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By Fred H. Lippold, Wm. H. Wolf

Methods of fair payment for excavating, supporting, and concrete lining tunnels have been sought by various owners for years. Tunneling techniques have changed with the development of equipment-from the hand-mucking operation to the machine mucker and, most recently, to machine-boring; from tunnel supports using timber sets to steel sets to rock bolts and, most recently, to shotcrete support; and from hand-placing the concrete lining using wooden forms to pumping or pneumatic placing using steel forms. As tunnel construction techniques advanced, so did methods for payment for the work performed. The recent development of tunnel-boring machines, or "moles," is precipitating another change. These changes have led to some difficulty in providing proper payment for the various items of work for different types of tunnels. As a major construction agency engaged in water-resources development in the western states, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has long been aware of the need for clarification of payment provisions in tunnel construction. The Bureau has some 150 miles of tunnels completed on its projects and about 50 miles of tunnels under construction. In this construction, the Bureau has benefited by the advance made by contractors in improving the techniques of tunnel excavation. To assure that the Bureau has an up-to-date approach to payment provisions, the Chief Engineer recently established a "standard" method of payment for all types of tunnels. It is believed that this new method of payment will be equitable for all contractors bidding on various types of tunnels using the diversity of methods of excavation now available to them. These payment provisions provide for different quantities for excavated tunnels using the blasting technique or using machine-boring techniques. In this way, the contractors have a choice in excavation methods and an equal opportunity to be low in their bids. We believe this will be an incentive to all contractors to be as progressive as the development of new equipment economically allows.

Jan 1, 1970

By Martti E. Maliniemi

The Svappavaara mine is located 47 km southeast of Kiruna C. The ore deposit now being worked, Leveäniemi, belongs to Luossavaara- Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB) and is the company's, and also Sweden's, third biggest mine after Kiirunavaara and Malmberget. The distance by rail to the Norwegian port of Narvik is 214 km and to Lulei on the Gulf of Bothnia 340 km (Fig. 1). The village of Svappavaara has about 800 inhabitants. The climate is arctic in character. The temperature during the months of December to February is about -20º to -35ºC, and the ground is covered by a blanket of snow for about eight months of the year. The brief, intensive summer often arrives with startling speed, bringing both sunshine and warmth. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Mining operations took place in Svappavaara as far back as 300 years ago. During the period 1655-1684, copper ore was taken from the deposit called Gruvberget in the vicinity of the village. The total production of raw copper was probably about 1,045 tons. During the 18th and 19th centuries, several attempts were made to extract iron ore from the numerous deposits found within the district. These brave attempts, however, were foiled by the high phosphorus contents and the enormous transport difficulties. The present-day mine fields in Leveäniemi were discovered in 1897. At that time, it was difficult to determine the size and value of the deposit because of the thickness of the soil cover (3 to 15 m) and the

Jan 1, 1969

By Frederick W. Bacorn

The paper of Reno H. Sales on Ore Deposits at Butte, Mont.,' is a careful and painstaking work, an important contribution to the literature of the subject. As is almost inevitable in a work of such magnitude, a few misstatements occur; and some of these I shall endeavor to point out. Mr. Sales has also fallen into error, as I think, in the application of his theory of ore deposition; and while the modification which I venture to suggest is a minor one geologically, it is of great economic importance. I refer to Mr. Sales's idea of an outward migration of mineralizing solutions from a supposed central copper zone. In order that I may make myself plain, I must first epitomize the theory as a whole, which I understand to be this: All of the Butte ore deposits (save those along the Continental fault, not herein considered) are derived from solutions of magmatic origin, which, at the beginning of their ascent from a great depth, were acid in reaction, hot, and were carriers of copper, zinc, manganese and other metals. As they departed from their point of origin they lost heat, and, because of reactions with the wall rock, became more and more alkaline. The metal deposited from these solutions in their hot condition was principally copper; and, as they cooled, they deposited less and less copper and more and more manganese and zinc, until the copper practically disappeared. With this theory in general I have no fault to find, nor have I, it must be stated, the qualifications necessary to enable me to pass upon it critically; but it seems to me to be reasonable and probable, and is one which I am quite willing to accept. But Mr. Sales, for what seem to me to be insufficient reasons, has assumed that there is one deep central source of copper, relatively rich and small, from which all the solutions emanated. From this central source the solutions rose, through one channel or through a group of channels, to the surface, at and within a small area called the central copper zone,

Jan 1, 1915

By J. B. Urnfileb

THE function of gas in the development and production of oil has far reaching consequences that should be emphasized. The technical aspects of the subject have recently had a great deal of attention but less thought has been given to fundamental concepts underlying oil and gas law and the many customs and practices that have grown up in the industry. I shall re- view briefly the advance in knowledge of the subject and attempt to relate these concepts to legislative, judicial and operating problems. Early writers on oil and gas in Pennsylvania noted their close association in oil pools and their contemporaneous decline in output; also, that as gas pressure decreases so does production, that new offset wells reduce the output of existing wells, and even that tubing a well lengthens its flowing life. Expanding gas was deduced as the principal expulsive force. These fundamental observations had been made at least as early as 1880.l They were treated, however, as academic considerations and did not greatly influence law or practice for many years except to instil into all operators an urgent desire to hasten offset drilling to obtain as much of the flush as possible.

Jan 1, 1932

By George B. Lee

During the two years in which the new reduction-works of the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Co. have been in operation at Douglas, Ariz., there has developed a remarkable condition in regard to the corrosive action of the water used to cool the jackets of the blast-furnaces. Were it not for the many contradictory features, it might pass as one of the unavoidable troubles due to the composition of the water. This water, obtained from wells 600 ft. deep, is also used in the steam-boilers, and its composition, as shown by the following analysis, does not indicate the presence of any ingredient which would explain the corrosion: Grains Per U. S. Gal. Silica,...........0.861 Iron oxide and alumina,....... 0.223 Calcium carbonate,....... 0.261 Calcium sulphate,................. Magnesium carbonate,........... Sodium and potassium sulphates,..14.850 Sodium and potassium chlorides,.9.732 Sodium and potassium carbonate, . 6.482 32.409 The jackets are made of inner plates 0.5 in. thick and an outer plate # in. thick, with 3/8-in. stiffeners between the inner and outer plates. In from 10 to 12 months the inner plates have been reduced by corrosion to a thickness of from + to & in., while the outer plate in the same time is reduced by less than 1/16 in., and the stiffeners show very little corrosion. The plates are pitted and eaten away in some places more than in others. There is practically no scale found on the jackets, but when cleaned considerable iron oxide is found in the bottoms. With an action so marked, serious trouble would be expected in the boilers, but, on the contrary, a recent inspection by a

Jan 1, 1908

By J. B. Novak

The program describes preventive maintenance practices and controls applicable in situations where maintenance actions are triggered primarily by breakdown or part failure and specification and documentation of detailed maintenance practices are minimal or nonexistent. The presentation describes requirements of organization structure, program administration, implementation and operation, type of benefits expected, and actual benefits derived in selected areas. The principle objectives of the program are to provide quick, inexpensive, and effective controls over maintenance practices and requirements and to establish a nucleus of controls that subsequently can be expanded to cover all maintenance activities.

Jan 1, 1973

By H. L. Gilbert, H. A. Johansen, R. G. Nelson

High purity electrolytic chromium plate has been hydrogen-reduced and arc-melted under inert atmosphere to give sound ingots. These ingots may be hot forged to break the as-cast structure and then worked at 500°C to finished form. An intermediate and final high temperature anneal gives best ductility and grain refinement. HE increasing interest in refractory metals for I use in high temperature gas turbines, jets, and rockets has led to great efforts in exploiting the fifth and sixth groups of transition elements. Much of the interest has centered upon production of metals that can be worked and fabricated by normal means to produce various engine parts or components having the high temperature characteristics of oxidation resistance and high creep strength required for such uses. If these pure elements do not exhibit all of the desired characteristics, it may be possible to obtain a high purity alloy that will. Since, in all cases, development of these transition elements has depended to a large extent upon removal of oxygen and nitrogen as a means for producing ductile metal, the hypothesis has been accepted that oxygen is the normal embrittling material in a high grade electrolytic chromium metal. Various methods have been employed in an effort to remove this oxygen by direct or indirect attack.' Many workers have endeavored to produce pure chromium through reduction of the oxide by carbon or active metals, while others have recommended fusion electrolysis of chromium salts or reduction of these salts by active metals, such as sodium or calcium. Hydrogen reduction of the oxide or chloride and thermal dissociation of the iodide have been reported to give high purity metal. Experimental Work The U. S. Bureau of Mines, Northwest Electro-development Laboratory, has systematically re-examined the more promising methods and developed two which produce metal having ductility at temperatures lower than heretofore described. It has been found' that oxide-free chromium chlorides in a NaCl-KCl carrier salt may be mag- nesium-reduced and the byproduct salts distilled off in vacuo to give a high purity chromium sponge. Fusion analysis conducted under the supervision of W. W. Horton of Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory showed the oxygen and nitrogen both to be below 10 parts per million on a selected sample. A small amount of carbon is carried over in the final metal from the chlorination and reduction steps which are carried out in graphite crucibles. This trace of carbon is not detrimental to hot ductility. A more practical method for producing ductile metal is through hydrogen reduction of high purity electrolytic chromium. Normal electrolytic chromium will, if "developed" for a few minutes at 1100°C in high vacuum, be found by the method of Adcock:; to contain about 1 pct chromium sesquioxide (Cr2O3). This small amount of oxygen may be effectively reduced by hydrogen.2, 4 The method employed was to crush electrolytic chromium plate in a gyratory crusher to pass 60-mesh; finer crushing appears to offer no advantage. A nitric acid leach removed the iron picked up during crushing. The leached powder was rinsed until neutral with distilled water and vacuum-dried.

Jan 1, 1954

By C. M. Wayman, S. R. Rauze

It was recently reported' that the initial transformation in (100) iron whiskers grown in the bcc condition can be nucleated on heating in regions of the whisker which are not necessarily the hottest. Although this behavior was observed1 several times, its sporadic nature precluded any documentation other than occasional visual observations during hot-stage optical-microscope heating experiments. The purpose of this communication is to report how, in one instance, the a-y transformation in such a (100) iron whisker was initiated in a region which was clearly at a lower temperature than an adjacent region which did not transform at all.

Jan 1, 1967

K. T. Aust and J. W. Rutter (General Electric Research Laboratory)—We find it difficult to reconcile the activation energies determined by Gifkins with his general conclusion that "migration during both creep and grain growth can thus be treated on the basis of the same model" (that of Lucke and Detert). Gifkins finds the activation energy for grain boundary migration during creep to be 24.5 kcal per rnol and that for grain boundary migration during grain growth to be 7.5 kcal per mol. The calculation carried out by Gifkins of the activation energy for grain boundary migration during grain growth, using the Lucke and Detert model, gives a value of 20 to 24.5 kcal per mol, rather than his experimental value of 7.5 kcal per mol. The theory of Lucke and Detert was developed to account for the rates of migration of grain boundaries in the presence of impurities during grain growth. The theory does not take into account the effect on the boundary migration of another, simultaneous process such as creep deformation and would be expected, therefore, to be applicable only to migration during grain growth. The fact that Gifkins measured a different activation energy for boundary migration during grain growth (7.5 kcal per mol) from that during creep (24.5 kcal per mol), although the specimens were of the same composition, shows clearly that such an effect exists under his experimental conditions; the presence of a simultaneous creep deformation markedly affects the boundary migration process in comparison with what would be observed under the same conditions but without the creep deformation. The failure of McLean's equation (Eq. [4] of Gifkins' paper) to give a satisfactory dislocation density difference for boundary migration during creep is not surprising, since the activation energy which must be used in this equation refers only to the elementary atom transfer process of grain boundary migration. This activation energy value is approximately 6 kcal per mol for zone-refined lead, as determined in both the grain boundary migration experiments of Aust and Rutter31, 32 and the grain growth experiments of Bolling and Winegard.33 Using this activation energy value, McLean's equation gives reasonable agreement with observed migration rates for grain boundaries moving free of the influence of impurities.31, 32 The value of 24.5 kcal per mol is probably associated with the presence of impurity atoms, as Gifkins suggests. It should be noted, however, that this value was obtained using lead of only one composition and measurements at only two temperatures. The work of Aust and Rutter3"' on the effects of tin, silver, and gold on grain boundary migration in zone-refined lead in the temperature range from 320" to 200°C, as well as the work of Bolling and Winegard34 on the effect of silver and gold on grain growth in zone-refined lead, shows that the measured activation energy is markedly dependent upon the kind and amount of solute present. Gifkins' work does not permit evaluation of the effect of the 8 ppm of impurities other than oxygen present in his specimens. One incidental point: the symbols used to designate the experimental points of Fig. 6 appear to be in incorrect order in the figure caption. As the caption is printed, it would indicate that larger grain sizes were obtained after annealing at 47°C than at 100°C, which does not agree with the text (point M, p. 1019). Finally, it seems clear from Gifkins' results that any serious attempt to determine whether grain boundary migration and grain boundary sliding during creep occur with the same activation energy, as Gifkins suggests and McLean rejects, must take into account the effects of impurities on these two processes, Although the work of Weinberg35 indicated that adding small amounts of copper, iron and silicon to aluminum did not affect the grain boundary shear behavior, it should be noted that his starting material contained approximately 60 ppm of impurities. Gifkins' results indicate impurity effects at an impurity level of 8 ppm, suggesting strongly that the most significant impurity range to be investigated lies substantially below that value. R. C. Gifkins (author's reply) — As Drs. Aust and Rutter suggest, the results under discussion may have to be reinterpreted in the light of their own work on grain boundary migration, which was not available to me when the paper was written. Because of their work, Aust and Rutter attach more importance than I did to the activation energy for grain boundary migration during annealing (7.5 kcal per mol) obtained from a "direct" plot of log-rate against the reciprocal of absolute temperature. At the time it was obtained, this value seemed rather low, although it was similar to the value obtained by Bolling and Winegard.36 It was then, and still is, difficult to accept this value because of the low value of the index in the power law for grain growth, which seemed to indicate the influence of impurities. It was also concluded that the low value of the activation energy might have arisen from the manner of selecting rates of grain growth which were truly comparable at the two temperatures. There were many other indications in these experiments and those on recrystallization during creep3? that an impurity, probably oxygen, was of importance. The model for grain-boundary migration which Lucke and Detert had proposed was an obvious possibility and its use yielded an activation energy for boundary migration during annealing of 20 to 25 kcal per mol.

Jan 1, 1961

By J. E. Coyne, L. E. Tanner, J. E. Boyd

In recent investigations of the isothermal transformations of the retained 0 phase in a titanium alloy having 13 pct V, 11 pct Cr, and 3 to 4 pct Al, there have been indications that the w transition phase is the initial decomposition product at temperatures below about 950°C (510 c).' This metastable phase, found in a number of titanium-base alloys rich in stabilizing elements and known to have an adverse effect on their ductility and toughness, is not easily observed by the usual experimental techniques. Since wis coherent with the /3 matrix,495 distinct interphase boundaries are not revealed metallographically. However, in some cases, an etching effect (i-e., a "mottled" /3 surface) poorly resolved by light microscopy has been found to correspond with the presence of w.6 X-ray diffraction examination has generally been the most suc- cessful means for identifying this phase and crys-tallographic determinations have been made.4'5 Dynamic elastic modulus7 and electrical resistivity measurementse have also aided in the identification of w. In the current study, the electron microscope was utilized to examine microstructures in aged Ti-13V-11Cr-3A1 that were unresolvable by light microscopy techniques. Using negative parlodion replicas (shadowed with chromium at 27 1/2 deg) examination was made of various transformation

Jan 1, 1962

By K. Matsuda, H. Tanaka, M. Mamiya, H. Majima

Copper cementation was studied from both thermodynamic and kinetic aspects. The temperature effect of copper cementation, which has been recognized as an anomalous result, and the rate enhancement phenomenon observed after the initial linear step are, in particular, focused in this work. The main results obtained are as follows; 1) Free energy changes of copper cementation reactions, calculated by the use of the "Correspondence Principle" of Criss and Cobble are rather insensitive to temperature. 2) A Flow-cell assembly consisting of a special cupric ion electrode, a calomel electrode and a potentiometer is particularly useful for the continuous measurements of copper cementation rate. 3) Two first-order reaction rate constants for the CU2+- Fe system were successfully determined by the use of the flow-cell assembly. 4) Activation energies determined for the initial rate and the 9 maximum rate of CU2+ - Fe system are both 4.6 kcal/mole. This fact suggests that the mechanisms of the initial reaction and the final reaction are essentially the same and both reactions are rate controlled by the diffusion in a boundary layer. The difference in the rate constants of them may fie explained by the effect of the nature of surface deposits. 5) Qualitative explanation of the rate enhancement phenomenon from the initial rate was successfully made by applying Bockris "Penetration Model."

Jan 1, 1976

By James Malcolmson

(New York Meeting, February, 1913.) THE Tigre Mining Co. of Mexico, owned by the Lucky Tiger Combination Gold Mining Co. of Kansas City, decided early in 1910 to enlarge its mill, which consisted of a concentrator milling 3,000 tons of ore per month. The enlarged plant was designed to crush and concentrate 6,000 of ore and to cyanide 7,500 tons per mouth. The extra tonnage cyanided was to be obtained from tailings which were stored below the old mill. Power was supplied to the old mill from four boilers; a 150-h-p.. Corliss engine and two Weber 60-h-p. gas-engines using producer-gas made from charcoal. The total horse-power required, including 60 h-p. used for machine-drills in the mine, was approximately 275. Cord-wood cost $4.32 per cord, 8 by 4 by 3 ft., and charcoal $15 per ton. The fuel supply in the surrounding country was approaching exhaustion; more than 150 mules and 50 men were engaged in cutting and transporting this fuel, and the unsettled political, conditions in Sonora were such that it would be practically impossible to keep an organization of this kind together. The price of fuel was steadily rising and at times it became almost impossible to get sufficient fuel to operate.

Jan 4, 1913

One of the best known of the early mining districts of Nevada was that at Eureka, where gold was first produced in 1864. While the most productive period for the district was during the early 1900s, production was maintained until World War II. During this time it is said that the Eureka district produced as much as $200 million from over 3,200 km (2,000 miles) of tunnels and workings. The Windfall Mine was discovered in 1902; and a 100 ton cyanide plant was operated there during the periods 1907 to 1912 and 1932 to 1940. Since 1974, however, Windfall Venture has been operating a unique heap leaching facility on the site of the old Windfall Mine. Gold at the Windfall occurs primarily in the Cambrian Hamburg dolomite which has been "sanded" and in which the original cementing material has been destroyed. The gold is micron sized and is accompanied by anomalous amounts of arsenic and mercury; however, the ore is low in base metals which distinguishes it from the typical Eureka district ores. Mining the ore causes it to break down into very fine sizes, approximately 50% minus 150 microns (100 mesh). Conventional heap leaching by spraying proved to be impossible; and extensive test work on alternate methods, aided by the United States Bureau of Mines, was conducted using 9 m (30 ft) high columns and then large tonnage heaps. The leaching procedure adopted was to build 10.6 m (35 ft) high heaps on a 50 mm (2 in.) asphalt pad covered with a layer of gravel for drainage assisted by perforated pipe drains and gravel-packed sumps. A berm is constructed around the top of each pad and cyanide solution is allowed to “pond” on top of the heap. The resulting percolation is at the rate of 24 liters per sq m per hr (0.6 gal per sq ft per hr), a figure about 2.4 times the average used in other heap leaching operations. The dolomite furnishes its own protective alkalinity and no lime or caustic is used in the solution which contains 0.4 kg per mt (0.8 lb per st) of NaCN. Pregnant solution from the heaps averages about 0.7 g Au per mt (0.02 oz per st) with a cyanide content of about 0. 2 kg per mt (0.4 lb per st) and a pH of plus 9. Addition of NaCN brings the pH of the leach solution up to 11 to 12. Carbon adsorption of the gold was originally done in six enclosed columns mounted in a trailer but five conventional columns have been substituted as the size of the operations has increased. Carbon stripping is with hot caustic, cyanide and 10% ethanol solution. The

Jan 1, 1981

By P. S. Kotval

THE nominal composition of "hconel" alloy 718 is 53 pct Ni-19 pct Cr-19 pct Fe-3 pct Mo-5 pct Cb-0.8 pct Ti-0.6 pct A1-0.05 pct C. The nature of the fine strengthening phase in this alloy has been open to debate. iseelstein' has identified the strengthening phase in the matrix of "Inconel" alloy 718 as a colum-bium-rich fcc y' precipitate. Wagner and Hall2 have noted that the metastable y' precipitate overages to an orthorhombic Ni3Cb precipitate which manifests itself as an acicular phase. These authors thus clarify Kaufman and Palty's earlier suggestion3 that the strengthening phase is orthorhombic NisCb. Wagner and Hall's review also reports work by cometto4 which suggests that the fine strengthening phase is not fcc / but bct with a Ni3V type structure and based on the Ni3Cb composition. Kir man and warringtons have shown by analysis of electron diffraction patterns that the metastable strengthening phase in a 55 pct Ni-15 pct 0-25 pct Fe-5 pct Cb alloy is bct and based on the Ni3Cb composition. Raymond~ has provided electron diffraction evidence which indicates that "y'" in "Inconel" alloy 718 is bct in structure. This note presents unambiguous data on the structure of the strengthening phase in "Inconel" alloy 718* ihe samples of this alloy were provided by courtesy of the ASTM task group on phase identification in 'superalloys. after prolonged aging. The electron diffraction patterns presented show that strengthening phase is not y' but bct as was proposed by cometto,' supported by Raymond,~ and identified by Kirman and warringtons in a similar system. Fig. 1 shows a selected-area diffraction pattern taken from a thin foil of "Inconel" alloy 718. The sample had received a final aging treatment of 1118 hr at 1200°F to precipitate the strengthening phase in the matrix. Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of the features in the diffraction pattern. The matrix orientation is (0i2)~,, as is shown by the indexed zone in Fig. 3. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 illustrate that the pattern, Fig. 1, is composed of three bct zones, viz., (0i4), (2i0), and (i01), respectively. These three zones correspond, respectively, to the alignment of the c axis of the bct unit cell with the [001], [loo], and [OlO] directions of the fcc matrix and serve to illustrate the fully coherent relationship of the precipitate structure with the matrix. The streaking of certain reflections is also consistent with the above orientation relationship. The interpretation of the diffraction effects presented here shows the metastable strengthening precipitate in "Inconel" 718 alloy to be bct in structure and demonstrates that it is not an ordered fcc y' phase.

Jan 1, 1969

By E. E. Carpenter

Believing that the results accomplished in the mill of the Churchill Milling Co., Wonder, Nev., during the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 1914, will be of interest, I am presenting the more prominent facts and figures showing the progress made in treating this ore with especial reference to tonnage, supplies, costs, and extractions. The mill is situated at Wonder, Nev., in the Wonder mining district, 55 miles east from Fallon, Nev., the nearest railroad point. All supplies are hauled this distance by freight teams, this method of transportation having been found more reliable for continuous service than truclis, the price paid for hauling being slightly under one cent per pound. In this mill are treated the ores of the Nevada Wonder Mining Co. Ore is Unusually Hard The company which tested this ore before the mill was built reported "This ore is an unusually hard, tough, oxidized quartz, carrying a small percentage of high-grade sulphides, containing good values in both gold and silver. None of the rebellious silver minerals appear to occur in appreciable quantities." ... "In regard to the mill tonnage this ore is unusually hard and tough, and a high stamp duty cannot be expected. Using a 20-mesh screen and 1,050-lb. stamps, our best work was three tons per stamp per 24 hours." It is very probable that the ore delivered to the testing plant was harder than the regular mill run has proved to be. However, at present the mine is developed to a depth of 1,000 ft., and still shows hard ore in places at this depth in about the same proportion as on the upper levels from which the test ore came; during this year's work, ore was treated from nearly all levels. Together with this hard ore in the mill feed a considerable proportion appears to be broken down and tending to crumble, thus making an ideal mixture for stamp milling. A small proportion of talc is also noticeable, which sometimes increases in amount to the point where it is very troublesome in the thickeners.

Jan 1, 1916

By R. A. Pallanch

IN his recent paper, "The Controversial Art of Flotation," (Mining Technology, March, 1944) E. H. Rose states that "flotation is a science in so many variables that only art can blend them." This statement is apt. It contains meat. In other words, a valid scientific reason is behind every flotative effect. Some of these reasons we understand, but much the greater number of them still escape us. This does not prevent us from "going places," as familiarity and experience with the problems result in an increasingly intelligent and artful handling of these effects. Hypotheses are built up by the individuals concerned to explain certain happenings. Many of these hypotheses have to be abandoned when placed under the glaring scrutiny of actual trial. A few survive the severest of tests, come through unscathed, and are elevated to the rank of theories, something susceptible of certain chemical and physical explanation, under the conditions of the particular plant concerned. If these theories continue to hold water under all the variations existing in most milling plants, they gradually become accepted as facts in the minds of the plant operators. But-and here is a big BUT-these so-called facts may fall down completely in another plant working under an entirely different set of conditions. In other words, each plant tends gradually to build up its own facts, which may or may not be facts at another operation.

Jan 1, 1945

By A. L. Barnes

A number of reservoirs have been partially invaded by bottom water. Water flooding such reservoirs can be especially inefficient if the oil has a high viscosity because injected water will under-run the oil and emerge at producing wells without having displaced much oil. A possible means of improving water sweep efficiency would be to precede the water flood with a slug of water purposely thickened with a chemical additive. This possibility has been studied with a scaled laboratory flow model. The investigation was carried out on a model representing a 20-acre five-spot with one set of reservoir condition~. Displacements were performed with water, with viscous-water slugs of 10 and 25 per cent of the pore volume followed by water, and with all viscous water. Displacement tests were made at several rates of injection. For all cases, compared at the same producing water-oil ratio, an increase in rate resulted in an increase in volumetric sweep. The larger the quantity of viscous slug injected, the greater the crossflow of oil ahead of the displacing front and, thus, the lower the WOR during that period of a displacement. This investigation indicates that the injection of aqueous viscous slugs in this type of system would give some additional benefit over conventional flooding by (I) reducing the life of the flood, (2) reducing lifting costs and (3) increasing ultimate recovery. The benefits of a viscous-slug displacement would warrant its use if the viscous water could be created for a few cents per barrel. INTRODUCTION The most appropriate method for water flooding oil reservoirs which have been partially invaded by bottom water has been a problem of considerable interest. Such reservoirs, having good vertical permeability and unfavorable mobility ratios, are difficult to produce efficiently under normal waterflood procedures. Even though the injection wells have been plugged back above the oil-water contact and the water zone has been squeezed off, injection water will enter the formation and not only displace oil, but also much of it will displace the bottom water, thus creating a high producing water-oil ratio at the start of a flood (see Fig. 1). Since the rate of injection and the viscosity of the displacing fluid are the more easily controlled physical parameters of the reservoir, it is quite natural to study their effects on the volumetric sweep of the oil zone and on the producing water-oil ratio. Increasing the viscosity of the displacing fluid has two disadvantages—it reduces the maximum rate of injection into the reservoir, and it costs more than water. It was thought that the injection of a viscous-fluid slug, followed by water, would minimize these two disadvantages, increase the volumetric sweep of the oil zone and reduce the producing water-oil ratio. Water with an additive to increase viscosity would probably be the most effective. The primary purpose of this investigation was to determine the feasibility of injecting viscous-water slugs followed by water to improve or hasten oil recovery while reducing the producing water-oil ratios. The effect of injection rate upon recovery was also investigated. A laboratory model, scaled to a 20-acre five-spot prototype with one set of reservoir conditions, was constructed. Laboratory studies of displacements with (1) water, (2) viscous-water slugs of 10 and 25 per cent of the pore volume followed by water and (3) all viscous water were performed at several rates of injection. THEORY OF SAND MODEL SCALING There are two conventional means of determining scaling criteria. These are dimensional analysis and inspec-tional analysis. Determining scaling criteria by dimensional

By J. R. Kyte, L. A. Rapoport, R. J. Stanclift, S. C. Stephan

Experimental studies covering a wide range of core materials and fluid properties have been conducted to determine the mechanism of oil displacement by water in a partially gas-saturated porous medium. In all instances, the presence of a gas phase was found to have a beneficial effect in reducing residual oil saturations. The practical significance of this benefit is discussed, and a simplified procedure is outlined for evaluating the effects of free gas on water flooding by means of short core tests. INTRODUCTION In addition to oil and water, reservoirs subjected to water flooding frequently contain, also, a gas phase. Common engineering procedures account for the presence of this "free gas" only from the viewpoint of volumetric balance, implying that the only role of the gas consists of providing "fill up" space. It is usually visualized that during the initial stages of the water invasion, the oil, moving ahead of the water, displaces part of the gas and that subsequently the remaining portion of the gas phase is totally compressed and dissolved in the advancing oil bank. Thus, consideration of a two-phase, water-oil flooding mechanism supplies an adequate basis for predictions of oil recovery if the pressure build-up caused by the flood is sufficiently great, so as to reduce the free gas saturation to a negligible value in any portion of the reservoir by the time that portion is reached by the advancing flood water. In many in- stances, however, waterflooding operations are carried out when the reservoir pressure is still relatively high SO that the pressure build-up associated with the water flood may not result in complete dissipation of the gas phase. Under such circumstances it is necessary to ascertain whether or not the presence of free gas has an effect on waterflood behavior and, if so, to account for any such effect in the evaluation of field operations. The difficulties encountered in attempting to arrive at a comprehensive picture of the displacement mechanism of oil by water in the presence of free gas stem from the fact that most of the published data on this subject were obtained under conditions that were either not clearly representative of those existing in a reservoir or not sufficiently controlled to permit evaluation of the effects specifically caused by the gas phase. Some of the most precise data found in the literature were obtained in tests using a "static" gas phase created prior to each water flood by circulating oil through partly gas-saturated cores until a "trapped," residual gas saturation was established throughout the system.' Other investigations were conducted under more representative conditions where the gas phase was free to move during the water flood: but in most cases the results of these tests were obscured by auxiliary phenomena which arise from the compressibility and solubility of the gas and preclude quantitative conclusions.2,3,4 Prior to water flooding, a reservoir usually contains oil and gas, distributed in a manner in which both are free to move. Thus, the principal objective of the present studies was to determine the type of displacement mechanism occurring when water invades a porous medium containing oil and a "mobile" gas phase. Further-

Jan 1, 1957

By R. S. Reed, D. L. Ward

This paper is the result of a study, in 1919, to determine how much surplus power could be produced through the proper utilization of the entire gas flow from the two furnace stacks at the Federal Furnace Plant, South Chicago, 111. Obviously, the problem was to measure the flow of gas through the main beyond the point where the amount necessary for stove operation mas rermoved. In all probability, blast-furnace gas is the most difficult gas to measure, because of the high moisture and dust content, and the widely fluctuating flow from the furnaces. This wide fluctuation of flow forbids the acceptance of any one group of flow road-ings as indicative of normal operating conditions. A study of the conditions showed that a recording device on gas flow was necessary. As the gas at the point of measurement had passed through met washers, and accordingly was saturated with water and contained considerable dust carried past the scrubbers in the form of sludge, no form of Pitot tube could be used, for this sludge would quickly plug the dynamic. and static holes, spoiling the gage readings. An even more serious objection to the use of Pitot tubes was the impossibility of accurately measuring the cross-sectional area of the gas main on the plane of Pitot-tube installation. Given an absolutely clean gas and a perfectly circular pipe, it would be safe to assume, through measurements of the pipe diameter, that the gas main was of a certain cross-sectional area. But the continual depositing of sludge and the fact that the main mas fabricated from riveted sheets led us to discard the idea of using Pitot tubes for. this service. The Venturi tube mas then considered, and had there been a sufficiently long straight run of gas main to accommodate a tube of the required size (72 by 28 in.) such an installation would very likely have been made. A plate with a sharp-edged orifice was eventually accepted as it possesses all the characteristics of a Venturi tube, requires less space, and

Jan 1, 1922

By R. S. Reed, D. L. Ward

This paper is the result of a study, in 1919, to determine how much surplus power could be produced through the proper utilization of the entire gas flow from the two furnace stacks at the Federal Furnace Plant, South Chicago, 111. Obviously, the problem was to measure the flow of gas through the main beyond the point where the amount necessary for stove operation mas rermoved. In all probability, blast-furnace gas is the most difficult gas to measure, because of the high moisture and dust content, and the widely fluctuating flow from the furnaces. This wide fluctuation of flow forbids the acceptance of any one group of flow road-ings as indicative of normal operating conditions. A study of the conditions showed that a recording device on gas flow was necessary. As the gas at the point of measurement had passed through met washers, and accordingly was saturated with water and contained considerable dust carried past the scrubbers in the form of sludge, no form of Pitot tube could be used, for this sludge would quickly plug the dynamic. and static holes, spoiling the gage readings. An even more serious objection to the use of Pitot tubes was the impossibility of accurately measuring the cross-sectional area of the gas main on the plane of Pitot-tube installation. Given an absolutely clean gas and a perfectly circular pipe, it would be safe to assume, through measurements of the pipe diameter, that the gas main was of a certain cross-sectional area. But the continual depositing of sludge and the fact that the main mas fabricated from riveted sheets led us to discard the idea of using Pitot tubes for. this service. The Venturi tube mas then considered, and had there been a sufficiently long straight run of gas main to accommodate a tube of the required size (72 by 28 in.) such an installation would very likely have been made. A plate with a sharp-edged orifice was eventually accepted as it possesses all the characteristics of a Venturi tube, requires less space, and

Jan 1, 1922