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By Milton H. Fies

Although pig iron from iron ore and red cedar charcoal preceded the mining of coal by many years, for tradition says that Alabama iron was used to shoe the horses of Andrew Jackson's soldiers, coal was not produced until 1830. In that year, coal was mined in Tuscaloosa County, in the vicinity of what is now the University of Alabama, and shipped on flat boats (obviously during the wet season, for there were many shoals) down the Warrior River to Mobile. About that time, the first railroad, the Decatur & Tecumseh, was being constructed in northern Alabama to overcome the obstructions to freight traffic caused by the now well-known Muscle Shoals in the Tennessee River. This railroad was patterned after a railroad at Mauch Chunk, Pa., which was used for hauling anthracite from the Panther Creek valley. The Alabama railroad, which required about four years to complete, was 46 miles long and was used solely for the transportation of cotton. Although it was a failure, it demonstrated the practicability of the undertaking, and the succeeding railroads, which were begun in 1834, 1848, 1852, and 1853, added immeasurably to the development of the coal resources of the state. Between the years 1830 and 1860, practically all the coal mined in the state was dug from the outcrop near the river or from the river beds, and shipped by boat to Mobile. Transporting coal down the Warrior River was an undertaking of great risk, required much skill, and frequently had heavy losses. It is recorded that this coal was sold to the gas company in Mobile in 1844; it was most likely mined from the Black Creek Seam. In 1914, on the completion of Lock 17, the Warrior River became a navigable stream from 9 miles above Cordova, Ala., to Mobile and offers a great opportunity for the future development of the coal resources of the state. Coke for foundry use was first made in Alabama in 1855. It was 21 years later, however, in 1876, that pig iron was made from Alabama ore with Alabama coal.

Jan 1, 1925

The plans for the activities of the Petroleum Division for the coming year do not differ materially from those of the past several years. The fall meeting is scheduled for Oct. 12 and 13 and is to be held at Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Division, of course, will take part in the annual meeting of the Institute at New York. A fall meeting will also be held in California at approximately the same time as the meeting at Tulsa. A number of papers are to be presented at the two meetings simultaneously. The various committees are at work arranging the programs. The Division will continue to be active in its various fields of endeavor, such as stabilization, production reviews, and economics, but special stress is to be laid on the engineering and research fields. In the past the Division has served as a forum for open and frank discussion of problems confronting the engineers in the oil industry. It is hoped that it will continue to function in this capacity. Papers presenting original ideas and extending the boundaries of knowledge and understanding in the field of petroleum production will be welcomed. Members who have interesting information to contribute should not wait until called upon by one of the Committees, but should offer a paper at the earliest opportunity. The past year has seen a decided strengthening of the control over production, with prospects of even more rigid control in the future. It is essential that production programs under such control be carefully planned and it is highly desirable that petroleum engineers take an active part in the planning, to insure efficient production of oil and minimize the waste of this natural resource. At a time like this, when it is difficult to keep the production of oil within reasonable limits, it may seem unnecessary to improve the efficiency of production methods, but, as has been aptly said, the trouble is not that we have too great a reserve of oil but that we are producing tomorrow's oil today. Therefore it behooves those who are entrusted with the engineering and scientific phases of production to learn how to get the greatest yield economically possible from the present and future fields in order that we may enjoy the advantages of petroleum products for a long time to come.

Jan 1, 1934

By William P. Prof. Blake

WHEN we consider the efforts made in Europe to promote the physical and moral well-being of the working classes, the question is suggested whether in this country, where, theoretically, every man is peculiarly the arbiter of his own destiny, we may not be too prone to expect every man to take care of himself, and neglect to make those provisions for the welfare of the employed, demanded alike by enlightened economy and humanity. In the older countries, where the disproportion between capital and labor is greater, and the working classes are more dependent, their welfare largely occupies the attention of employers. The subject is involved in the problem of the just relations of capital and labor, and we are rapidly approaching the time, if we have not already reached it, when a generous paternal interest in the welfare of the employed should be more generally manifested. It is a subject which is of special importance to mine-owners and engineers in this country, especially to those located in the coal regions. My own attention has been particularly directed to it by a visit made to the Hassard collieries, a few miles from Liege, Belgium, under the direction of M. Andrimont. This celebrated engineer has established a comfortable home for the miners near the mouth of the shaft of the mine. It has been highly successful and beneficent in its results, and may to a great degree be regarded as a, model for such undertakings. It is known as "Hotel Louise," this being the name of Madame d'Andrimont, who laid the corner-stone of the building April 4th, 1871. The structure is of brick, upon three sides of a square, and

Jan 1, 1875

By William P. Blake

When we consider the efforts made in Europe to promote the physical and moral well-being of the working classes, the question is suggested whether in this country, where, theoretically, every man is peculiarly the arbiter of his own destiny, we may not be too prone to expect every man to take care of himself, and neglect to make those provisions for the welfare of the employed, demanded alike by enlightened economy and humanity. In the older countries, where the disproportion between capital and labor is greater, and the working classes are more dependent, their welfare largely occupies the attention of employers. The subject is involved in the problem of the just relations of capital and labor, and we are rapidly approaching the time, if we have not already reached it, when a generous paternal interest in the welfare of the employed should be more generally manifested. It is a subject which is of special importance to mine-owners and engineers in this country, especially to those located in the coal regions. My own attention has been particularly directed to it by a visit made to the Hassard collieries, a few miles from Liège, Belgium, under the direction of M. Andrimont. This celebrated engineer has established a comfortable home for the miners near the mouth of the shaft of the mine. It has been highly successful and beneficent in its results, and may to a great degree be regarded as a model for such undertakings. It is known as ((Hotel Louise," this being the name of Madame d' Andrimont, who laid the corner-stone of the building April 4th, 1871. The structure is of brick, upon three sides of a square, and

By J. J. Beeson

Page I. PrimaRy MineRalization............................................ 356 1. Introduction..................................................... 356 a. Scope of Work............................................... 356 6. Acknowledgments............................................ 357 c. The Bingham Mining District.................................. 357 d. General Geology.............................................. 357 e. The Utah Copper Mine....................................... 376 f. Field and Laboratory work.................................... 376 2. The Quartz-Monzonite.............................................. 377 3. The Pegmatite Veins.....:.•..............................:........ 378 4. The High-Temperiture Veins.........................-.............:379 5. The Early Hydrotherma! Period.:......................'............ 380 6. The Late Hydrothermal Period................................:.... 385 II. Seconuabx EnricuMENT............................................. 386 . 1. Author's Note;..... ;............................................ 386 2. Factors Governing Enrichment.....................................: 387 3. The Enrichment.................................................... 387 4. The Covellite Enrichment.; .:; ; : .:. :..:.............:................ 388 a. The Capping above the Covellite Ores:....:....................... 388 b. Conclusions Drawn. from a Study of the Capping and the Covellite ; Ores....,.............................................:.....,.' 392 c. Covellite Enrichment at Depth......:......................... : : 392 5. The Chalcocite Enrichment...................................... ; 394 a. The Carbonates in the Capping above .the Chalcocite Ores...:..: .. 394 ' b. The Formation of Chalcocite..:.:. :......:..'...........,......' 394 . 6. Secondary Chalcopyrite and Bornite.............................i ..., . 395 111.- Conclusions as to the Formation.oF the ImpoRtant Sulphides in the Disseminated ORes........................................,.......... 400 I. Primary MiNeRalization 1. Intrdtiction a. Scop. e .of Work.. first part bf, this paper deals with the country rock, its pegihatitic, pneumatolytic', and hydrothermal altektions; also, the effect of magnetite on the deposition of the primary chalcopyrite and pyrite.

Jan 1, 1916

By V. Koump, T. F. Perzak, R. G. Olsson

The vate of dissolutioz of carbon in molten Fe-C alloys urns studied by votating- cylindrical g-vaphite sairlples in a stationary crucible containing the melt. The rate of dissolltion was determdined from the change in the bnth co)npositiorz. Alccss-tvansfev coeffi'cients, calcilated with the assurlption that the inte)yacial liquid ulas saturated with carbon, were found to be in agreement with an existing Correlation fov mass transfer jroni votating cylinders. It is corzcllrded tlat, itz the wnge of- Reynolds' numbers itzvestigated (790 to 18,000), the vate of dissolutio of carborz in Fe-C alloys is controlled by tile rate of carbon difirsion from the interface. The dissolution of carbon in molten Fe-C alloys has been the subject of a number of investigations. Most of these investigations have been inconclusive because of poorly defined experimental variables. Two of the more sophisticated studies are summarized below. Dahlke and Knacke' studied the phenomenon by, in part, immersing graphite rods into 0.5 pct carbon-steel for different lengths of time. Since the experiments were conducted in air or in CO atmospheres, the melt was strongly agitated by gas evolution. It was concluded that the change in bath composition as a function of immersion time was in agreement with the assumption that the dissolution process was transport-controlled. The hydrodynamic conditions in these experiments, however, were not well-defined and gave no indication of the nature of the dissolution process at higher fluid velocities. In a recent study Shurygin and ruk investigated the dissolution of carbon in molten Fe-C, Fe-Si, Fe-P, and Fe-Ni alloys. Small graphite disks were rotated in a crucible containing molten alloys under such conditions that only the lower face of the disk was exposed to the melt. The results of this investigation indicate that, over the range of velocities (100 to 1000 rpm) and bulk liquid concentrations (0.7 to 4.5 wt pct C) considered, the dissolution of carbon in the iron alloys is limited by the diffusion of carbon from the interface to the bulk liquid (a transport mechanism). For the particular geometry used by these authors, exact analytical solutions of hydrodynamic and diffusion problems are aailable. Hence the experimental results obtained by Shurygin and Kryuk permit the evaluation of diffusion coefficients of carbon in the four systems investigated. In the present investigation a series of experiments were conducted in which the rate of dissolution of carbon in Fe-C alloys was measured under conditions which permitted wide variation of the fluid velocity and the carbon concentration of the bulk liquid. Graphite cylinders were rotated at different speeds in a stationary concentric crucible containing various molten Fe-C alloys. THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENT In general, the resistance to mass transfer from a solid interface to a turbulent liquid is assumed to reside in a laminar boundary layer adjacent to the interface. If it is also assumed that the diffusion coefficient is independent of concentration, the steady-state rate of dissolution for the case of arbitrary liquid and solid densities can be obtained from the integration of the equations of continuity. The derivation is similar to that used by Lommel and chalmers4 for the case of pl = ps. The solution, expressed in terms where N = rate of diffusion of the solute from the interface. Exact analytical solutions of the hydrodynamic equation for the boundary layer thickness are available for only a limited number of geometries. Consequently, a mass-transfer coefficient, k, is usually

Jan 1, 1967

By Brahm Prakash, R. Schuhmann

Chemical conditions for flotation and nonflotation of quartz with oleic acid as collector and barium, calcium, aluminum, iron, and tin as activators were studied using a simple vacuum-flotation technique in glass-stoppered graduates. The detailed study of barium activation led to an interpretation based on ideal Langmuirian chemisorption.

Jan 1, 1950

By D. J. Carney, E. Van Meter, J. J. Oravec

A study was made of combustion-air temperatures and factors affecting air temperatures in the open-hearth regenerative systems. Air-temperature surveys in the regenerative system revealed marked thermal gradients in the air above the checkers. The design of the fantail-uptake region plays a prominent part in increasing the heat recovery of the regenerative system. THE efficiency of the open-hearth regenerative system is one of the most important factors affecting open-hearth performance. Until recently, this factor has not received the attention in the literature given to many other items affecting performance, such as the type of charge, speed of charging, and the mechanical equipment of the open hearth. J. S. Marsh' emphasized the importance of the flame temperature and its dependence upon the combustion-air temperature. By means of measured air temperatures in open-hearth furnaces, data were presented which showed a remarkable degree of correlation between production rate and combustion-air temperature. This correlation was extremely good in view of the numerous factors, other than air temperature, which affect open-hearth production rates. In Marsh's work, a 100°F increase in air temperature reduced the heat time by approximately 45 min. Realizing the importance of combustion-air temperature, it is desirable to know which factors control the regenerative efficiency of the open-hearth furnace. B. M. Larsen recently discussed this subject.' The present paper illustrates a few of the more important items that affect regenerative efficiency and combustion-air temperature. In the latter part of 1951, a study of open-hearth combustion-air temperatures was begun at the South Works of the United States Steel Corp. In the initial work at open-hearth shop X, which produces low carbon steel products, temperatures were measured in the uptake in a manner similar to that used by Marsh' and the results obtained were very similar to the Bethlehem data. When it was decided to expand the study of combustion-air temperatures, open-hearth shop Y was selected because of the greater variety of furnace-design features, types of steel produced, and firing rates used. With the use of aspirating thermocouples, continuous gas analyzers, thermocouple and optical pyrometers, a study was made of: 1—effect of combustion-air temperature on open-hearth production rate, 2—thermal gradients present in various zones of the regenerative system, 3—effect of furnace-design variations on air temperature and heat recovery, 4-—effect of furnace-operating variables on heat recovery, and 5—variation in heat recovery with furnace age during the normal furnace campaign. Data collected on individual heats at 15 min intervals included air-flow rate, firing rate, checker temperature, combustion-air temperature, and furnace pressure. These data were collected on approximately 230 heats of steel. In addition, information was obtained at random on air infiltration and combustion-gas compositions. The data gathered have shown the desirability of closer control of open-hearth firing practices, a need for reducing air infiltration in the uptake zones, and a need for further study of design of checkers and of uptake-fantail areas. Equipment Air is practically a nonradiating medium. Consequently, in the measurement of air temperatures, the principle of heat conduction must be used rather than heat radiation. For this reason, aspirating-type thermocouple pyrometers normally are used to measure air temperatures. With these devices, air

Jan 1, 1956

By P. W. George

This paper presents geological data regarding deposits of over 7,500,000 tons of fine-grained sulphide ore in barite gangue. A series of pyroclastics and arkoses was intruded by sills of quartz porphyry in connection with batholithic intrusions of granite 3 miles from Buchans. Gentle folding, with fracturing acid shearing of tuff beds and intruded quartz porphyry, accompanied and followed the intrusion of granite and porphyry. The sulphide-barite mineralization is localized primarily in fractured and sheared tuff beds, but also in the sheared quartz porphyry. Two structures have proved particularly favorable for mineralization-one, the center of an anticline; the other, a series of weak, incompetent tuff beds intruded by thin sills of quartz porphyry and located between strong beds of arkose. During the folding the weak tuff with intruded quartz porphyry was intensely sheared and contorted and subse-quently mineralized by sulphides and barite.

Jan 1, 1937

By R. M. Sellwood

The No. 4 I.S.F. Smelter Complex at the Avonmouth Works of Imperial Smelting Corporation (N.S.C.) Limited commenced operation at the beginning of 1968. The furnace rating is 120,000 tons zinc and 40,000 tons lead per annum. Zinc and lead concentrates are unloaded onto a 1,000 tons per hour capacity conveyor belt and automatically weighed and sampled before receipt into a 48,000 ton capacity raw material store. Distribution is by a reversible boom stacker into 16 x 3,000 ton bays and recovery is by a front end loader. Materials are fed to 16 proportioning bins for feeding via continuous weigh feeders to a 132 square metre effective updraught area sinter machine with a material flow rate of 240 tons per hour over the machine. The required quantity of output lump sinter at up to 800ºC is fed to 2 x 600 ton storage bins on the I.S.F. plant. By-product SO2 rich gas is fed to a conventional wet gas single stream acid plant rated at 600 tons per day utilizing a dry N.T.P. gas volume of 100,000 cubic metres per hour. The hot sinter and preheated coke (800ºC) are automatically neighed and charged to a 27.3m2 shaft area I.S.F. fitted with 2 x 5.5 m. wide lead splash condensers. Grade 4 zinc is tapped and transferred to the zinc refinery. Conventional type lead bullion and slag are tapped from the bottom of the furnace through a separation forehearth. The refinery consists of 6 lead and 3 cadmium columns to produce some 52,000 tons per annum of S.H.G. metal. S.H.G. metal and Grade 4 metal is cast into various shapes as required.

Jan 1, 1970

By V. N. Krivobok

THE study and use of low-carbon manganese steels have been curiously neglected in the general history of developments in alloy steels. Hadfield1 made an extensive study of manganese-iron-carbon alloys about 1886, which culminated in the wide application and use of Hadfield austenitic manganese steel. His alloys were nearly all high in carbon, as compared with the steels discussed in this paper, and he found a marked tendency towards brittleness in the alloys of medium and low manganese content, that is, below 7 per cent. manganese. As a result, there has been a widespread prejudice against the use of manganese steels containing between 1.0 to 3.5 per cent. manganese with comparatively low carbon. Steels of this composition have never been studied adequately in comparison with other alloy steels, and have had little use in practice. In a very recent paper by Sir Robert Hadfield2 the following statement appears: ?. . . manganese-iron alloys with little or no carbon do not seem to offer any practical employment; they only become valuable in the presence of quite high percentages of carbon, 0.90 to 1.50 per cent." The results of the present investigation are so contrary to the findings of Hadfield that the writers feel fully justified in presenting the preliminary report incorporated in this paper.

Jan 1, 1927

By Hugh O?Neill

IN PREVIOUS papers,1 the author has reported the results of experiments on the straining in tension of a single crystal test piece, about 0.6 in. long, of vacuum-melted electrolytic iron containing 1.8 per cent. of silicon. The crystal was originally in the "as cast" condition, and was stressed slowly along a tetragonal axis so that slipping along conjugate gliding planes finally transformed the original cylindrical portion into a pair of fracture wedges. One of these fracture wedges was sectioned along the stress axis in a plane at right angles to the edge of the wedge. A metallographic study of this plane of -section led to the conclusion that slip had taken place in the (111) direction along (112) planes making a V shape with the stress axis. The present paper describes the results of scratch-hardness tests conducted on the same section, in order to determine the distribution of strain hardness therein, followed by annealing, and considers the resulting variations in hardness. These observations supplement those made by Krivobok2 on similar material reduced 25 per cent. by hammering (i. e., by impact) in the cold. In order to investigate ageing effects, two small crystals of the same alloy were also tested.

Jan 1, 1928

By Robert H. Hafner, Irvin R. Kramer

In recent years considerable interest has been shown in surface-alloyed metals, particnlarly those of chromium (chromized steels), which have excellent corrosion resistance under a variety of severe conditions, and may undergo bending and flanging operations without spalling. An early method1 employed to produce a high-chromium case on steel was developed by Kelley in 1921. It consisted of heating a low-carbon steel in intimate contact with powdered chromium in the presence of hydrogen at temperatures sufficiently high to permit diffusion of chromium into the steel. The usefulness of this process was limited because the extremely high tem- peratures of 1200º to 1400ºC. (2200° to 2550°F.) caused excessive grain growth and warpage. Louenstein and Ulmer2 packed iron castings in ferrochromium and com- mon salt, and heated for approximately three hours at 930º to 1040°C. (1700º to 1900ºF.). A recent and more practical method of depositing chromium on steel surfaces has been developed in Germany by Daeves, Becker and Steinberg3-8 and in Russia by Izgaryshev and Sarkisov.9 This process consists of passing gaseous chromium chloride over the steel to be chromized at temperatures of 900º to 1000ºC., or packing them in a porous, ceramic material that previously had been saturated with chromium chloride. They reported obtaining a Chromized layer, 0.004 in. thick, on low-carbon steels. Later, Daeves4 established a relationship between the carbon content

Jan 1, 1943

By Robert H. Hafner, Irvin R. Kramer

In recent years considerable interest has been shown in surface-alloyed metals, particnlarly those of chromium (chromized steels), which have excellent corrosion resistance under a variety of severe conditions, and may undergo bending and flanging operations without spalling. An early method1 employed to produce a high-chromium case on steel was developed by Kelley in 1921. It consisted of heating a low-carbon steel in intimate contact with powdered chromium in the presence of hydrogen at temperatures sufficiently high to permit diffusion of chromium into the steel. The usefulness of this process was limited because the extremely high tem- peratures of 1200º to 1400ºC. (2200° to 2550°F.) caused excessive grain growth and warpage. Louenstein and Ulmer2 packed iron castings in ferrochromium and com- mon salt, and heated for approximately three hours at 930º to 1040°C. (1700º to 1900ºF.). A recent and more practical method of depositing chromium on steel surfaces has been developed in Germany by Daeves, Becker and Steinberg3-8 and in Russia by Izgaryshev and Sarkisov.9 This process consists of passing gaseous chromium chloride over the steel to be chromized at temperatures of 900º to 1000ºC., or packing them in a porous, ceramic material that previously had been saturated with chromium chloride. They reported obtaining a Chromized layer, 0.004 in. thick, on low-carbon steels. Later, Daeves4 established a relationship between the carbon content

Jan 1, 1943

By E. G. Williams

Manganese-ore has been found upon the Isthmus of Panama throughout' a region of nearly three hundred square miles, over the greater part of which, however, it is known only in small bodies without commercial value. Only six mines, controlled by two companies, have actually shipped ore, although a large area has been taken up in miningelaims. The ore-bearing region extends along the coast of the Carib. bean Sea, beginning on the west near Puerto Bello and extending easterly about 35 miles toward Point San Blas. Ore has been discovered in the interior, at a maximum distance of about 10 m. from the coast. Fig. 1 is a map of a portion of the Isthmus

Jan 1, 1903

By K. E. Brown, A. R. Hagedorn

A 1,500-ft experimental well was used to study the pressure gradients occurring during continuous, vertical, two-phase flow through 1-in., 1 1/4-in. and 1 1/3-in. nominal size tubing. The test well was equipped with two gas-lijt valves and four Mathak electronic pressure transmitters as well as with instruments to measure the liquid production rate, air injection rate, temperatures and surface pressures. Tests were conducted for widely varying liquid flow, rates, gas-liquid ratios and liquid viscosities. From these data, an accucrate pressure-depth traverse was construcred for each test in each of the three tubing sizes. From the results of these tests, correlations have beer] developed which allow the accurate prediction of flowing pressure gradients for a wide variety of tubing sizes, flow conditions, and liquid properties. Also. the correlations and equations which are developed satisfy the necessary condition that they reduce to the relationships approprate to single-phase flow when the flow rate of either the gas or the liqutid phase becomes zero. All the correlations involve only dimensionless groups. which is a condition usually Sought for in similarity analysis but not always achieved. The correlations developed in this study have been used to calculate pressure gradients for pipes of larger diameter than those upon which the correlations are based. Comparisons of these calcuclaed gradients with experimetally determined gradients for the same flow conditions obtained from the literature indicate that extrapolation to these larger pipe sizes is possible with a degree of accuracy sufficient for engineering calculations. The extent of this extrapolation can only he determined with additional data from larger pipe diameters. INTRODUCTION The accurate prediction of the pressure drop expected to occur during the multiphase flow of fluids in the flow string of a well is a wideiy recognized problem in the petroleum industry. The problem has been brought even more into prominence with the advent of tubingless or slim-hole completions which use small-diameter tubing. Many of the correlations which give reasonably accurale results in the lager tubing sizes are greatly in error when applied to small-diameter conduits. Small-diameter conduits are defined as 1 1/2-in. nominal size tubing or smaller. The study of the pressure gradients which occur during multiphase flow of fluids in pipes is exceedingly complex because of the large number of variables involved. Further difficulties relate to the possibility of numerous flow regimes of widely varying geometry and mechanism and the instabilities of the fluid interfaces involved. Consequently, a solution to the problem by the approach normally used in classical fluid dynamics based on the formulation and solution of the Navier-Stokes equation has not been forthcoming. This is primarily the result of the nonlincarities involved and the difficulty of adequately describing the boundary conditions. As a result of the foregoing, most investigators have chosen semi-empirical or purely empirical approaches in an efford to obtain a practical solution to the problem. Much of the previous work in this area was done in short-tube models in the laboratory. A number of problems arise, however, when attempts are made to extrapolate these laboratory results to oilfield conditions where a much longer tube is encountered. In those few studies where data taken in long tubes were utilized, the data covered only a limited range of the variables, and as a result inaccuracies are introduced when the correlations are extended outside the range of the original data. Also, as a consequence of the limited amount of data available for these studies, the effects of several important variables were overlooked. The problem of predicting the pressure drop which occurs in multiphase flow differs from that of single-phase flow in that another source of pressure loss is introduced, namely, those pressure losses arising from slippage between the phases. This slippage is a result of the difference between the integrated average linear velocities of the two phases, which in turn is due to the physical properties of the fluids involved. In contrast to single-phase flow. the pressure losses in multiphase flow do not always increase with a decrease in the size of the conduit or an increase in production rate. This is attributed to the presence of the gas phase which tends to slip by the liquid phase without actually contributing to its lift. Many investigators have attempted to correlate both the slippage losses and the friction losses by means of a single energy-loss factor analogous to the one used in the single-phase flow problem. In an approach of this type, hourever, many of the important variables, such as

Jan 1, 1966

By Richard E. Gray, Robert W. Bruhn

INTRODUCTION Underground coal mining has been practiced in the United States for over 200 years. Much early mining was not as efficient as today and unrecovered coal pillars, often of variable size and spacing, remain to support the overlying strata after mining has ceased. These conditions constitute a potential subsidence problem since the pillars will eventually fail. The possibility of subsidence above an abandoned mine must be anticipated except when total extraction has been achieved, permitting subsidence concurrent with mining, or when large coal pillars which have an adequate factor of safety for long-term support remain in the mine. Coal is found in 37 states and is mined under- ground in 22 states (HRB Singer, Inc. 1980). Underground mining produced 40 percent of the 7.5 x 10" kg. (830,000,000 tons) of U. S. coal mined in 1980 (Keystone, 1981). There are approximately 70,000 abandoned or inactive underground coal mines in the United States and approximately 2000 active underground coal mines (NAS/NAE, 1975). Underground coal mining in the United States will eventually extend beneath 162 x 109m2 (40 million acres). Thirty-two billion m2 (8 million acres) are already undermined (HRB Singer, 1977). Subsidence due to mining has affected more than 8 x 109m2 (2 million acres) in 30 states, 7.7 x 10 9m2 (1.9 million acres) from bituminous coal mining and the remainder primarily from anthracite mining (Johnson and Hiller, 1979). Subsidence from all other underground mines has affected only 6.9 x 10 7m2 (17,000 acres) (Johnson and Miller, 1979). Subsidence appears to be particularly widespread in two states, Pennsylvania and Illinois, although serious subsidence is found in localized areas of numerous other states (HRB- Singer, Inc. 1977). Host underground coal mining has occurred in the eastern United States, where the U. S. Bureau of Mines estimates 1.6 x 109m2 (398,600 acres) in urban areas in 18 states (out of a total 1.7 x 109m2 1418,400 acres]) are threatened by subsidence (Table 1) (Johnson and Miller, 1979). Pennsylvania and West Virginia contain 57 percent of the total threatened areas. The U.S. Bureau of Mines estimates the total cost to stabilize the estimated 1.7 x lo9m2 (418,400 acres) of subsidence prone urban land located above abandoned mines is over $12.5 billion (1978 costs).

Jan 1, 1982

By G. A. Vissac

MOISTURE in coal must be considered as an impurity, just the same as ash, from the standpoint of utilization of the coal. Being incombustible, it reduces directly the heating value of the coal, and in addition absorbs heat for its evaporation. Its presence means useless expenditures in handling and transportation. In coke plants, extra moisture reduces capacity and may cause damage to brick work and equipment. Accordingly, the removal of extra moisture can be considered just as important as the removal of other impurities, such as ashes, in the modern coal preparation plant. Moisture, which can be removed by heating the coal up to a temperature of 100°C, may be retained in various forms: 1. As a film, on the surface of each coal particle, and in the interstices between particles, retained by capillary forces. 2. Or "occluded" inside the coal particles. This occluded moisture may be either free moisture (as in a sponge), or hygroscopic moisture which varies with atmospheric conditions, (also called "regain").

Jan 1, 1949

By A. L. Holmes

Significant technologic advances were made in open pit mining during 1973. The industry faced mounting problems on one front where expansion of stripping activities encountered enlarged public resistance and on another where manpower and materials were in short supply. These challenges, along with the challenge and opportunity to meet the increased demand for mining products including materials for energy production, placed a premium on technical developments and their application. The demands on technology also included the providing of facilities and methods to economically extract minerals from deposits of lower grade, lesser accessibility, and where other uses of land approached the value of its minerals. Detection of Failures in Slope Walls The Bureau of Mines has undertaken research directed towards providing a mine operator with the opportunity to take corrective action before a potential slide becomes a problem.

Jan 2, 1974

By G. R. Love, C. C. Koch

The changes in superconducting properties with aging time have been studied ,for the pecipitation reaction in a Tc-30 at. pct V alloy. Superconducting critical temperature, upper critical field, and relative critical current density were determined by ac susceptibility techniques. Aging produces changes in critical temperature of both matrix and precipitate which can be rationalized by compositional effects. maximum flux pinning (critical current density) occurs at a time during aging when subgrain boundaries are completely decorated with precipitates and the subgrain centers remain precipitate -free. The particular effectiveness as barriers to flux motion of planar defects which enclose regions of low deject density is discussed. THE precipitation of a second phase can dramatically modify the superconducting properties of type I1 super-conductors. According to Livingston and Schadler1 one might expect changes in the primary, secondary, and tertiary superconducting properties of the material. Changes in matrix chemistry caused by precipitation can alter the fundamental superconducting parameters; critical temperature, Tc, and thermody-namic critical field, Hc. The concimitant changes in electron mean free path (reflected in normal state resistivity) can affect the critical fields Hc 1, IIc2, Hc3. Finally, the presence of precipitate particles may hinder the motion of flux lines and may considerably improve the current-carrying capacity in high-field superconductors. The influence of precipitation on superconducting properties has been studied in a number of systems.2 Magnetization measurements have been used to study the influence of precipitates on flux pinning in lead-base alloys by Livingston3 and Evetts et al4 In these alloys precipitates induced magnetic hysteresis and flux trapping. The amount of hysteresis increased with the volume fraction of precipitate and decreased with coarsening of the precipitate. Jn an Al-Zn alloy5 and an A1-Ag alloy6 the initial precipitate size was presumably smaller than a coherence length and coarsening increased magnetic hysteresis5 and critical current density.6 The influence of precipitation on superconducting properties has also been studied in several of the commercially interesting Ti-Nb7-10 and zr-Nb11 alloys. The maximum in critical current density for these alloys was confined to a narrow range of either isothermal aging time" or isochronal aging temperature7 during the precipitation reaction. Thus, experimental evidence and theoretical considerations suggest there is an optimum precipitate size, spacing, and density, and a critical composition with respect to the matrix for flux pinning. What these "optimum" values might be and the relative importance of each is still not clear, although a few generalizations can be made. It is generally accepted1' that particle sizes smaller than the coherence length or larger than the inter-flux line spacing are poor pinning centers. In high Hc2 materials, precipitate sizes for maximum values of critical current density lie in the range of 50 to 2000Å,9,7 and there are indications that increasing dissimilarity between precipitate and matrix produces increasing pinning force.13 Because of several interesting features of the aging reaction in a Tc-30 pct V alloy, we have chosen to study the influence of precipitation on the superconducting properties of this alloy. The physical metallurgy14 and a survey of the superconducting properties" of the Tc-V alloy system have been reported. The Tc-V phase diagram is presented in Fig. 1. At 1500°C the Tc-30 pct V alloy is in the single phase 6 field. Samples quenched from the 6-phase field have a CsCl structure X-ray diffraction pattern at room temperature and it has been proposed that the 6 structure is closely related to the bcc lattice.14 When held isothermally below the eutectoid temperature, 115O°C, the 6 phase decomposes into the CsCl and hcp phases.

Jan 1, 1970