and danger of continued inhalation of rock dust by the miners. This report confines itself to the first problem, the gas from the rock, and principally to one phase of this question, the composition of the gas and its effects on men and lights. A more thorough study of this and other ventilation problems is planned. That the rock gas is a real menace is shown by the fact that miners (variously estimated from 25 to 50 by different persons interviewed) have been killed by it in the 25 years that mining has been vigorously carried on at Cripple Creek. Many men have had narrow escapes from death, some of them having been incapacitated for days. In addition, much loss of time results because at certain periods of the year or on certain days it is impossible to enter some workings. At a few mines, fans force air into the workings, thus supplementing the natural ventilation and much improving conditions, but the improvement is not entirely adequate at all times. Origin of the Gas Lindgren and Ransome1 think that the gas found in the rocks of the Cripple Creek mining district represents the last exhalations of the ex-

Jan 1, 1917