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By E. L. Claridge, K. S. Lee

Areal sweep efficiency of oil displacement by enhanced-viscosity water exhibiting pseudoplastic behavior was measured in a Hele-Shaw model representing one-quarter of a five-spot pattern. The pseudoplasticity of polymer solutions and the velocity distribution in the five-spot pattern produced a condition under which the mobility ratio between the displacing and the displaced fluid could not be assigned a single value. Instead, the movement of the displacement front is governed by local mobility ratios which are also time dependent. The areal sweep at breakthrough with polymer solutions was poorer than the sweep obtained with Newtonian fluids of comparable viscosity. However, the areal sweep at 1 PV throughput was greatly improved as compared to flood water without polymer. It was also demonstrated that, even after the oil-cut had declined to a low value during a regular waterflood, switching to polymer flood efficiently swept out the oil remaining in the model. INTRODUCTION The behavior of fluid displacements in isotropic porous media for various patterns of injection and production wells has been extensively investigated.1-7 These investigations all concerned Newtonian fluids, i.e., the viscosity of each fluid was constant regardless of flow rate. The generally unfavorable influence on areal sweep efficiency of higher mobility of the displacing fluid as compared to the mobility of the displaced fluid has been established for both miscible and immiscible fluids. The principle was also established that a close correspondence exists between miscible and immiscible flood front behavior,2, 3 although oil recovery in a waterflood at unfavorable mobility ratio may be less than that observed in a miscible displacement at the same mobility ratio. This is true even when oil recovery is expressed on the basis of movable oil. The reason is that oil saturation only slowly achieves its final value behind the water-flood front in accordance with the Buckley-Leverett8 simultaneous flow relations. It is convenient to use miscible displacements for laboratory simulation of waterflood frontal advance since the interfacial tension forces which are negligible in proportion to viscous forces on a reservoir scale9 are thus made nonoperative in the laboratory model. For miscible displacements, the Hele-Shaw type of model adequately represents a porous medium so long as the appropriate scaling rules5-10 are observed in its design and operation. During simulation of waterflood front behavior in the laboratory by using miscible displacements, the behavior of connate water may ordinarily be disregarded since it is usually indistinguishable from flood water in this process. However, when the flood water is deliberately thickened to improve the mobility ratio between water and oil. the effect on the sweep efficiency due to generation of a connate water bank during the process must be considered. In a uniform porous medium, such a bank is generated11 and efficiently displaced by injection of thickened water.l2 The oil originally in-place at the start of the waterflood is then displaced by connate water followed by thickened water. If the flood water must be thickened to obtain a favorable mobility ratio, the mobility of the oil phase is appreciably less than that of the connate water. Hence, the oil phase is inefficiently displaced by the connate water bank, and a considerable proportion of the oil comes in contact with and is displaced by the thickened waterflood front' A recent study 12 of five-spot displacements using miscible Newtonian fluids in which connate water banks of various sizes were simulated shows that, for connate water banks as large as 40 percent of 1 PV, major improvements in sweep efficiency resulted from use of a thickened

Jan 1, 1969

By C. R. Johnson, R. A. Greenkorn, R. E. Haring

Three confined five-spot miscible displacements at unity, favorable, and unfavorable mobility ratios were conducted in a shallow, water-saturated sandstone of Pennsylvan-ian age near Chandler, Okla. These studies, plus associated laboratory experiments, were designed to measure miscible displacement performance in a controlled natural system, using known scaling criteria to develop an approach to modeling the heterogeneous field system. We have concluded from these studies that: (I) displacement efficiency in the field is a pronounced function of mobility ratio, indicating that miscible fingering observed in simple laboratory models occurs in the field: (2) field displacements can be quantitatively predicted by scaled laboratory models if the degree and location of field permeability variations are preserved in the models: and (3) arbitrary simplifications of heterogeneity will not necessarily predict observed displacement efficiency, and the simpler the model, the more optimistic the prediction. INTRODUCTION Many processes to achieve miscible displacement of reservoir oil by injected fluids have been conceived and field tested by the oil industry. Among the better known are high-pressure gas, enriched gas, and LPG banks. The simplest form of miscible displacement—one fluid miscibly displacing another fluid of different viscosity but the same density—has been studied extensively in homogeneous laboratory models. Observations of unstable fingering have been made which explain the significant decrease in displacement efficiency as the mobility ratio (ratio of displacing fluid mobility to displaced fluid mobility) increases. General industry experience with field tests of miscible displacement projects, mostly LPG banks, has been premature solvent breakthrough and lower than predicted production rate increases. These results have been attributed to either unstable fingering, unusual or unexpected permeability stratification, or both. Miscible displacement data in a controlled natural system have never been reported, however. Also, it has not been shown that properly designed and constructed laboratory models quantitatively predict field-scale behavior. The purpose of the combined field and laboratory ex- periments reported in this paper is twofold. The first was to measure miscible displacement performance at different mobility ratios in natural rock approaching field size under precise, controlled conditions. The second purpose was to utilize known scaling criteria plus several approaches to heterogeneity to model the field. Comparison of model and actual field results should then determine whether or not the laboratory phenomena (manifested by miscible displacement efficiency) are exhibited in large, natural rock systems. We carried out our program by first locating a shallow, water-saturated reservoir whose rock properties were representative of oil-bearing reservoirs. Detailed reservoir description by core analysis and interference testing showed the field site to be heterogeneous. A sequence of controlled, aqueous-phase miscible displacements was conducted at unity, favorable and unfavorable mobility ratios. A central, confined pattern was used to obtain the displacement data. A laboratory program using sand-packed models was conducted to determine the modeling criteria necessary to simulate field behavior of miscible displacement in a heterogeneous system. SCALING THEORY The detailed derivations and descriptions of the scaling laws that apply to laboratory models of reservoirs are adequately described elsewhere, so the following discussion will be restricted to facets of importance in this study. For a displacement in which one liquid miscibly displaces another, the following dimensionless groups are required to have the same numerical value in the model as in the field: The model also must be geometrically similar to the field, be spatially oriented the same as the field (same dip angle), and have the same initial and boundary conditions as the field (same initial fluid saturations and same injection-production well arrangement). When these conditions are satisfied, the theory predicts that at dny dimensionless time (pore volumes of produced fluids) the dimen-sionless flow potential and dimensionless fluid concentrations will be identical at all dimensionless spatial locations within the model and the field. If this prediction is correct, then the local dimensionless velocities must be identical, thus the instantaneous fraction of displaced fluid produced and the cumulative recovery expressed as fraction of original fluids in place must be identical at all dimensionless times. The theory outlined above has been obtained by either dimensional analysis or inspectional analysis of differential

Jan 1, 1966

It is not often that a mining district is discovered, opened up, exploited and developed into a rich producer within the space of three or four years. Not until the year 1903 was the existence of the rich cobalt-nickel arsenides and silver of Northern Ontario even suspected by the mining public. But it is worthy of record that Dr. W. G. Miller, the man who has done so much to develop sanely and honestly the mineral resources of Ontario, pointed out [ ] the possibilities of this region at least two years before the first discovery was made. . Dr. Miller, then Professor of Geology at the School of Mining, Kingston, Ont., referred in these words to the district: "It will be seen from what has been stated on preceding pages that the district examined contains as great a variety of rocks as probably any part of the Province of equal area . . . Although few discoveries of economic minerals have been made in this territory, it may reasonably be expected that deposits of value will be found when

Jan 1, 1907

By P. D. Merica, J. R. Freeman, R. G. Waltenberg

Contents Page Constitution of Commercial Aluminum.................. 4 Solubility of CuAl2 in Aluminum at Different Temperatures........ 9 Effect of Magnesium on Solubility of CuA12 in Aluminum ......... 15 Solubility of Mg4Al8 in Aluminum at Different Temperatures........ 15 Solubility of Metals and Metal Compounds in Aluminum.......... 20 Summary and Conclusions......................20 Aluminum and its alloys have been the subject of much investigation1 during recent years, in the course of which the principal features of the constitution of most of the binary alloy systems with aluminum have been determined. Except in the case of a few metals—silicon, bismuth, cadmium, lead, zinc, and tin—an aluminum-rich compound is formed in each binary system, which forms a eutectic with the aluminum or its solid solution with this compound: Thus such compounds as FeAla, CuA12, Mg4Al3, and NiAls are formed, which are found in aluminum-rich alloys of their respective series as eutectics with the aluminum solid solution. These compounds are, in all cases, hard and brittle and their presence affects profoundly the physical properties of the alloys in which they occur. Within the zinc-aluminum system a compound, Al2Zn,, is formed that decomposes at lower temperatures. Silicon and tin each form a simple eutectiferous series with aluminum; bismuth, lead, and cadmium are only partly miscible in the liquid state with it. The extent of the solubility in aluminum, in solid solution, of these compounds or of the elements themselves, in the case of those series in which compounds are not formed, is of the greatest importance in

Jan 1, 1921

By J. B. Newkirk

ABOUT twenty-seven years ago W. bergl discovered that interesting detail could be seen in an X-ray diffraction spot made with a rock-salt crystal if the recording photographic film were held very close to the reflecting crystal. He also showed that much of this detail could be explained in terms of the deformation structure of the specimen. In the same year, 1931, Fox and parr2 reported that X-ray reflections from a quartz crystal were much more intense while the crystal was undergoing piezoelectric oscillation than when it was at rest. This observation was soon confirmed (and explained in terms of X-ray extinction) by Barrett3 in the United States and by Nishikawa et a1.,4 in Japan. During the next few years Barrett refined Berg's method for making X-ray diffraction micrographs and applied it to the study of metallic crystals. He reported this work in the 1945 annual lecture of the AIME.5 Since 1945 relatively little use has been made of the Berg-Barrett (B-B) method for making diffraction micrographs, though considerable interest in investigating subcrystal structures by other methods has developed. Some of these methods depend upon evaporation6 or chemical etching7 and, therefore, suffer from the occasional intrusion of subtle artifacts such as those recently reported by Hooker for leada and Welsh for aluminum.9 Other methods require the introduction of foreign elements which "decorate" the substructure in some way, thereby rendering it detectable by direct" or indirect1'. visual examination. Still others depend upon complex and often highly questionable analyses of X-ray diffraction line profiles. There have also been a number of related X-ray techniques, such as the Lambot,12 Schulz13 and Merlini and Guinier,14 which have proved to be quite useful for specific applications. Some of these methods give a picture of the substructure which is more or less directly related to the shape and the topography of the specimen. The Berg-Barrett method carries this desirable feature to the limit. Closely related to the B-B method are three photographic X-ray techniques recently described by Lang.15 These methods give beautiful pictures of the internal structure of crystals but are limited by the facts that the required apparatus is rather complex, exposure times are long, and the specimen crystals must be thin. An experimental appraisal which I have recently made of the original B-B method has shown that this simple technique is not only inexpensive and convenient, but can give more information than was apparently realized by its inventors. For example, first-order subgrains in iron-silicon crystals were clearly delineated and their relative orientation subject to description. Also defect structures could be seen within the subgrains and in some materials slip bands could be clearly seen with respect to the topography of the rest of the specimen. This much had already been described by Barrett. However, in the present study it was found that the actual sites of individual dislocations which emerge upon the crystal surface could be located. Furthermore, by a simple procedure, the direction (but not sign) of the dislocation Burgers' vector could be defined as well.

Jan 1, 1960

By Mayumi Someno, Kazuhiro Goto, Masahiro Kawakami

The apparent rates of decarburization of liquid alloys of Fe-C, Fe-C-S, Ni-C, and Co-C systems and the rate of oxidation of solid graphite with pure carbon dioxide gas and with gas mixtures of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide have been measured in the temperature range of 1000° to 1600°C. The cotnposition of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide gas at the reaction surface has been measured by oxygen concentration cells with the ZrO,-CaO solid electrolyte. 1) The apparent rates of the carbon removal are essentially the same for all the cases of solid graphite, Fe-C, Fe-C-S, Ni-C, and Co-C systems under the same experimental conditions. 2) The apparent rates are independent of the carbon content in the high carbon concentration range but very much affected by the flow rate and the gas composition of the CO-CO2 reactant gas mixture. The ratio of the gas consumed by the reaction to the total quantity of the supplied gas is very large under the present experi~nental conditions. 3) There is a concentration gradient of' carbon dioxide in the vicinity of the reaction surface and the content of CO, becomes extremely small at the reaction surface. 4) A large time fluc-tuation of the gas composition was observed. This jluctuation implies the presence of unstable flow in the gas phase in the vicinity of the reaction surface. THE decarburization of molten steel by an oxidizing gas or by slag may be one of the most important chemical reactions in steelmaking processes. Nevertheless, the kinetics of this heterogeneous chemical reaction do not seem to be well-solved even with the previous studies. Although the conditions for the reaction in steelmaking processes are quite different from those in the laboratory scale, some critical experiments may give information on the mechanism of the decarburization. From the previous work,'-' it is known that the rate of the decarburization is independent of the carbon content in liquid iron with more than about 0.2 wt pct C when the oxidizing gases are supplied to the surface of liquid Fe-C alloys on a laboratory scale. Two rate-controlling steps have been proposed for the decarburization of liquid iron with the high carbon content: one is the surface reaction control proposed by Swisher and Turkdogan;' the other is that the rate is controlled by the gaseous diffusion through the gaseous stagnant layer. proposed by Baker. Warner, and Jenkins.7 and also by .Ito and Sano.2 In the present study, some experiments have been carried out for the evaluation of these rate-controlling steps in the decarburization of liquid iron with high carbon content. The apparent rate of decarburization of liquid iron has been compared with the rates of carbon removal of liquid Ni-C, Co-C, and solid graphite under the same experimental conditions. The composition of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide gas at the reaction surface has been measured by oxygen concentration cells. I) EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Fig. 1 shows the schematic diagram of the reaction chamber. Solid graphite and liquid metals were contained in an alumina or magnesia crucible of 32 mm ID and 35 mm in height. The samples were heated by high-frequency induction and the temperature was measured by the calibrated optical pyrometer. The temperature was held constant to within 10°C. The re-actant gases were supplied to the surface of the samples through the quartz tube of 8.0 mm ID. The distance from the end of the quartz tube to the surface was 20 mm. The block of high-purity graphite was cut and shaped to the inner profile of the crucible. The height of the shaped graphite was 18 mm, which corresponded to the depth of the liquid iron of 100 g. About 100 g of Fe-C alloy (4.20 to 4.40 pct C), Ni-C alloy (1.84 pct C), Co-C alloy (1.85 pct C), and Fe-C-s alloy (4.35 pct c, 0.5 or 1.0 pct S) were melted in the crucible. The reactant gases were pure CO, and gas mixtures of CO-CO,: the flow rates were controlled by capillary flowmeters with bleeders.

Jan 1, 1970

By Pradeep K. Rohatgi, Clyde M. Adams

Structures obtained on freezing of several hypo-and hypereutectic Al-Cu alloys over a range of solidification rates have been examined. Dendrite spacing, L, increases linearly with solute concentration and with the square root of the inverse freezing rate. The relationship for hypoeutectic alloys is: where rate of change of fraction solid with time, is freezing rate, C is solute concentration, (pct Cu)=1. Mass transport in inter dendritic liquid during solidification is analyzed; the experimental observations suggest maximum concentration differences and constitutional supercooling in the inter dendritic liquid increase with an increase in the solute concentration. The dendrite morphology changes with freezing rate and alloy composition. The dendrites of the a phase are parallel, uniformly spaced plates with slow freezing and rods with rapid freezing. Nonor-thogonal side branching has been observed in phases with cubic and tetragonal structures. Side branches in a dendrites are orthogonal with slow freezing and at 60 deg with rapid freezing. Formation of second-phase envelopes around the Primary phase is also discussed. DENDRITIC structure is characteristic of many types of phase transformation. The most extensively studied so far has been solidification of liquid solutions. chalmersl and coworkers have interpreted the formation of dendrites in terms of the breakdown of a planar interface. Most of the work done concerns itself with the development of an instability at the interface. Little theoretical work has been done quantitatively to relate the parameters of dendritic structure to mass transport in the liquid phase. A few empirical relations based on the experimental2'3 observations exist in the literature. Several workers2 including Brown and Adams1 have studied dendrite spacing in A1-Cu system as a function of solidification variables. In most cases, dendrite spacing has been found to increase linearly with the square root of some parameter proportional to the freezing time. The effect of solute concentration is not clear; some workers report the dendrite spacing increases with solute concentration4 whereas others report vice versa.''' ~ohatgi' has observed an increase in the spacing between ice dendrites with an increase in solute concentration in water. Tiller has also suggested that dendrite spacing should increase with solute concentration. In the present work dendrite spacing and morphology have been examined as a function of solute concentration and freezing rate. The freezing rate is defined as the fraction of liquid solidified per unit time, dfs/dß?, where f, is the fraction solid and 8 the time. The fastest freezing rate studied was 4550 times the slowest freezing rate. THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS It is of interest to analyze the concentration distribution in the liquid phase between growing dendrites during solidification, Fig. 1. Since this distribution is a direct consequence of the rejection of solute by the growing solid, a diffusional process, the concentration gradients increase with the freezing rate. However, when solidification rate is the only variable in a series of experiments, the interdendritic liquid regions become smaller (i.e., the dendrites become more closely spaced) with an increase in freezing rate. The main purpose of the analytical treatment of interdendritic liquid diffusion will be to reveal a tendency for dendrite spacing to decrease with increasing solidification rate in just such a way that the maximum concentration differences developed in the liquid phase are remarkably independent of freezing rate. Two rather different analyses are set forth, one pertaining to the one-dimensional diffusion which obtains in the interdendritic liquid between parallel plate-shaped dendrites, and the other to the cylindrically symmetrical diffusion around rod-shaped dendrites during early stages of solidification. The results of the two analyses are quantitatively similar, correlating dendrite spacing, maximum concentration difference, and freezing rate. First consider the simpler one-dimensional case. Two parallel plate-shaped dendrites are separated by a distance, L, between centers, Fig. 1. Solidification takes place by the thickening of these plates, with solute being rejected into the liquid. It is assumed there is no diffusion in the solid. This thickening process is slow enough and the dendrite spacing small enough that the concentration differences which develop, although interesting and important, are very small (an important assumption which is verified ex-

Jan 1, 1968

By E. P. Polushkin, Henry L. Shuldener

This paper describes the results of microscopic examination of a series of brass pipes removed from apartment and office buildings in New York City, adjacent localities on Long Island, and Philadelphia. They were selected as typical of approximately four hundred pipe specimens obtained over a period of five years during an investigation of corrosion in hot-water installations. A part of the investigation is reported in this paper and includes a brief history of the pipes, a description of their inside surface and microstructure, and a study of the effects of corrosion, with particular reference to the structural aspects of local and selective dezincification. Although the bibliography on the corrosion of brass pipes is quite extensive, it refers almost entirely to corrosion in sea water. The authors believe that their examination of this series of pipes, which had been subjected to the corrosive action of fresh water for various lengths of time, may throw some additional light on the problem of corrosion. Pipes Examined The pipes were made by different manufacturers and their sizes range from 3/4 in. to 4 in. nominal inside diameter, the majority being within I to 2 in. They can be divided into two groups according to chemical composition: (I) with a copper content of 60 to 62 per cent and (2) with a copper content of 65 to 68 per cent. The first group (pipes made of Muntz metal) comprises 22 pipes and the second (pipes made of high brass) comprises 18 pipes. The pipes had been in service in various locations in the hot-water systems of the buildings involved. Some were taken from horizontal lines in the basement, some from overhead distributors and some from vertical risers. The distance, in terms of feet of pipe, of the specimens from the hot-water generator was no less than 75 ft. and often IOO to 300 ft. In the majority of cases the water-heating equipment was provided with a regulator to limit the temperature of the hot water supply. The normal range of temperature in pipe systems of this kind is Ioo° to 160°F. Water Supples The average chemical composition of the water supplies carried by the pipes is shown in Table I. In evaluating the corrosiveness of a natural water, four factors are considered of prime importance: namely, hardness, alkalinity, pH and silica content. The waters listed in Table 1 are characterized by relatively low hardness, 10, alkalinity, low pH and low silica content. The waters of lower pH and higher CO2 content are more corrosive. A characteristic of all of these waters is that they do not deposit a protective mineral coating as do waters with high bicarbonate of lime content, which would be reflected

Jan 1, 1945

By F. M. Smith, R. H. Moore, J. R. Morrey

Electrodiffusion in y cerium reported by Henrie has been confirmed and a Preliminary estimate made of the relative rates of electrodiffusion of iron, cobalt, and nickel. These diffuse to the anode at rates decreasing in that order. In addition, copper and manganese exhibit slow, but detectable, diffusion to the anode and molybdenum exhibits detectable diffusion to the cathode. The electrodiffusion of carbon, .zirconium, antimony, magnesium , and silicon in y cerium could not be detected. Iron and cobalt diffuse in y cerium at rates proportional to the current density and with no apparent dependence on temperature. Decreasing polarization of iron and cobalt with increasing temperature, which cancels the expected rate increase, would account for this behavior. The electrodiffusion rate of iron in y uranium and in E plutonium has been measured. Diffusion of iron is anode-directed. Tin was found to diffuse to the cathode, in y uranium, at an appreciable rate. In all of these solvent metals, negative ions diffuse to the anode and positive ions to the cathode. The potential field effect appears to account satisfactorily for these results. FROM early experimental work summarized by Jost1 and Seith,2 the driving force for electrodiffusion was attributed to the potential field acting on ions in a metal. More recently, Heuman,3 Wever,4 and Huntington5 have shown that momentum interchange between conduction electrons and mobile entities in the metal contributes to electrodiffusion. Electron momentum interchange is anodically directed and the direction of diffusion resulting from the field force is dependent upon the charge on the diffusing entity. These two effects may either reinforce or oppose each other. Glinchuk6 has pointed out that momentum transfer in defect conductors should be cathode-directed and this appears to be the case as demonstrated by wever's4 work on iron. Barnett's7 work, on the other hand, indicates that, even in defect conductors, electrons show a negative E/m ratio when accelerated with respect to the lattice and should lead to anode-directed momentum transfer. In discussing this problem, Wever and seith8 suggest that defect electrons interact preferentially with activated ions so as to allow a net movement toward the cathode while still maintaining an electron momentum transfer in the anode direction. Williams and Huffine9 and Henriel0 have demonstrated that electrodiffusion may be useful for purification of yttrium and cerium. In yttrium, Williams and Huffine note that movement of several metallic impurities toward the anode is in keeping with observations in most other metallic systems and indicates that yttrium remains a normal electronic conductor at least to 1230°C. Close inspection of their data shows, however, that oxygen, nitrogen, and the transition elements diffused toward the anode, while nontransition elements diffused toward the cathode. This suggests that potential field effects may have been appreciable. The present work was concerned with the applicability of electrodiffusion as a technique for purification of plutonium, but, because of the obvious hazard inherent in work with this metal, experiments to develop the technique were carried out using cerium and uranium. The results of electrodiffusion measurements on these metals and on plutonium are reported here. EXPERIMENTAL The metal specimens prepared for this work were 6 in. long, 1/4 to 1/2 in. wide, and 1/16 to 3/32 in. thick. The uranium specimens were machined from a bar which analyzed 310 ppm Fe and the electrodiffusion of iron was followed by spectrographic and by chemical analysis. Cerium and plutonium specimens were cut from sheet rolled from ingots obtained from molten salt-metal equilibrations during which radioactive tracers were introduced. The electrodiffusion of the tracers was subsequently determined by counting methods. The specimens were electrolyzed between nickel electrodes containing resistance heaters used to equalize the specimen and electrode temperatures, thereby reducing thermal gradients. The temperature of the electrodes adjacent to the ends of the specimen was measured with chromel-alumel thermocouples which were connected to the heater controls. The surface temperature of the specimen at a point midway between the electrodes was measured with a sapphire rod pyrometer, the output of which controlled the dc power supply. This assembly was enclosed within an evacuable chamber containing a quartz viewing window. The temperature of the specimen over its entire length could be scanned with a portable pyrometer through

Jan 1, 1965

By L. A. Wilson, P. J. Root

The relative costs of heating a reservoir by steam injection and by combustion have been examined. The comparison was based on a model similar to that proposed by Chu.' The cost of boiler feed water, the price of fuel, pressure and plant capacity were parameters in determin-ing the costs of air compression and steam generation. The analyses compare the cost of heating to the same radius by the two methods. Results suggest that the two primary factors for comparison are the price of fuel and the amount of crude burned during underground combustion. The cost of fuel has a greater effect on the cost of heat from steam than it does on its cost by combustion. As a result, analyses indicate that when the price of fuel is low, steam may be unequivocally cheaper than air. The influence of heat loss is such, however, that as the heated radius increases combustion becomes relatively more competitive depending upon the amount of crude burned. This implies that steam may be cheaper for small stimulation jobs (huff and puff) but combustion may be more economically attractive for heating large areas (flooding). INTRODUCTION Use of thermal methods of recovery is an accepted fact today. After an induction period of several years, processes are being widely used that involve reservoir heating to augment recovery. Of the several techniques, steam injection and forward combustion appear to be destined to dominate the field. Although the objectives of both are the same, the basic differences between generating heat in situ and injecting heat after surface generation influence the cost in different ways. This study compares the cost of heating a reservoir either by steam injection or by forward combustion. There has been no consideration of recovery. Presumably, recovery from the swept region would be high in either case. The sole consideration was the cost of heating to the same radial distance by either process. PROCEDURE THE MODEL The basis for comparison was a mathematical model similar to that used by Chu' for combustion. The model simulates a radial heat wave in two-dimensional cylindricaI coordinates. It includes heat generation, conduction and convection within the reservoir and conduction in the bounding formations. Thus, heat losses from the formation are considered. Three significant modifications were made. 1. Equal logarithmic increments rather than equal increments were used for the mesh spacing in the r direction. By this technique large distances were simulated with relatively few mesh spaces. 2. A backward difference approximation to the convection term was used to avoid troublesome oscillations which result from a central difference approximation when the convection term is large. 3. The radial increments of the combustion zone motion were not necessarily uniquely related to the mesh configuration. The cumbersome step function introduced by the heat of vaporization of steam was circumvented by assuming the enthalpy of the steam to be a linear function of temperature between reservoir temperature and steam temperature. This is equivalent to assuming an average heat capacity numerically equal to the difference between the enthalpy of saturated steam and the enthalpy of water at reservoir temperature divided by the difference between the two temperatures. Heat losses obtained by this model are in essential agreement with those obtained by the analytical solution of Rubenshtein.' A detailed description of the model is presented in the Appendix. Using the model, the times required to heat to particular radial distances were obtained as a function of injection rate and other physical parameters. For the steam case, injected fluid was assumed to be saturated steam at pressures of either 500, 1,000 or 1,500 psia. The corresponding temperatures are 467, 544 and 596F, respectively. Thickness ranged from 10 to 50 ft and injection rate ranged from 100,000 to 1 million Ib/D. Reservoir and overburden temperatures at the injection well were assumed to be that of saturated steam at the injection pressure. The effect of maintaining the overburden temperature at the well at a different temperature (initial reservoir temperature) was examined with no significant change in behavior. The influence of wellbore heat losses for the steam case was determined in the following manner. The rates of heat loss as a function of time were estimated using an approach similar to that suggested by Ramey." he data were based on injection through 2%-in. tubing in 7-in. casing. Integration of these data over the entire iniection period yielded the total heat loss. Total heat losses were then corrected to their equivalents in steam (this number resulted from dividing the total heat loss by the latent heat). This was considered additional steam required to accomplish the reservoir heating and the total cost was increased accordingly.

Jan 1, 1967

By Susasn Leiter

THAT oxygen in copper has been a source of trouble is well known and that that trouble has been real in the commercial world has been shown by Fuller.1 Moore and Beckinsale's paper2 at the annual meeting of the Institute of Metals in London, 1921, called forth considerable discussion. Prof. T. Turner expressed the opinion that it was not necessary to have cuprous oxide present in sufficiently large quantities to form either globules or seams in order to produce a bad effect if the copper were gassed. This brought up the question of the solubility of oxygen in copper and the authors desired to know whether there were any evidence of such solubility, because their experience was that whenever there was any oxygen in copper it was present in the form of free cuprous oxide, .which was practically always in the form of globules. Later Hanson, Marryat, and Ford3 stated that for all practical purposes cuprous oxide may be regarded as insoluble in copper. However, they found particles of the eutectic to coalesce to form much larger particles. They suggested that cuprous oxide was actually slightly soluble in copper, for it was diffi-cult otherwise to understand the mechanism by which such coalescence could take place. W. E. Ruder, in discussing that paper, said that his experiments had led him to conclude that a slight solubility must exist to allow for the ready coalescence of oxide particles, but conductivity tests convinced him that that solubility was very small. Nevertheless, there appeared to be a state of admixture of oxide with copper that closely resembled a colloidal mixture which at first was mistaken for a true solution and which usually existed at the grain boundaries.

Jan 2, 1926

By B. H. Kear, S. M. Copley

Stress-stvain curves are presented for Ni3Al (y') cvystals in several ovientations, deformed in tension and compression at constant displacement rate, at temperatures from 70° to 2000°F. Both the yield stress and wovk havdening increase with temperature, with the magnilude of the effect dependent on ovientation. The yield stress maximum occurs at 1500°F in [001], at 1400°F in [011], and at 1200°F in [111]. The suppression of the yield stress peak in [011] and [111] orientatiorzs is due to the onset of cube slip, rather than octahedval slip, a1 elerated temperatures. The temperature and orientalion dependence of work hardening in nominal single slip orientations corvelates with changes in the CRSS ratio for octahedral slip and cube slip, in agreement with a model for work hardening based on pinning of screw dislocalions by cross slip from an octahedral plane into a cube plane. It is concluded that the unique plastic properties of y' have a decisive influence on both ductility and strength characleristics of y +y' nickel-base superalloys. It has long been recognized that the strength of y + y' nickel-base superalloys depends on the precipitation of the y' phase [basically Ni3(Al,Ti)]. This paper presents new data on the strength characteristics of single crystals of simple y' (Ni3Al), and forms the first step in a systematic program aimed at elucidating the mechanisms of hardening in the complex commercial alloys. 1) EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Single crystals of off-stoichiometric NiA1 were grown from the melt under vacuum by a modified Bridgman method. The melt was poured into a preheated alumina mold and crystal growth was promoted from one end by gradient cooling. The crystals were homogenized by annealing in hydrogen at 2400° F for 72 hr followed by furnace cooling. Chemical analysis of samples taken from several crystals gave an average composition of 88.2 wt pct Ni. Spectrographic analysis gave as the principal impurities in weight percent— Si (0.02), Mg (0.01), Fe (0.02), Ti (0.002), Cu (0.008), and Co (0.03). Tensile specimens with specifications as in Fig. 1 were prepared by a series of operations involving electrical discharge machining, precision grinding, and electropolishing. Compression specimens with dimensions 1/4 by 1/4 by -3/4 in. were prepared in a similar manner, except for the initial shaping operation using a precision cut-off wheel/two-circle goniometer unit to give selected crystal orientations. Specimens were deformed in a Baldwin-Wiedemann testing machine with furnace attachment, using a strain rate of 5 x 10-4 sec-1. The strain measuring device consisted of extension arms attached to the tensile grips (or compression plattens) at one end and leading out of the furnace to an LVDT at the other. Temperature was controlled by a thermocouple placed in contact with the specimen. According to the known phase diagram for the Ni/A1 system,' when an alloy of the specified composition is cooled from the melt, primary y (nickel solid solution) dendrites grow at the expense of the liquid phase, which becomes enriched in aluminum. At the eutectic composition the remaining liquid freezes as a two-phase mixture of y + y' (Ni3Al). Upon further cooling, a solid state transformation occurs, involving the precipitation of y' in the primary dendrites, and the complete transformation of the eutectic mixture to massive y'. The as-cast structure consists, therefore, of y + y' dendrites with interdendritic regions of massive y', i.e., transformed eutectic, Fig. 2. 2) DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 2.1) Stress-Strain Curves. Fig. 3 shows tensile stress-strain curves for crystals in orientations close to [001] deformed at temperatures from 70° to 2000°F. Both the yield stress and total elongation are strongly temperature-dependent. At 70°F, easy glide is absent, and the work hardening coefficient BIT - G/300. At T > 1500°F, the negative slope of the stress-strain curves is due to pronounced necking in the crystals. The yield stress maximum at 1500° F corresponds with a minimum in the ductility, Fig. 4. The extensive duc-

Jan 1, 1968

By M. E. Wadsworth, K. C. Bowles, H. E. Flanders, R. M. Nadkarni, C. E. Jelden

The kinetics of precipitation of copper on iron of various purity were carried out under controlled conditions. The rate of reduction has been correlated with such parameters as copper and hydrogen ion concentration, geometric factors, flow rate, and temperature. The character of the precipitated copper as a function of flow conditions and rate of PreciPitation has been observed under a variety of conditions. ThE precipitation of copper in solution by cementation on a more electropositive metal has been known for many years. Basile valentine' who wrote Currus Triumphalis Antimonii about 1500, refers to this method for extraction of copper. Paracelsus the Great2 who was born about 1493 cites the use of iron to prepare Venus (copper) by the "rustics of Hungary" in the "Book Concerning the Tincture of the Philosophers". Agricola3 in his work on minerals (1546) tells of a peculiar water which is drawn from a shaft near Schmölnitz in Hungary, that erodes iron and turns it into copper. In 1670, a concession is recorded4 as having been granted for the recovery of copper from the mine waters at Rio Tinto in Spain, presumably by precipitation with iron. Much has been published in recent literature on the recovery of copper by cementation, the majority of the articles being on plant practice.5-24 The rest include articles on investigation of the variables involved25-28 and a review of hydrometallurgical copper extraction methods." This literature has established: a) The three principal reactions in the cementation of copper are Cu + Fe — Fe+4 +Cu [ 11 One pound of copper is precipitated by 0.88 lb of iron stoichiometrically. In actual practice about 1.5 to 2.5 lb of iron are consumed. 2Fe+3 + Fe — 3Fe+2 [21 Fe +2H'-Fe+2 + H2 [3] Reactions [2] and [3] are responsible for the consumption of excess iron. Wartman and Roberson'28 have established that Reactions [ I] and [2] are concurrent and much faster than Reaction [3]. b) Acidity control is important in the control of hydrolysis and the excessive consumption of iron. he commercial workable range is approximately from pH = 1.8 to 3." c) Iron consumption is closely related to the amount of ferric iron in solution. Jacobi" reports that, by leaving the pregnant mine waters in contact wi th lump pyrrhotite (Fe7S8) for 3 hr, all the iron was reduced to the bivalent condition and scrap iron consumption was cut to 1.25 lb scrap per pound of copper precipitated. He also reported that SO2 has been used successfully to reduce ferric iron to the ferrous state. d) The ideal precipitant is one that offers a large exposed area and is relatively free of rust. e) High velocities and agitation show a beneficial effect upon the rate of precipitation, as it tends to displace the layer of barren solution adjacent to the iron and also dislodges hydrogen bubbles and precipitated copper to expose new surfaces. Little work, however, has been published on the reaction kinetics of copper precipitation on iron. Cent-nerszwer and Heller20 investigated the precipitation of metallic cations in solutions on zinc plates. They found the cementation reaction to be a first-order reaction. The rate constant was independent of stirring for high stirring rates and they concluded that the rate is governed by a diffusional process at low stirring speeds and by a "chemical" process at higher stirring speeds where the rate reaches a constant value. This conclusion has been challenged by King and Burger30 who could not find any region where the rate was independent of the stirring speed, although the rate constant they had obtained for high stirring speed was greater than the maximum value of the rate constant reported by Centnerszwer and Heller (by a factor of six). King and Burger, therefore, concluded that the rate of displacement of copper was controlled only by diffusion. Cementation of various cations on zinc has been summarized by Engfelder.31 APPARATUS A three-necked distillation flask of 2 000-mm capacity was used as a reaction vessel. A pipet of 10-mm capacity was introduced through one of- the side necks, the sample of sheet iron, mounted in a rigid sample holder, through the other, the stirrer being in the middle as shown in Fig. 1. The whole assembly was immersed in a constant-temperature bath. The stirrer was always placed at the same depth in the solution. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Reagent-grade cupric sulfate (J. T. Baker Chemical Co., N.J.) was used to make up a stock solution containing 10 g of copper per liter which was then diluted to various concentrations as required. Experimental data were obtained by measuring the amount of copper and iron ions in solution at successive time intervals. The initial volume of the solution was always 2000 ml, 10-ml aliquots being removed each time for chemical analysis. Because the total volume change of the solution was less than 10 pct, no correction was used for solution volume change. Nitrogen was bubbled through the solution before and

Jan 1, 1968

By Leonard C. Grimshaw

The idea of bonding two dissimilar ferrous metals, and making use of both, is an old one. Tips have been brazed onto tool shanks for many years. The bonding of larger pieces to form whole bars and sheets has also been accomplished, but has received little attention in the technical literature, although a number of patents have been issued covering various methods for its accomplishment. There are three main motives behind the manufacture of composite steels. One is that the physical properties of one steel may supplement those of another; a useful, but at the same time, hard, brittle steel may be backed by a soft ductile one, or a stainless steel may be backed by a steel possessing greater strength. Another motive is direct lowering of cost; an expensive steel may be backed by a less expensive one, bringing down the cost of the piece as a whole. The third motive is an indirect lowering of cost, as when a useful steel is backed by a steel that is easier to machine, so that machining cost on a finished product is lowered considerably. Often more than one of these motives lead to a decision to use a composite steel. Previous Methods There are two methods in use that result in tolerably good bonds between ferrous metals: (1) the casting method, and (2) what we shall call the "heat-pressure" method. This "heat-pressure" method covers processes in which the bond is made between two prepared surfaces by heating them and then applying pressure. Usually sufficient pressure must be used to produce appreciable spread and elongation, or else we arc merely brazing and not truly welding. Casting methods for welding together ferrous metals have been used more than 74 years, and are described in the technical literature as applied

Jan 1, 1936

By Carl A. Zapffe, George A. Moore

IN a previous publication from this laboratory1 the conclusion was drawn that the embrittling effect of occluded hydrogen on iron and steel must result from the precipitation of the gas within small openings through the crystal structure. A review of the literature then published indicated the real existence of crystal sub- structures of the mosaic type and gave presumptive evidence that the "rift openings" associated with hydrogen occlusion are the same as the "disjunctions" of the mosaic theory. Inasmuch as no clear conception of the actual nature of the crystal fragments and openings inherent in these theories has been established, it was considered desirable to obtain direct micrographic evidence of their true configuration. In this direction the standard methods of metallographic attack have proved useless. Recourse was had, therefore, to the direct examination of the surfaces upon which failure by cleavage had resulted from the presence of hydrogen. It was expected that such a surface, un- affected by chemical attack and undistorted by polishing, would reveal the fine openings penetrated by the gas and thus indicate the real nature of the substructures. MATERIALS STUDIED In commercial steels, defects caused by hydrogen take various external forms ac- cording to such factors as structure and purity, and to the extent to which hydrogen either occludes or produces chemical changes. The present work relates only to the well-known transcrystalline hydrogen embrittlement-"pickling brittleness"-in which elemental hydrogen occluded within the grain develops cleavage characteristics. For example, hydrogen embrittlement resulting from hydrogen reaction products is excluded from detailed study. It was also desirable, as far as possible, to have the study uncomplicated by other elements which themselves cause brittleness. Three types of iron were used. These included ingot iron, decarburized free- machining steel, and a specially prepared, aluminum-killed, electrolytic iron. This , choice allowed a comprehensive selection of unavoidable minor impurities and inclusions, which could subsequently be shown to have no specific effects on the structures within the grains. Carbon, and any other impurities free to react with hydrogen, were first removed by a preliminary annealing treatment in hydrogen. Subsequent treatment in vacuo extracted much of this hydrogen and its gaseous reaction products. The resultant ductile iron was then embrittled either by a second anneal in hydrogen, followed by rapid cooling, or by cathodic electrolysis. Group I: Prepared from Armco Ingot Iron As shown in Table I, the principal impurity in this iron was oxygen, which survived the purifying treatment to a large extent. Two series were prepared. The first (Nos. SIO-24) was purified only one day in hydrogen and dehydrogenized one day in nitrogen. Containing both hydrogen and its

Jan 1, 1943

By Jay Lonergan, Robert M. Keeney

The electric smelting of manganese ore and the production of ferro-manganese did not exist as an industry, in the United States or elsewhere, previous to the outbreak of war in 1914. Ferromanganese had been produced, electrically, during times of high prices by two companies at Niagara Falls and by several European companies, but the production was spasmodic, and none was electrically produced when ferromanganese sold at from $35 to $40 per ton. Thus the electric smelting of manganese ore must be considered as a development caused by the high prices prevailing during the years 1916, 1917 and 1918, and the necessity of smelting domestic ore in order to fill the ferromanganese requirements of the steel industry of the United States, which increased from 189,088 tons in 1914 to 356,356 tons in 1918. The electric furnace is well adapted to smelting domestic ore because it can be located in small units near the source of ore supply. In 1918, the ferromanganese production of the United States was 333,027 tons, of which about 7 per cent., or 23,000 tons, was produced in the electric furnace. The electric furnace not only assisted materially in the development of a domestic-ore supply but made a considerable saving of coke, as it requires about 11/4 tons of bituminous or lignite coal per ton of ferromanganese compared with a blast-furnace consumption of 2.9 tons of coke per ton of ferromanganese. Some of the plants in the United States that smelted manganese orc in the electric furnace during the war and in 1920 are listed in Table 1. From early in 1919 to about February, 1920, little ferromanganese was produced in the electric furnace. During this period the price of ferromanganese (78 to 82 per cent. manganese) was about $100 per ton. During the first half of 1920, several plants resumed operation when the price of ferromanganese (76 to 80 per cent. grade) gradually increased to $200 per ton, delivered.

Jan 1, 1922

By A. S. Odeh

This paper analyzes the effect of limited entry to flow at the wellbore on the steady-state productivity of a well. Wells that have been opened to flow along a fraction of their productive interval are termed wells with limited entry. Previous work treated the cases of a partially penetrating well, a well producing from the central portion of the productive interval and a well in which several intervals equally spaced were open to flow. In this paper the open interval can be located anywhere within the productive interval. Thus, in a sense, it generalizes previous work. The finite cosine transform was used to arrive at a solution for steady-state flow of a slightly compressible fluid. The solution was programmed for a CDC 1604 computer. Numerical vaIues for rd = 660 ft, r, = 1/4 ft, and range of sand thickness of 20 to 200 ft are presented in graphical form. The effect of rd and r, values on the result is shown in a table. The correct calculation of skin and damage ratio in the presence of limited entry to flow is explained and illustrated by examples. Moreover, the paper shows how to calculate the net decrease in productivity due to the combined effect of limited entry and perforations. INTRODUCTION In some wells only a fraction of the productive interval is open to flow. Location of this fraction is usually dictated by formation characteristics and reservoir behavior. For instance, if a gas cap exists, the open interval is located away from the gas-oil contact to prevent any possible gas coning. Wells that intentionally have been opened to flow along a fraction of their productive formation are tened wells with limited entry. Obviously, unintentional completions of this type also exist. Limited entry to flow decreases well productivity. Magnitude of the loss depends on the fraction of the formation open to flow, on the thickness of the sand, on the location of the open interval and on the ratio of rd /r, where r , is well radius and rd is the drainage radius of the well. The use of pressure buildup data on producing wells to calculate the condition of the formation around the wellbore is an accepted practice. van Everdingenl and Hurst2 introduced the concept of she skin factor s considered to be due to a thin layer of different permeability immediately around the wellbore. These authors dealt with the case of a well of complete radial geometry, i.e., a well with open-hole completion that completely penetrates the formation. The presence of a low-permeability skin results in a loss of productivity, as does limited entry. Therefore, if pressure buildup data obtained on a well with limited entry are used to establish the presence or absence of skin (i.e., formation damage), and a correction is not made for this loss of productivity, the calculations would result in an erroneous skin value. They might indicate the presence of formation damage when in reality there is none, or they might indicate a value larger than the true value. This could lead to an incorrect basis for planning remedial measures. Muskat3 studied the problem of partially penetrating wells for the case of incompressible flow. He presented equations and figures which allow estimation of loss in productivity. Brons and Marting,4 using equations based on Nisle's work,5 studied the loss of productivity for three cases. The first was for a partially penetrating well; the second was for a well producing from only the central portion of a productive interval; and the third was for a well in which several intervals equally spaced were open to flow. Their work was for steady-state depletion-type reservoirs wherein the well radius of drainage is established and the fluid is considered to be slightly compressible. Considered in this paper is the problem of wells with limited entry in which the open intervals are located anywhere within the productive sand. The finite cosine transform is used to arrive at a

Jan 1, 1969

By H. Groeneveld, C. A. Connally, P. J. Hoenmans, J. J. Justen, W. L. Mason

A miscible displacement pilot using a slug of LPG driven by separator gas was conducted in the Cardiurn reservoir of the Pembina field. The injection pattern was a 10-acre, inverted, isolated five-spot. Upon completion of the LPG-gar phase, an experiment was conducted using a slug of water followed by gas. Calculated performance of the pilot is compared with actual performance. Equations are developed to calculate the distribution of LPG into zones of varying permeability, to estimate the progress of the flood at different times in the various zones and to estimate gas rates after breakthrough. The analysis indicates that permeability stratification was a dominant factor in controlling oil recovery and that oil was completely displaced from the swept pore volume. The results of the pilot indicated that miscible flooding is a practical means of pressure maintenance in this reservoir. The total recovery from the pilot area was good in spite of the early breakthrough of LPG. The effects of stratification were reduced by injecting a slug of water into the partially swept reservoir. INTRODUCTION The Pembina field,' located in Alberta, is the largest oil field in Canada and one of the largest in the North American continent. The reservoir is a stratigraphic trap producing from the Cardium sand. Neither bottom water nor free gas has been found. The recovery of oil by the natural depletion mechanism has been estimated at 12.5 per cent. Pressure maintenance studies of various areas have indicated that the recovery can be increased 21/2 times by water flooding, and a large area of the field is presently under water flood. However, reservoir studies of the North Pembina area indicated that miscible flooding might be competitive with water flooding. A pilot test was conducted to evaluate the performance of a miscible flood. A 10-acre, inverted, isolated, five-spot pattern was selected for the pilot. The pattern area was large enough to minimize wellbore fracturing effects and contained sufficient oil to provide significant working numbers. The performance of each of the four producers could be evaluated individually and compared. In the event of breakthrough in one direction, the effect would be isolated from the other producers. The use of a single injector minimized the volume of LPG required, and, because of the high mobility of gas, one well was sufficient to inject the necessary daily volume to replace the high rate of production. With four producers, the test could be completed in time for results to be evaluated, additional engineering studies to be made and a unit to be formed before the reservoir pressure in the North Pembina area declined below the bubble point. The pilot was located in an area developed on staggered, 80-acre spacing. The injection well was drilled at a regular location, while the four producers were drilled 467-ft north, east, south and west of the injector. Each quadrant and its associated producer were identified according to their direction from the injector— that is, north, east, south or west. The eight surrounding producers on 80-acre spacing were shut in to isolate the pilot area and provide for reservoir pressure observation. The pilot wells were completed using permanent-type completion techniques. After coring, casing was run through the pay section and cemented. Inside 51/2-in. casing, 2 1/2-in. tubing was hung. The wells were perforated opposite the Upper Cardium sand and lightly fractured. Fracturing volumes, rates and pressures were low to minimize the extent of the fractures. The fracturing treatments average 1,000 lb of 20-40 mesh sand in 700 gal of a low fluid-loss sand-carrying agent. Feed rates and wellhead fracturing pressures averaged 5.5 bbl/min at 2,535 psig, respectively. After fracturing, the productivity index was measured in each of the five pilot wells. The average PI of the four producers was 0.41 BOPD/psig drawdown. The measured PI'S were approximately the same as PI'S calculated from core analysis data, indicating that the fracturing treatments were just sufficient to overcome

By Bradley Stoughton, M. Miyake

The importance of magnesium alloys as engineering materials has increased rapidly in the past few years. The most important properties of magnesium alloys are their lightness and strength, which result in their extensive use in aircraft and automobile construction. Recent progress in the metallurgy of magneaium seems to offer hope of the production of the pure metal at a reasonable cost. The use of magnesium would doubtless increase greatly if it could be produced at a cost comparable with that of aluminum. A preliminary survey of the magnesium-base alloys shows that the most promising from a practical standpoint are magnesium-aluminum and magnesium-zinc as binary alloys, and magnesium-zinc-aluminum as ternary alloys. The research reported in this paper is a preliminary study of binary magnesium-aluminum and magnesium-zinc alloys, as an introduction to a series of further investigations. Magnesium-aluminum System The magnesium-aluminum system was first studied by Boudouard,1 who merely determined the liquidus. An accepted constitutional diagram was given by Grube,2 who found a compound A13Mg4 (melting point = 462.7" C.) and two eutectics at 35 per cent. magnesium (451.6° C.) and at 68 per cent. magnesium (440" C.) Between the first eutectic and the compound a solid solution exists. This diagram was checked or supplemented by Pécheux,3 Broniewski,4 Eger,5 Schirmeister,6 Voge17

Jan 1, 1926

By B. E. Eakin, R. T. Ellington

An apparatus and a procedure for determining the viscosity behavior of hydrocarbons at pressures up to 10,000 psia and temperatures between 77 and 400° F are described. The equipment is suitable for measuring viscosity of either the liquid or vapor phases or the fluid above the two-phase envelope for systems exhihiting retrograde phenomena, according no the phase state of the system within these ranges of temperature and pressure. Equations are developed for calculation of viscosity from the experimental measurements, and new data for the viscosities of ethane and propane at 77° F are reported. INTRODUCTION With the advent of higher pressures and temperatures in industrial processes and deep petroleum and natural gas reservoirs, demand has increased for accurate values of physical properties of hydrocarbons under these conditions. Proportionately, more frequent occurrence of natural gas and condensate-type fluids is encountered as fluid hydrocarbons are discovered at greater depths. This increases the importance, to the reservoir engineer, of being able to predict accurately the physical properties of light hydrocarbon systems in the dense-gas and light-liquid phase states. Reliable gas viscosity data are limited primarily to measurements made on pure components near ambient temperature and at low pressures. Few investigations have been reported for high pressures, and except for methane, data on light hydrocarbons are subject to question. This is demonstrated by the large discrepancy between sets of data on the same component reported by different investigators. For mixtures in the dense gas and light liquid regions and for fluids exhibiting retrograde behavior there are very few published experimental data. Viscosity data for methane have been reported by Bicher and Katz,1 Sage and Lacey,12 Comings, et al,3 Golubev,3 and Carr,3 with good agreement among the last three sets of data. Comings, Golubev and Carr utilized capillary tube instruments for which the theory of fluid flow is well established. The theory permits calculation of the viscosity directly from the experi- mental data and dimensions of the instrument alone. Sage and Lacey, and Bicher and Katz used rolling-ball viscometers. The theory of the rolling-ball viscometer has not been completely established, and these instruments presently require calibration by use of fluids of known viscosity behavior before viscosities of test fluids can be measured. To obtain accurate data it is necessary that the rolling-ball viscometers be calibrated by use of fluids of density and viscosity similar to the test fluids, a difficult selection for the gas phase. From the methane data and experimental tests on various natural gases, Carr developed a correlation for predicting the PVT behavior of light natural gases.2,3,4 This correlation was based on data for a very limited composition range; its application to rich gases and condensate fluids is questionable. The object of this investigation is to develop an instrument which can be used to obtain viscosity data at reservoir temperatures and pressures, for rich gases, condensate-type systems above the two-phase envelope and light liquid mixtures. These data will be used in an effort to develop correlations to represent the viscosity behavior of these fluids. APPARATUS In a previous viscosity study Carr2 utilized a modified Rankine capillary viscometer configuration," Fig. 1. In this instrument the gas to be tested is forced through the capillary tube in laminar flow by motion of a mercury pellet in the fall tube, the measured displacement time being that required for the mercury slug to move between the brass timer rings. The viscometer is constructed of glass and mounted in a steel pressure vessel. The test gas pressure in the viscometer is balanced by an inert gas (usually nitrogen) in the vessel. Excellent results have been obtained with instruments of this type, with Carr2 and Comings5 reporting repro-ducibilities of 99.5 to 99.3 per cent and an estimated absolute accuracy of 99 per cent. However, these instruments have limitations which have precluded their use for liquids. The need for maintaining a balance between pressures of the test fluid and inert gas in the viscometer vessel presents operating problems, and requires charging the test fluid to the viscometer very slowly. The principle drawback to the Rankine unit is behavior of the mercury slug which provides the pressure differential across the capillary. When even trace quantities of propane or heavier hydrocarbons are present in the test gas, the mercury tends to subdivide