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By Galen G. Waddell

The Deep Creek zinc and lead mine afforded an excellent example of a relatively small underground mine operation that approached the low mining costs of large, highly mechanized mines. An open stope mining method incorporating sublevel benches and vertical long holes was used (fig. 1). Detailed descriptions are given on the exploration program, stope development, stoping procedures, and pillar removal. Pressure grouting was used to check the inflow of water and thus prolong the life of the mine. Statistics on mining costs and on electric power consumption, haulage from mine to mill, and milling costs are included.

Jan 1, 1963

By K. Englehardt

J BERESFORD introduced the subject of the paper which is the use of polymeric slurries to support the sides of diaphragm wall and bored pile excavations during construction. In the opinion of the authors the use of a suitable polymeric fluid offers financial and technical advantages compared with traditional bentonite based slurries. Under quiescent conditions a support slurry must have the following properties. - sufficient viscosity to support the sides of the excavation, to prevent infiltration into soils and to hold loose soil particles in suspension. - when agitated it should thin quickly to assist pumping transfer and cleaning and allow free passage of the grab or drill. - viscosity should be low enough during concreting to facilitate placement but high enough to prevent contamination of the concrete.

Jan 1, 1991

This paper describes the development of an approach to sustainable development for application at the feasibility study stage for a proposed bauxite mine near the community of Aurukun, south of Weipa on the western coast of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia. The general environment for development was complex in all dimensions. In particular, the socio-demographic profile of the Aurukun community (population 1200) characterised it as being amongst the most disadvantaged communities in Australia. The traditional owners of the area, the Wik and Wik-Way people, were at the forefront in the efforts of Indigenous people in Australia to secure land rights over the past 30 years, and they had previous experience negotiating an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (the Western Cape Communities Coexistence Agreement) with Rio Tinto Alcan, the operators of the Weipa bauxite mine. Through this they had shown a well-founded sense of entitlement with respect to the development of resources on their traditional land. The Queensland State Government had recently cancelled an existing mining lease over the bauxite resource as the holder of the tenement had not fulfilled the terms of a development agreement that had been in place for 30 years. The Government was anxious to avoid any future æbankingÆ of the resource, and had decided to offer tenure to the resource on an international competitive basis, subject to the requirements of the Commonwealth Native Title Act 1993. This would require a negotiation process with traditional owners and potentially involve companies with whom the traditional owners had no existing relationship (typically developed during the projectÆs exploration phase) and who possibly had no project development experience in Australia. As well, the State Government envisaged an approach to development that drew on the significant work that industry and other stakeholders had undertaken over the previous ten to 15 years, commencing with the mining, minerals and sustainable development (MMSD) process. This work was aimed at rectifying acknowledged deficiencies with industry recognition of stakeholder interests, in particular with respect to environmental management and socioeconomic development. The approach adopted aimed to define the strategic community interests and sustainable development outcomes to which the development of the resource would be expected to contribute, and to embody these within an easily usable management structure that could be applied to each stage of project development from feasibility study through to mine closure. The logical framework (AusAID, 2006; ICMM, 2005) was the management tool utilised to order the identified interests and desired outcomes. The structure included components aligned with the key areas of development interest expressed by the community, and the initial baseline sustainable development plan (SDP) developed established component objectives, outcomes, indicative outputs and activities for the feasibility stage of the project. This established an objective framework to guide potential bidders when developing their response to the State GovernmentÆs Request for Proposal. The paper will describe the evolution of the competitive process and the parallel process for development of the SDP. While the institutional environment was politically and socially complex, the use of simple visual representations of the environment and the analysis and ordering of issues, objectives and criteria through methods such as stakeholder analysis and the logical framework approach, enable the development of a dialogue on the contribution that the development of a mining project can make to sustainable community development, and for the development of an agreed program of community support to capture the contribution. The use of the logical framework was found to have good functionality for plan development. Achieving plan outcomes though, is highly dependent on the skill of key project personnel in facilitation, team building, conflict resolution and leadership, as well as their ability to influence the behaviour of key stakeholders with the capacity and authority to require the integration of local economic development criteria in to key project development decisions.

Jan 1, 2009

By S. J. Lötter

Analysis of the major and minor components of raw zircon as well as plasma-dissociated zircon was undertaken using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Microwave-assisted acid extraction as well as flux fusion using lithium tetraborate were investigated as digestion methods. Microwave-assisted acid extraction samples were analysed with matrix-matched standards. The most successful microwave-assisted acid extractions yielded 44.3(1), 49.75(7), 78.3(3) and 90.0(7) per cent recovery for Zr, Hf, Al, and Fe respectively using sulphuric acid. In no instance was acid extraction capable of complete digestion of the sample matrix. A standard addition method was applied to the flux-fusion samples due to the high complexity of the sample matrix. Method validation for the flux fusion procedure was performed using the SARM 62 certified reference material (CRM) with acceptable recovery ranges being based on the 95 per cent confidence intervals of the CRM. Successful analyses were achieved for Zr, Hf, and Ti with apparent content of 66(6), 1.7(1) and 0.15(1) per cent respectively.

Jan 1, 2012

By J. B. Campbell, V. V. Valleroy, B. T. Willman, L. W. Powers

A steam drive of heavy oil was field tested in a shallow, low oil-saturation formation near Deerfield, Mo. The pilot was conducted in the Warner formation, a sandstone containing an 18' API oil having 1,000-cp viscosity at the 60F origind reservoir temperature. The formation war at a depth of 160 ft. Steam was injected into nine input wells arranged in an array of inverted five-spot patterns. In the completely confined center pattern, 14 temperature observation wells were installed to obtain thermal data and observe test progress. Late in the test, slugs of ammonia were injected to trace the flow paths of injected fluids. From the test area about 7,000 bbl of oil were produced. Data were obtained on areal and vertical temperature distribution, steam front advance, reservoir fluid movement and terminal saturations. This field test of a steam drive (I) demonstrated the feasibility of the method, (2) confirmed that the low residual oil saturations observed in the laboratory are obtained in the steam-swept region in the field and (3) provided recovery and conformance data for one set of field conditions. INTRODUCTION The Deerfield steam drive pilot test was conducted in a shallow sandstone containing 1,000-cp oil. The venture was undertaken cooperatively by the research and production departments of Carter Oil Co., which organizations have since been consolidated into Esso Production Research Co. and Humble Oil & Refining Co.. respectively. The production department was interested in steam injection at Deerfield because it appeared to be the most promising method of commercially producing this heavy oil deposit. The research department was interested in applying the new recovery method and in evaluating its performance in the field. At the time the test was begun, the initial oil saturation was not well known. Subsequent air coring and early pilot results confirmed that there was too little oil in place for profitable commercial exploitation by steam. Pilot termination at that time, however, would have been premature for evaluating field performance of the process, and the tert was continued to obtain additional data on steam injection as a recovery method. The test was located in Vernon County, Mo., about 10 miles north of the town of Deerfield and only a few miles from the Kansas border. The pilot site was selected as typical of the area. The location represented neither the highest nor the lowest oil saturation region in the acreage under lease in 1954. The steam drive was conducted in the Warner sandstone of Lower Pennsylvanian age. At the test site the top of the Warner occurs at about 160 ft subsurface and the formation is a fine- to medium-grained micaceous sandstone that dips gently to the northwest at the rate of 12 to 15 ft/ mile. A cross-section and permeability profile of the test location are shown in Fig. 1. At the pilot location the average total thickness of the Warner formation is about 43 ft, but the effective thickness for steam drive is 26 ft. Two distinct types of hydrocarbon saturation are apparent. The lower portion of the total sand, averaging about 17 ft thick, contains a very heavy asphaltic material that will not flow under the influence of a steam drive. This bottom interval, referred to as a dead oil residue, was not considered as part of the net sand undergoing steam exploitation. The initial formation and fluid properties of the upper 26 ft in the test area are summarized in Table 1, and variation of oil viscosity with temperature is shown in Fig. 2. Imbibition tests on preserved core samples taken at the end of the pilot test showed that the Warner sandstone was then neutral or slightly water-wet. Initially, the reservoir may have been strongly water-wet as indicated by low relative permeability to water during both water injection testing and early steam injection. PRIOR HISTORY Initial production tests of wells at the pilot site produced water with only a faint show of oil. No gas was produced except at Well 7-W in the pilot area and at another well about 1/3 mile northeast of the pilot. Prior to the start of the steam drive, a two-well water injection test and a two-well air injection test were conducted. No oil was produced by either. Water was pumped into Well I-W in the northeast corner of the pilot area with simultaneous production from Well 1 (Fig. 3). The air-injection tat was run at input Well 9-W and its offset, Well 2, in the southwest corner. Air and water injectivities were about the same when corrected for viscosity and pressure differences.

By Mark I. Copeland

A study was conducted to determine if commonly used alloying additions or coating materials can prevent the formation of a liquid-copper phase during the reheating of copper-containing steels. If so, the tendency of such steels to surface-crack during hot-working might be eliminated. Steel specimens were scaled by heating them either isothermally or in a programed manner that simulated industrial furnace practice. Metallographic examination of the heated specimens showed that molten fayalite (Fe2Si04) completely prevented the formation of liquid copper at the surface. Fayalite, which melts at 2,200° F (1,205° C), was formed by internal oxidation of the silicon contained in the steel. By forming complex molten oxides, coatings of borax glass were also effective in preventing the occurrence of liquid copper at the steel surface.

Jan 1, 1972

By L Abrahamsson

This paper describes results from a gender study for a new mine in Pajala, a small community in northern Sweden. Using a gender perspective, the study examines migration, education, local culture, the labour market, and work organisation as problems and opportunities in the regional context for the planned mine. The most obvious ‘gender issue’ for the Swedish mining industry is the very low percentage of employed women, which is even lower among mining workers. To recruit the best people, a company actively needs to attract both women and men; however, the mining companies find it difficult to recruit women as cultural, labour market and educational traditions as well as the mining companies’ own cultures often make it difficult for women to find work in the mining industry.The Torneå river valley, the region surrounding Pajala, has a gender-segregated labour market and gender-stereotyped culture and few young women live in this traditional and oldish region. Many young people leave the region and this is especially true for women. Compared to the rest of Sweden, there is a low educational level, especially among the men. In the mining companies, as in many other male homosocial workplaces, the workplace culture has strong connections to a certain type of traditional masculinity (laddishness, a kind of ‘macho-style’) and for a long time this has excluded women. ‘Gender’, however, is not only a question of recruiting women to a male-dominated industry. An organisation that discriminates according to gender can become inflexible, hindering communication, learning, innovations and change processes. In mining companies, this can manifest itself in hesitant attitudes among the miners about safety as well as organisational and technological development.This study found that companies establishing a presence in this region should develop a strategy for how to deal with and manage the risks and opportunities in the surrounding society (the regional culture) as well as inside the company (the mining culture). This need to be strategic will also be required of future mining companies as they will face higher demands on safety, gender equality, and technology to become modern, efficient and lean organisations.

Nov 22, 2011

By H. L. Gilbert

Improvements in production of high-purity chromium metal by magnesium reduction of anhydrous chlorides and by hydrogen treatment of electrolytic chromium are reported. Hydrogen-treated chromium has been arc-melted, and the arc-melted material has been successfully forged, rolled, and swaged. The material also has been forged at liquid-air temperatures. X-ray and metallographic studies indicate the recrystallization temperature of rolled chromium sheet to be about 750° C. Preliminary investigation of hot-bending characteristics of rolled chromium sheet shows the minimum bending temperature to be about 325° C. The heat resistance of chromium has been investigated.

Jan 1, 1952

By Heikki Jalkanen

The mineralogical composition and morphology of solidified copper smelting and converting slags are of some interest from slag cleaning (by froth flotation), impurity elimination, and environmental points of view. Properties result from both the state of molten slag before solidification and processes taking place during solidification and cooling. In solidification and cooling, copper and sulfur dissolved in molten slag are .precipitating substantially from the silicate phase. Even in water quenching of slag, dissolved copper is pushed out of the solution in the form of finely divided precipitate. Elements present in the raw materials are distributed in a distinct manner between the solidified slag and non-silicate solidification products. Arsenic, antimony, and tin are strongly accumulated in copper precipitate, but not the other metallic constituents common in copper concentrates. Smelting and converting slags differ remarkably on their mineralogical composition and morphology although resulting principally of same chemical processes. Converter slags are more inhomogenous; they often contain solid particles and copper content is .as a rule higher than in matte smelting slags. The final copper content of converter slags was observed to be in a distinct manner dependent on iron oxide - silica ratio. Slag forming, solidification, and precipitation phenomena are discussed on the basis of mineralogical and morphology analysis of smelter slags and laboratory scale experiments.

Jan 1, 2002

All aspects of precious metals processing were featured at a symposium held Oct. 3-6, 2007, at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, AZ. Although billed as "Precious Metals Processing: Advances in Primary and Secondary Operations," the symposium also looked at economic, regulatory and environmental issues affecting the precious metals industry. The symposium was sponsored by SME; The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS); and the International Precious Metals Institute (IPMI). It included workshops, technical presentations, guest speakers and social activities. Mining industry management, process engineers, equipment manufacturers, consultants, metals marketers, academics and others involved in the precious metals industry attended the conference. Needless to say, with gold nearing $25.721g ($800/oz) and platinum pushing $41.801g ($1,300/oz) at the time of the meeting, the mood among the attendees could not have been more positive. The symposium was privileged to have Father Ernest S. Sweeney, professor of Latin American History at Loyola Marymount University, as a guest speaker. Sweeney, a Jesuit priest, provided a colorful account of the history of mining in Arizona and the surrounding region of North America (Fig. 1). He described the importance of the mining industry and said, "To go down into the bowels of the earth to extract its riches for the benefit of all of us is an awesome task deserving our sincere respect and gratitude." However, he warned the industry that: "The ever increasing de¬mands on the mining community for the protection of the environment calls for endless efforts to maintain ethical standards in a business filled with risk, uncertainty and frustrations." Sweeney noted that the Spanish conquest of the Americas was driven by the three fundamental motives of "God, glory and gold." He noted that gold was the basic, most powerful driving force of the conquest and occupation of the Spanish empire. The first European to explore Arizona was the Franciscan missionary Marcos de Niza. He came to Arizona in 1539 in search of the fabled Seven Golden Cities of Cíbola. Sweeny noted that Spanish explorers were consumed, as Cortes himself described it, "with a burning fever that only gold could cure." Sweeney told the story of some of these early explorers, including Francisco Vázquez de Coronado who "mounted an expedition in pursuit of gold and rich empires to conquer." Coronado passed through Arizona and discovered the Grand Canyon. "Coronado returned to Mexico exhausted, bankrupt and disillusioned, but with a wealth of new knowledge of the borderlands of the Spanish empire," said Sweeney. He then described the colorful history of early gold, silver and copper exploration and mining in Arizona, including the famous tale of the Lost Dutchman's Mine. In a luncheon address, David Kanagy, SME's executive director, introduced the attendees to the upcoming OneMine. org Web site. Kanagy told the audience" One-Mine.org will be a collaborative digital library that will

Jan 1, 2008

By NONE N

Jan 1, 1963

By Choon Sunwoo, Chang-Ha Ryu

There are various methods available for the recovery of dimensional stone in open pit quarries. Explosive blasting has more advantages in the economic point of view over the other methods but was not widely used in Korea because owner was concerned about much economic loss when it failed. Several years of efforts have been made in order to develop more effective cutting methods and to spread to the quarries for strengthening the competitiveness in the market. Rock cutting by jet flame and black powder was generally used in the early stage. Black powder was applied to cut the last horizontal plane after forming other vertical planes using the jet flame. Jet flame operation, however, is time consuming and produces excessive noise, and as the result, brings adverse effects on the operator as well as the complaints from the residence adjacent to the quarry. Some mechanical methods such as the slot drill, diamond wire saw or in-situ scale of diamond saw cutting were introduced. Most effective cutting methods using the explosive blasting were developed and applied successfully. Black powder was replaced with the detonating cord. A new air decking technique where plug was not used was developed. This paper reviews the technology for dimensional stone cutting and case study in Korea.

Jan 1, 2003

By John Chipman, Wayne L. Worrell

Using recent thermodynamic data for the carbides and oxides of tantalum, columbium, and vanadium, the stable solid phases aboue 1300°K and at 1 atm CO(g) pressure in each M-C-O system have been determined. Pourbaix-Ellingham diagrams have been constructed and are used to estimate the minimum temperatures necessary to obtain these metals by carbothermic reduction under reduced pressures. TANTALUM, columbium, and vanadium react with carbon to form the M,C and MC carbide phases. The M,C carbides have narrow homogeneity ranges, but the MC phases possess considerable ranges of homogeneity.' The free energies of formation of the MC carbides were recently measured, and those of MC and M2Ccarbides have been estimated., (The notations MC and MC denote, respectively, the carbide compositions at the carbon-rich and at the metal-rich boundaries of the homogeneous MC phase.) In this paper, these carbide data are combined with thermodynamic data for the oxides to predict the stable phases in the Ta-C-O, Cb-C-O, and V-C-O systems at specified temperatures and oxygen pressures. M-C-O PHASE DIAGRAMS The solid phases in equilibrium above 1300°K for each M-C-0 system are shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. Above 1300°K, the vapor would consist entirely of carbon monoxide; and these phase diagrams were obtained by specifying the vapor pressure of CO(g) to be 1 atm. The temperature at which any two solid phases become unstable is specified along the two-phase equilibrium lines in each diagram. To simplify the diagrams, all solid phases in the Ta-C-O and Cb-C-O systems are represented as stoichiometric compounds. However, the homogeneity ranges of VO and VC are indicated, because they form a complete series of solid solutions.3 It also should be noted that the homogeneity range of

Jan 1, 1964

By L. Pretorius, S. Uludağ

This paper explores how to apply system dynamics principles to surface mining problems towards understanding the consequences of mining efficiencies. Some simulation examples related to machine and people performance have been used to demonstrate systems engineering concepts to mining engineers. The simulation tool used is Vensim, which is widely used in industrial engineering applicable to systems thinking, and systems dynamics. The science and mathematics behind the system dynamics as well as benefits and typical challenges are discussed to explore the applicability to mining problems. The benefit of having one less drill is easily quantifiable with the developed model which is one of many other measurable benefits, using the developed model. Some of the benefits of the improved quality of drill holes are not fully quantified as this depends on the mine specific inputs. There are examples of quantifying this in the other industries using system dynamics tools.

Sep 1, 2021

By A. Patti, S. Reutzel, D. M. Herlach, L. Ratke, I. Egry

Cu-Co shows a metastable miscibility gap in the region of the undercooled melt. Undercooling of the melt below the binodal leads to separation of the melt into a Co-rich LI-phase and a Curich L2-phase. Experimentally, undercooling into the metastable miscibility gap is realised by means of electromagnetic levitation (EML), processing in drop tube (DT) and by melt flux embedding. As undercooling is large in these experiments, the velocity of the solidification front is high and the microstructure is frozen in instantaneously. Samples have been undercooled and solidified in the TEMPUS-facility (container less electromagnetic processing under weightlessness) during parabolic flight under reduced gravity conditions. Microstructures of solidified samples have been analysed and compared to those processed under gravitational conditions. The influence of convection on phase growth is much lower in reduced gravity. The microstructure shows spherical droplets of the minority phase, statistically dispersed in the majority phase.

Jan 1, 2004

By Felipe Calizaya

This study describes the principles involved in the design of a booster fan installation, the basic requirements, and the provisions needed to guarantee a safe operation of the unit. It also describes how a booster fan should be selected and what measures should be taken so that events such as uncontrolled recirculation of air in a mine can be avoided. A computer program called MFSELECT is presented to assist the ventilation engineer in the design process a For a given mine ventilation network, the program determines the duties of fans and regulators that will fulfill the airflow requirements of a mine and minimize the total power consumption. The application of the program is illustrated by the detailed solution of a sample problem. A Case Study based on the Jim Walter Resources' No. 7 Mine is utilized to describe the basic requirements for the design and operation of booster fans, and illustrate their potential benefits in mine ventilation. Finally, the study discusses a process control system designed to evaluate the safety conditions in the mine and report on the status of both surface fans and underground booster fans.

Jan 1, 1990

By P. H. Metzger, D. W. Fuerstenau

The activation of sphalerite was found to occur at a much lower rate with Pb++ then with Cut++ or Ag+. To prevent activation with Pb++, the ratio [m in solution must approximate 103. An example is given illustrating how this condition is met in practice through the addition of zinc sulfate and soda ash. In selective lead-zinc flotation, the mill operator, especially the one who is concentrating a partially oxidized ore, often must add zinc sulfate and/or soda ash for effective depression of the sphalerite. In the present paper the authors show how this practice prevents the activation of sphalerite in the presence of Pb++. A number of years ago Gaudin (1) postulated that Zn++ might control the activation of sphalerite with Pb++ through competitive adsorption. However, recent experimentation has shown the activation of sphalerite with Ag+ and Cut++ to be a chemical reaction in which silver or copper ions replace zinc in the sphalerite lattice through the formation of a more insoluble sul-fide (2,3,4) Thus, if activation with Pb++ is similar to that with Ag+ or Cu t+, zinc salts should control the activation of sphalerite not through competitive adsorption but because the ratio of [zn++/Pb++] in solution regulates the extent of the chemical exchange between Zn++ and Pb++ in the solid phase. The objective of this investigation has been to study the kinetics and equilibrium conditions for the uptake of Pb++ by sphalerite and to investigate the prevention of lead activation with zinc salts. BASIC PRINCIPLES Sphalerite activation has been shown to be a replacement reaction wherein a less soluble compound is formed at the expense of the more soluble zinc sul-fide (2,3,4) For example, if sphalerite is placed in an aqueous silver nitrate solution, ZnS gives to the solution more S= than can exist together with Ag+, and hence the following reaction takes place: ZnS + 2 Ag+? Ag2 S + Zn ++; k = [zn ++]/[Ag ++]2 = 10 26 (1) Therefore, ZnS will dissolve in the presence of Ag+ and activation of sphalerite with Ag+ will proceed after monolayer coverage by solid state diffusion until equilibrium conditions are reached in the system (2, 4) Because of the large difference in the solubility of ZnS and Ag2S, zinc salts cannot affect the reaction unless a complexing agent, such as cyanide ions, is present to complex Ag+ more tightly than Zn++ . By complexing Ag+ and Zn++ in solution, the uptake of Ag+ by sphalerite can be regulated by controlling the ratio m. . Experimentally (2) it was found that the activation of sphalerite by Ag+ could be prevented through the addition of NaCN if this ratio reached a value of approximately 10 26. The mechanism of sphalerite activation with copper salts is given by the following reactions: ZnS + Cu ++ ? CuS + Zn + + ; (2) k = [Zn++]/[Cu++] = 10 11 ZnS + Cu + ? Cu2S+ Zn++; (3) Experimentally Mao (3) found that the activation of sphalerite with Cu++ or Cu + was prevented if the ratios expressed in Equations 2 and 3 were approximately l09 and l022, respectively, with cyanide ions as the deactivator. Although zinc salts do not affect the activation of sphalerite with silver or copper ions in the absence of a complexing agent, activation with lead ions theoretically can be controlled by the addition of zinc salts because of the relatively small differences between the solubility of ZnS and PbS (5). Equilibrium

Jan 1, 1961

By L. D. Smith

"Those who submit competing proposals for projects seek to present senior management with complete and fully supported material that will not fail under questioning. Hopefully, misleading notions and omissions will have been minimized and there will have been testing of the assumptions regarding the economic, social and political environments. A capital project evaluation team can do management and itself a service by including a sound approach to the impact of inflation (and its twin problem, interest) on a project and a great disservice with an inappropriate approach to inflation.InflationHandled deftly, inflation can alter a project evaluation to show almost any result the handler desires. It must be a constant source of frustration for design people and cost estimators to spend weeks perfecting the technical aspects of a project in order to minimize costs, only to have all of their efforts set awash in a sea of financial and economic assumptions that submerge all of the detail. In all of this, inflation is perhaps the largest offender, with inflation criteria often being brought to bear at the last minute, almost as an afterthought. Perhaps this tardiness reflects the difficulty of the subject and the belief that senior management will take its own approach to the problems of inflation. Such a belief is unfair to senior management, for it is entitled to not being misled by omission. It is entitled to the full use of the skills of the evaluating team, including respectable assumptions of the impact of inflation.Working in a consulting context, one has the opportunity to participate in the evaluation of a large number of projects. Reflecting the observation of a wide range of views regarding the subject of inflation, this paper will-address the impact of five different approaches to inflation on the evaluation of a single Canadian mining project."

Jan 1, 1987

By L. H. Simons, H. H. Spain

I NT RODUCTION Theory indicates that linear water-floods should exhibit scaling and stabilization properties in both oil-wet and water-wet porous media'. Experimental verification of these proper-ties in oil-wet media was obtained some time ago', and more recently, Perkins', employing a high permeability unconsoli dated sand and a low oil-to-water viscosity ratio, has obtained flooding data in a water-wet medium which follow the pattern of scaling and stabilization. Also, Root and Calhoun3 have found similar trends in the displacement of gas by liquids from unconsolidated sands. In general, however, the experimen-tal evidence appears still somewhat conflicting since scaling and stabilization of water floods in water-wet media has not been observed in most of the studies to date'.".'. The purpose of this paper is to provide a more comprehensive picture of waterflood behavior in water-wet media and to corroborate the validity of the scaling and stabiliza-tion concepts. The need for differentiating between the intrinsic nature of water-oil displacements inside a porous medium and perturbating secondary end effects is discussed, pertinent experimental procedures are outlined and the results of flooding tests conducted at low and at high oil-to-water viscosity ratios on con- solidated, water-wet Alundum cores are analyzed. END EFFECTS IN WATER-WET MEDIA Outlet End Effects The peculiar feature of the outlet end effect in water-wet cores is that it not only results in an excessive wetting phase saturation at the outflow face,'.' but that it also retards the moment of water breakthrough: i.e., causes an undue delay in the appearance of water in the produced effluent. Conditions existing in a water-wet core when water first arrives at the outflow face are schematically shown in Fig. 1. At this flooding stage the saturation distribution, Fig. la, has not yet been distorted by the outlet end effect. A water-invaded pore at the outlet core face, opening into the oil-filled void space between the end of the core and the end plate of the flooding cell, is illustrated in Fig. lb. The curvature of the water-oil interface is concave toward the outlet, and the pressure on the water side of the interface is lower than on the oil side by an amount equal to a certain capillary pressure (Fig. lc). Before the water (of this particular pore) can be produced from the core, it is apparent that the pressure in the water phase must exceed that in the oil outside the core. Accordingly. when water first reaches the outlet face, it will not leave the core but will accumulate inside, and only oil will be produced. Eventually, as the water injection is continued. sufficient pressure is built up in the water to reverse the curvature of the interfaces in the outlet pores, and only then will water be produced from the core. This stage, illustrated in Fig. 2. corresponds to the conventional "water breakthrough" observed in flooding experiments. For purposes of discussion, it is convenient to distinguish between the flooding stage at which water first arrives at the outlet face of a core (Fig. 1) and the stage at which water is first produced from the core ( Fig. 2). The former will be referred to as "water arrival" and the latter water breakthrough. In oil-wet media

By W. N. Carr, J. R. Biard, B. S. Reed

An analysis of the semiconductor injection laser is presented which is based on a phenomenological model using device and material parameters. The intent of the laser threshold analysis is not to predict from theory the actual threshold current density but rather to provide a logical means of interpreting experimental results. The device and material parameters have been selected such that they describe both the threshold conditions and quantum efficiency of the lasev. A technique is proposed whereby the current required to obtain a population inversion is predicted from device 1-V characteristics. Experimental data are presented which support the analysis. THIS investigation is concerned with the characteristics of GaAs lasers fabricated in this laboratory. However, the assumptions used in these calculations should not limit their application to GaAs alone. It is felt that the analysis is sufficiently general to be useful in describing the operation of other semiconductor-laser materials. ANALYSIS heavily doped semiconductors to be considered. The absorption and/or generation of optical radiation may be completely specified in terms of q(E) and the probability functions f,,(E) and f,(E) which define the occupancy of the valence-band and conduction-band levels, respectively. The symbols used in this analysis are listed at the end. Following the approach of all' it can be shown that the effective gain coefficient, g, in the plane of a forward-biased P -N junction is g(E)=-ai@)[1-fv(E)-fc(E)] [1I In particular Eq. [I] holds for the photon energy at which lasing occurs, Ep. Throughout the following discussion Eq. [I] is considered only for the lasing transition E = Ep. For simplicity the functional energy dependence of the various factors is omitted in subsequent equations. Unless otherwise stated the symbols used represent the values at Ep. If the analysis is limited to the P-type side of the laser junction, the function q(l -f,,) is recognized as the band-to-band absorption in the P-type material at thermal equilibrium. Under forward-bias conditions the function f, is determined by the electron quasi Fermi level in P-type material. For sufficiently large forward bias the second term in Eq. [3] will become dominant and net gain will result; i.e., g will become positive. In order to simplify the subsequent analysis several assumptions are in order at this point. a) No conductivity modulation occurs. /„ is independent of f, and therefore go is a constant. b) The P-type material is heavily doped such that the degeneracy of the valence band permits popu-

Jan 1, 1964