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By W. B. Gogarty

With flow of non-Newtonian fluids in porous media, effective viscosities are needed for use in the Darcy equation. These viscosities depend on the rock parameters and flowing conditions. In this investigation, rheological and flow results were correlated to develop an expression for calculating effective viscosities. Surfactant-stabilized dispersions of water in hydrocarbon were used with consolidated sandstone cores of different permeabilities. The average shear rate in a core was related to the permeability and porosity of the core and the frontal velocity through the core. By using the correlation obtained for determining effective viscosity, experimental and theoretical values were compared for each fluid system by determining average and maximum errors. For the fluid system showing the largest average error, the correlation fit 38 experimental points with an average and maximum percentage error of 4.3 and 14.8, respectively. For the fluid system showing the least error, average and maximum percentage errors of 1.8 and 4.3, respectively, were calculated using 29 experimental points. INTRODUCTION Use of non-Newtonian fluids in the petroleum industry is not new. Fluids of this type have been used for many years as fracturing agents and drilling muds. Recently, attention has focused on the use of high molecular weight polymer solutions for secondary recovery. Results have been reported on studies relating to the flow behavior of polymer solutions in porous media.1-4 Each study gives the viscosity in the Darcy equation as a function of the rheological properties of the fluid, the characteristics of the porous medium and the pressure gradient. The functional forms of the reported expressions differ somewhat in each study. The first three studies used unconsolidated porous media while the fourth used a single consolidated core. Because of the limited information available on the flow of non-Newtonian fluids in porous media, further investigation was undertaken in this area. We selected non-Newtonian fluids that did not contain high molecular weight polymers in order to minimize core plugging. The over-all objective was to gain a better understanding of the flow behavior of non-Newtonian fluids in consolidated porous media. Specifically, our goal was to determine the relationship between the average shear rate in a core and the frontal velocity. Because of this goal, it was necessary to determine the effect of permeability on the shear rate-frontal velocity relationship. We wanted to replace the viscosity in the Darcy equation with an expression relating to the average shear rate in the core and the rheological properties of the non-Newtonian fluid. THEORY For a time-independent, non-Newtonian fluid, the apparent viscosity is a function of the shear rate. This relationship is given by µ = F(v')...........(1) With Eq. 1, a single value of shear rate determines the apparent viscosity at that shear rate. With flow in porous media, a spectrum of shear rates occurs at any average throughput. An average shear rate v' can be used to represent the spectrum of shear rates that exists within the core. By using v' and the rheological data given by Eq. 1, an effective viscosity is determined for the flowing fluid. If v' is the correct average, µe becomes the appropriate viscosity for use in the Darcy equation. Under these conditions, flow rate-pressure drop relationships can be determined for non-Newtonian fluids. HOW the correct average shear rate might be related to the frontal velocity through the core and the characteristics of the porous media will now be considered. Later, the experimental data are presented that indicate the validity of these

By Henry J. Miller, Marcella Linderman

During some experiments made by Henry J. Miller, partly in Germany and partly in the United States, in which it was found necessary to melt metals in quantities up to 60 kg. in a vacuum or under low pressures of hydrogen, molybdenum was tried as the resistor in the electric melting furnaces. Molybdenum ribbons 16 by 0.55 mm. and 18 by 0.45 mm. were used as resistors. The furnaces were of the type shown in Fig. 1. About the heating tube, Y, are wound parallel resistors of molybdenum ribbon from the water-cooled electrodes, El, Ez. The whole is within a copper container having outlets for the removal or introduction of gases and a window, W, for observation, the space about the heating tube and electrodes being filled with insulating material. The life of the molybdenum used as the resistor was found to depend very much on the manner of using it, its failure being due in some cases to thinning by evaporation or chemical reaction and in others to hardening, which prevented it from following the expansions and shrinking of the heating tubing without cracking. As such failures are often rather expensive in commercial work, it was thought worth while to determine the causes. The factors influencing the behavior of molybdenum resistors used in this manner may be briefly stated as follows:

By Gerald T. Homce, James C. Cawley

This paper updates an earlier report by the authors that studied electrical injuries from 1992 to 1998. The previous information is expanded and supplemented with fatal and nonfatal injury rates and trends through 2002. Injury numbers and rates were used to compare and trend electrical injury experience for various groups and categories. This information allowed identification of at-risk groups that could most benefit from effective electrical safety interventions. The data presented in this paper are derived from the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), Survey of Occupational Illnesses and Injuries (SOII) and Current Population Survey (CPS). Between 1992 and 2002, 3,378 workers died from on-the-job electrical injuries. Electricity remained the sixth leading cause of injury-related occupational death. From 1999 through 2002, 4.7% of all occupational deaths were caused by electricity, down from 5.2% in the 1992 to 1998 time period. The cause of death was listed as electrocution in 99.1% of fatal cases. Contact with overhead power lines was involved in 42% of all on-the-job electrical deaths. The construction industry accounted for 47% of all electrical deaths between 1992 and 2002, but showed overall improvement from 1995 through 2002 by reducing its electrical fatality rate from 2.2 to 1.5 per 100,000 workers. An additional 46,598 workers were nonfatally injured by electricity. Contact with electric current of machine, tool, appliance, or light fixture and contact with wiring, transformers, or other electrical components accounted for 36% and 34% of nonfatal electrical injuries, respectively. Contact with underground, buried power lines was involved with 1% of fatal injuries and 2% of nonfatal injuries. NIOSH research aimed at evaluating commercially available overhead power line proximity warning alarms is described. This research is expected to be the initial step for eventual development of a performance standard for such systems.

By Brian G. White

Two examples of en echelon mining-induced fractures seen in hard-rock mines provided a basis for inferring that fracture zones and bedding plane separations immediately surrounding mine openings are promoted by oblique shear into the openings. It is hypothesized that initial fractures or separations form at the corners of openings as a result of high stress and physical constraint on the rock's ability to deform elastically toward the opening. These conditions result in a locally preferred direction of shearing. The shearing, in turn, generates tensile stress that initiates a progression of systematically offset fractures approximately parallel to the direction of greatest compressive stress. The fractures or bedding separations create tabular rock layers that amplify shearing displacement through bending and dilation. Such shearing effectively reduces and redistributes the compressive stress, but significant dilation is an inevitable consequence. The combination of dilation and shearing and the progressive development of fracture zones have important implications with respect to ground support. The concept of mining-induced fractures forming as a result of shear is illustrated by two examples from coal mines. First, fractures seen at longwall faces probably result from shear associated with subsidence. The fracture zone that develops approximates or possibly defines the draw angle of subsidence. As the face advances, fractures extend downward along the lower edge of the fracture zone, while upper extensions of the fractures are pressed closed. Fracture zones in entry roofs provide a second practical example. Here, mining-induced fractures typically follow bedding planes. The shear zone model suggests that the first bedding separations develop near the edges of the roof and successive separations progress upward and toward the center. However, if the direction of greatest stress is inclined with respect to the roof, a fracture or bedding separation zone may propagate from one side only and also extend higher. Because coal ahead of the face provides some support against lateral shear deformation, bedding separation is inhibited near the face. Rock bolts installed close to the face ultimately become more strained and bent than bolts installed a few meters from the face, and bolts installed through the more remote part of a separation zone may ultimately experience the greatest tensile and bending strains. This model is supported by field data documenting progressive bolt failures that rapidly propagated downward across the roof during face advance.

By R. F. Krueger

Results are presented from tests of dynamic fluid-loss rates to cores from clay-gel water-base drilling fluids containing different commercial fluid-loss control agents (CMC, polyacrylate or smt,ch), organic viscosity reducers (quebracho and complex metal lignosulfonate) and oil at several different levels of concentration. In the dynamic system the most effective individual additives to the clay-gel drilling fluid, based on cost-equalized concentrutiom, were found to be starch and the viscosity reducers. These results do not conform with the rankings determined by API fluid-loss rests, which indicate CMC, polyacrylate and starch to be the most effective and comparable. Generally, minimum dynamic fluid-losr rates were attained at cost-equalized concentrations of additive (including thinner) of about $1.00/ bbl, or less. For chernically treated clay-gel drilling fluids, both the standard and the high-pressure API filter-loss tests were found to he inaccurate indicators of trends in dynamic fluid-loss rates under the test conditions used, particulurly for drilling muds containing viscosity reducers. From a practical field viewpoint, restrictions on the applicability of the API fluid-loss test are such that it is open to question whether or not results of this test can be used routinely with confidence as an indicator of control of down-hole fluid loss under field treating conditions. INTRODUCTION The petroleum industry spends large sums of money during drilling operations to control the fluid-loss properties of drilling fluids based on the standard API filter-loss test,' which is a static filtration system. Laboratory studies' ' of dynamic filtration have shown that in a given time period filtrate loss from a circulating mud stream is greater than from a static system and that it is a function of linear mud velocity, pressure and the properties of the drilling fluid. Ferguson and Klotz' and Horner, et al," observed that (I) the dynamic fluid-loss rates for the drilling fluids used were not related to the extrapolated API filter loss and (2) the drilling fluids with the lowest API filter losses did not have the lowest dynamic fluid-loss rates. However, there has been no published information on the relative effects on dynamic fluid-loss rate as a given drilling fluid is treated with increasing amounts of chemical additive to reduce the API filter loss. Such information is economically important because drilling-fluid costs rise rapidly as chemical requirements increase. This paper presents the results of a study of dynamic filtratioi rates to cores from a clay-gel water-base drilling fluid treated with various commercial viscosity reducers and chemical fluid-loss control agents. The dynamic fluid-. loss rates to cores are compared with the standard API filter-loss values at several different levels of additive concentration. Dynamic filtration rates were obtained in each experiment under two different simulated wellbore conditions: (1) filtration just above the bit through a new mud cake laid down dynamically on a freshly drilled formation and (2) filtration up-hole through a mud cake formed by deposition of a static filter cake on top of the initial dynamically formed cake. The latter case corresponds to the bottom-hole conditions existing above the bit when mud circulation is restarted after a stand of pipe has been added or a round trip has been made to change the bit. Except for the short-duration, high-rate filtration beneath the bit where no mud cake can form, these two conditions probably represent the two extremes of dynamic filtration. Because thickness of a dynamic mud cake formed on freshly exposed formation is limited by the shearing action of the mud stream, the filtration rate for this condition is high. On the other hand, once circulation is stopped and a static mud cake forms on top of the dynamic cake, re-starting circulation has only a small effect on the cake properties and filtration rate is much lower thereafter. A discussion of the mechanics of mud-cake deposition and dynamic filtration is outside the scope of this paper but may be found in more detail in publications by prior investigators. APPARATUS AND EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS The test equipment used to simulate the dynamic flow conditions existing during drilling was a modification of that described previously by Krueger and Vogel: A schematic flow diagram is shown in Fig. 1. In general, a power-driven, high-pressure mud pump capable of delivering up to 60 gallmin was used to circulate drilling fluid parallel to the faces of 1-in. diameter sandstone cores mounted in a 2 3/4-in. ID high-pressure test cell. Pump rates were controlled by means of a magnetic clutch to maintain an average axial fluid velocity of 110 ft/min in the annular space between the cell wall and a 1 1/2-in. rod positioned on the center line of the cell. The core specimens were Berea sandstone plugs sealed with plastic inside 1 1/8-in. OD tubes and were fluid-saturated prior to use. Burettes were used to accumulate fluid discharged from the cores. The mud sump shown was used for treatment and storage of the drilling-fluid samples during a particular test. The valve arrangement permitted either (1) circulating drilling fluid through the by-pass line while treating with

By Francis R. Conley, John A. Sievert, John N. Dew

A brief review is presented of the past performance of a number of large, thin, highly permeable reservoirs with low dips in the Bolivar Coastal fields of Venezuela. The performance of these reservoirs indicates that the fluids are segregated vertically within the sand section by gravity. With this assumption, equations are developed which describe the performance under pressure maintenance operations. Methods of solving these equations and results of simple example calculations are presented. Example calculations indicate that under pressure maintenance conditions injected gas tends to {tow preferentially along the top of the sands and that encroaching water has a tendency to flow preferentially along the bottom. The expected performance of segregated fluids is discussed and compared with that of fluids which are uniformly distributed in any sand section. INTRODUCTION The field performance of a number of reservoirs described herein indicates that the fluids are segregated vertically within the sand section by the force of gravity. Thus, it was felt that any method used to predict the future performance of these reservoirs should consider the effects of segregation in the sand sections. A study of the available information on some of the reservoirs suggests that increased recoveries may be expected if the reservoir pressure is maintained by either crestal gas injection or flank water injection. To predict future performance of reservoirs under pressure maintenance operations, a method of analysis was needed which would account for segregation of fluids in the sand sections. Several methods of analysis have been developed to take into account the segregation of fluids in the reservoir as a whole1,3 To our knowledge no method considers segregation of the fluids within sand sections in the manner indicated by the past performance of several reservoirs in the Mara-caibo Basin. This paper outlines part of the work done in studying some of these reservoirs and contains a description of their performance characteristics. The analysis presented is restricted to pressure maintenance conditions, since space limitations prevent a full discus- sion of the development of the mathematical relations and the various methods of solving them. Only a sketch of the development of the mathematical relations is given. The various methods of solving these relations are pointed out, but the actual determination of solutions to various problems are omitted except for one example. It is felt that these results may aid in the study of reservoirs outside the Maracaibo Basin. Some concepts on which the present analysis is based are outlined by D. N. Dietz. However, the analysis presented herein includes several factors not considered by Dietz: (1) variations in permeability and in the cross section, (2) various shapes of the cross section, and (3) the production of fluids. Also, the mathematical development presented by Dietz differs considerably from our corresponding analysis. RESERVOIR CHARACTERISTICS The reservoirs under consideration, large and thin, with low dip and high permeability, are large to the extent that they contain from 0.5 to over four billion bbl of oil initially in place. The section thicknesses vary from 100 to 400 ft and the lengths from 10,000 to 40,000 ft. Thus, a length-wise cross section of the producing formation appears to be long and thin. The dip angles vary from 0 to 6 degrees and the average permeabilities vary from 0.5 to over three darcies. The reservoirs contain from 20 to 50 per cent shale inter-laminated with the productive sands. Most shale breaks within the major sands do not correlate from one well to the next, and correlation is often difficult, even between wells drilled from the same location. However, it is often possible to correlate the shale breaks between major sands for some distance. Herein we are concerned with the performance of reservoirs containing oil of gravities over 20" API. Past reservoir performance indicates good pressure communication and, in cases where pressure sinks have developed, large amounts of fluid migration have occurred. Few of the reservoirs have had initial gas caps, but also, few have been found to be highly under-saturated. Due to gravity segregation, secondary gas caps usually form before the pressure has been reduced more than 25 per cent of its initial value. The effect of gravity has not only been apparent on a reservoir-wide basis, but has also caused segregation of the reservoir fluids in productive sections. Proof of this is found from the results of selective well tests, workovers, and electric and various other types of logs. Evidence that

By Wilbur H. Somerton

W. H. Somerton is to be commended for his application of the methods of dimensional analysis in combination with the results of laboratory drilling tests to obtain a significant formula for the rate of penetration for the process of rotary drilling. This formula is shown to be a consequence of a more general formulation developed by the discussor as a result of his investigations of the basic action of most methods of rock drilling by mechanical means—the momentary loading of a chisel-shaped tool on the surface of the rock at the bottom of the hole. Some of the author's conclusions are re-examined in the light of this general formulation. DRILLING RATE FORMULA The author selects a minimum number of the most significant variables associated with the rotary drilling process to set up his two dimensionless parameters. Only one variable is associated with the geometry of the bit —the bit diameter, D; only one variable is associated with the properties of the rock pertinent to drilling— the drilling strength, S; and only two independent variables are associated with the conditions of operation the weight on the bit. F, and the rate of rotation, N. The dependent variahle of interest is, of course, the rate of penetration, R. The results of the author's drilling tests show that the variable R that appears in the dimensionless parameter, RIND is approximately proportioned to the square of the variable, F, that appears in the other dimension-less parameter, F/D2S. This establishes the functional relationship between these two simple parameters that leads to the formulation of a third dimensionless parameter, RD1T2/NF1. This last parameter is a significant one for the rotary drilling process, in general, although the author properly limits the validity of his equations to his present test conditions. The author realizes that the numerical value of this parameter, C, is not a constant but may be a function of one or more additional dimensionless groupings of the many other variables associated with the rotary drilling process, e.g. some dimensionless measure of bit wear. The author's parameter is shown to be a special case of a more general dimensionless parameter, developed by the discussor. that is applicable to practically all methods of rock drilling by mechanical means, namely. RD2S/P. P is the rate at which mechanical work is done on the rock, and S is the drilling strength, a term originated by the discussor. S is defined as the ratio of energy input to the rock to the volume of rock broken

By Ted Nye

This paper describes a number of aspects of the design and construction of a driven tunnel which forms part of the Boggo Road Busway project. The driven tunnel is 430m long with an excavated width of 15m and a full tunnel excavation height of 8m. The first section of driven tunnel was excavated under the heritage listed Boggo Road Jail for a length of 120m. The main jail buildings and perimeter walls were built in 1908 and are of brick construction. Ground cover over the tunnel beneath the jail site varied from 5.5m to 8m and as a consequence the predicted settlement values and their potential to cause damage to the buildings were critical to determining and obtaining approval for the selected tunnel alignment. The geology along the driven tunnel alignment was very variable, providing mixed face tunneling conditions and ranging from surface residual soils to high strength rock at depth. The maximum ground cover above the driven tunnel is 20m.

By F. D. Patchen

Changes in the properties of partland cement upon the addition of fine-ground silica are discussed. Data were collected from formulations cured for periods up to 60 days at temperatures varying from 180" to 350°F. Compressive strengths, permeabilities and thickening times are compared. It is demonstrated that addition of find-ground silica in proper proportion results in a hydrated cement with superior properties above 230°F; i.e., early compressive strengths are higher and increase with additional curing, permeabilities are significantly lnrver and thickening times are increased. X-ray analysis of hydrated cement samples have been used to determine more fully the complex chemistry of these systems. Dicalcium silicate alpha-hydrate was found in all neat cements cured above 260°F. A 10 weight per cent silica addition produced a maximum amount of this phase. Xonotlite and tobermorite have been identified as hydration products at 320°F in systems containing 35 or more weight per cent silica. Formation of these components appears to be primarily responsible for the gain in strength and reduction of permeability observed after the addition of silica. INTRODUCTION For several years it has been recognized that loss of compressive strength occurs when portland cement is cured at a temperature above 250°F. This phenomenon has been called "strength retrogression". More recently it has been recognized that increased permeability usually is associated with decreased compressive strength at these temperatures. At curing temperatures above 300°F, these factors reach serious proportions. A compressive strength loss of 50 per cent between curing times of 24 hours and 14 days has been reported,' and permeabilities as high as 10 md have been measured in neat cements cured at 320°F for seven days.' Earlier investigators,' although unsuccessful in eliminating strength retrogression, stated ". . . .it appears possible that by the proper selection of additives for cement, strength loss with age at high temperatures can be either eliminated or considerably lessened". One solution suggested was the use of a pozzolanic material, hydrated lime, and a retarder. Menze15 in 1934 discovered that portland cement containing finely divided silica possessed high compressive strengths when the curing temperature was 350°F. The use of such a composition is now an established practice in the manufacture of steam-cured cement blocks. It is reasonable to assume that the same beneficial effect can be used advantageously in high-temperature oilwell cementing operations. Ludwig first mentioned the use of sand for this purpose. Later, a portland cement containing moderate additions of silica flour and retarded with CMHEC, a cellulose derivative. was recommended for high-temperature application." These formulations have been successfully employed in the field."'" This paper presents the results of a research program to test the efficacy of finely ground silica in increasing the compressive strength and reducing the permeability of oilwell cement compositions containing portland cement. Included also are X-ray diffraction patterns of powdered samples which have been used to determine some of the important chemical reactions occurring in these systems. LABORATORY PROCEDURES AND MATERIALS All compressive-strength test specimens were prepared and cured from a slurry in accordance with API RP 10B, with two modifications. A final curing pressure of 5,000 psi was maintained for a one- or three-day period; but, for further curing, pressures were reduced to the vapor pressure of water at the curing temperature. Also, the water content was varied in samples containing silica to maintain the slurry viscosity within a range of 5 to 15 poise as measured on a consistometer. Test specimens at 180°T were cured in a water bath at atmospheric pressure. At higher temperatures the specimens were cured in a steam-jacketed high-pressure curing vessel at 5,000 psi for a one- or three-day period. cubes cured for longer periods were removed from the pressure-curing vessel after 24 hours, sealed in small bombs containing water and placed in an aging oven.

By Thomas M. Barczak

Roof support systems are necessary to provide stable mine openings and much research has been conducted to design a variety of roof support systems that will function in various manners to ensure that stable ground conditions are achieved. Despite these advancements in technology, mistakes continue to be made in the evaluation and/or installation that significantly degrade the support capability or lead to erroneous determinations of support expectations. The purpose of this paper is to discuss misconceptions about how roof supports perform and factors that impact their performance. The goal is to present practical information that will assist mine operators and engineers in selecting, installing, and evaluating roof support systems properly, and help them to avoid mistakes that can lead to erroneous expectations and potentially catastrophic results that may lead to roof falls. The paper is limited to a discussion of secondary roof support systems and powered roof supports such as longwall shields.

By Stephen C. Tadolini, Thomas M. Barczak, Paul McKelvey

A new generation of hydraulic mine support prestressing devices has been developed. These thin-walled steel shells are machine-welded and can be inflated with water or any liquid to provide prestressing for a wide variety of roof support products ranging from Can supports to props and cable bolts. With an expansion capability of several inches, depending on the geometry and size of the unit, they can also establish roof contact eliminating the need for wooden wedges or crib blocks that are commonly employed with several standing roof support products. Capable of withstanding pressures from 1,000 to 6,000 psi, these cells are able to transfer roof loading into the support structure without rupturing. A recent development has been the addition of an inexpensive yield valve that provides control of the maximum pressure and load development on the support. This paper examines the performance capabilities of these inflatable prestressing units and the impact they have on the performance of various support systems, including an evaluation of the overall stiffness of the support system and the load control during yielding of the prestressing unit. Recommendations are made regarding the design requirements of the prestressing unit to optimize the support performance. A summary of mine applications using this technology is provided with general comments regarding their impact on ground control.

By M. J. Buerger

Possibly the most puzzling features observed during a single-crystal deformation test are the appearance of slip striae on the surface of the crystal and the strengthening of the specimen.' While the first phenomenon is mainly of theoretical interest, the latter is fundamental to all strain-hardening and cold-working processes in which the deformation occurs by translation. The plastic deformation of crystals has received considerable discussion2 and need not be reviewed here in any great detail. It has been observed, essentially, that after a certain amount of. initial stress is applied, the surface of the crystal becomes covered with sets of parallel striae or rings which appear to divide it into thin slabs or slip blocks.3 The striae are the traces of rational crystallographic planes along which shearing movements are localized, these movements providing the strain which accompanies stress applied beyond pure elasticity. As deformation under the applied stress proceeds the slip blocks shear past one another, although the essentially single-crystal character of the specimen is unimpaired. All of the shearing apparently takes place in the immediate vicinity of the original slip striae without the appearance of new planes of movement.4 Since each increment of strain is attended by an increased stress requirement to continue the deformation, the crystal strengthens during the process.

By C. W. Arnold, H. L. Stone, D. L. Luffel

The purpose of this research is to determine (I) the efficiency of small banks of enriched gar driven by methane in displacing oil from a porous medium and (2) the effects of variation in bank size and composition of that efficiency. Most of the experiments were conducted in a sand-packed tube 20-ft long and 1/2-in. in diameter. The hydrocarbon system generally used was methane, butane and decane at 2,500 psia and 160°F. The results of these experiments indicate that, in the regions contacted by the gas, a small bank of an oil-miscible gas driven by methane can displace all of the oil in a piston-like manner. If the enriched gas is of such composition as to remain immiscible with the oil, displacement of oil is less efficient than for the miscible case, and the gas bank travels through the sand with a velocity less than that of the driving gas. These data along with theories discussed imply that smaller banks and less total gas are required when the enriched gas and oil are miscible. INTRODUCTION Widespread application of enriched-gas drive to the recovery of oil rests upon a key factor — the use of limited quantities, or "banks", of enriched gas. At the present time, the value of liquefied petroleum gas or other enriching agents discourages their use in a continuous injection technique, or even in a large bank, except in a few isolated reservoirs. If small banks of enriched gas driven by methane were as effective in displacing oil as is continuous injection, the enriched-gas drive process might be applied to a larger number of reservoirs. Previous research on the mechanics of the enriched-gas drive process reported by Stone and Crurnpl and by Kehn, Pyndus and Gaskell has utilized continuous injection of enriched gas. This work has shown that two types of displacements occur. With gases containing sufficient intermediates. the oil is displaced misciblv and complete recovery is obtained from the regions swept. When gases are used which contain insufficient intermediate hydrocarbon for miscible displacement, oil is displaced immiscibly. In the latter type, selective solution of the intermediate hydrocarbons causes a swelling and reduction in viscosity of the oil and leads to an increased recovery over that obtained by dry-gas (methane) drive. The size of the enriched-gas bank necessary for efficient displacement of oil is determined by those factors which cause deterioration of the bank. A differentiation may be made between those factors which operate on a microscopic scale and those which act on a macroscopic scale. On the smaller scale, the enriched gas mixes in the direction of flow by diffusion and convection with the fluids immediately preceding and following it. On the larger scale, the gas may by-pass the oil by flowing through permeable streaks, by overriding the oil because of density difference, or by fingering because of unfavorable viscosity ratios. In such cases, the enriching material tends to mix with the oil both laterally and in the direction of flow. The increase in effective area available for diffusion and dispersion of the enriching components leads to a faster degradation of the bank and a need for a larger bank than is necessary for those cases in which no by-passing occurs. The effects of such macroscopic factors in the deterioration of enriched-gas banks have been reported in a separate paper by Blackwell, Terry and Rayne. The present study was confined to the factors which operate on the smaller scale, in particular to the behavior of banks of enriched gas in sands uniformly swept by the gas. Experiments were designed to answer the following questions. 1. Can small banks of enriched gas driven by methane be used to secure oil recoveries comparable to those obtained by continuous injection of enriched gas? 2. What is the optimum bank size (the minimum bank size necessary to obtain a recovery comparable to that obtained by continuous injection of the same enriched gas)? 3. How many total pore volumes of gas must be injected to obtain the maximum recovery when the optimum bank size is used? 4. What is the effect of varying the number of enriching components in a gas bank? This report describes the experimental investigations and discusses the results in terms of their significance to reservoir behavior.

By B. L. Landrum, P. B. Crawford

Theoretical and potentiometric model studies have been made of the effect of non-uniform lateral permeabilities on pattern sweep efficiency and production capacity in waterflood and gas-cycling programs. It is shown that a diflerence in directional permeability by a factor of three may result in a sweep efficiency of only 43 per cent for a five-spot pattern or a sweep of either 79 or 38 per cent for a direct line-drive square pattern, depending on the direction of the line-drive flood. Changes in the pattern conductivity varied from about 0.8 to 1.34 over this same permeability variation, depending on the pattern used. It is suggested that measurements be made to determine the possible magnitude and extent of the directional permeability phenomenon early in the field developinent and certainly prior to the initiation of any fluid-injection progmm. INTRODUCTION Irregularities in reservoir sand properties long have been a major difficulty to anyone attempting to explicitly describe the field characteristics of oil production. In particular, it is well known that vertical and lateral permeabilities often differ appreciably; however, the existence of large regions with lateral permeabflity variation is not widely recognized. A number of years ago, extensive studies were conducted by the Secondary Recovery Research Labcratory of the Pennsylvania Grade Crude Oil Association, primarily on the Bradford field. Johnson and Hughes' reported a permeability trend in the northeast-southwest direction. They indicated that flow in the preferred direction may be 25 to 30 per cent greater in that direction than in the northwest-southeast direction. They also reported that similar effects may be found in other nearby fields. The origin of the permeability variation has been discussed by Griffith Hutchinson' described the results of labora- tory tests on limestone cores, pointing out that per-ferential directional permeabilities were significant in one-half of 10 formations studied and that the average permeability ratio was 16:1. Barfield, Jordan and Moore analyzed the fluid-injection displacement performance in the Spraberry and reported that the effective ratio of permeability parallel to the major axis to the permeability perpendicular to this axis was 144:l and that it inclined along an angle of about 30". To prevent the reduction of sweep efficiency which would normally result from flooding or cycling in such reservoirs, well spacing could be varied from the customary square to a diamond-shaped pattern. Johnson and Hughes' presented a method for determining the desired shape. Another method will be discussed in detail in the next section. It is the purpose of this paper to investigate quantitatively the effect of directional permeability upon the sweep efficiency and production capacity of the five-spot and line-drive well patterns. Information currently in the literature will be applied to this particular problem and augmented by a potentiometric model study. It is stressed that the effects herein discussed may or may not be of great importance because field data on this phenomenon are far too scant to form such an opinion. It is suggested that, if conditions similar to those found by Johnson and Hughes frequently exist (as may well be the case), more consideration cdrtainly should be given to this problem.

By Maria I. De Rosa

The U.S. Department of Energy Pittsburgh Research Center2 conducted experiments with mine conveyor belt samples in a 20-L furnace and in a laboratory fire tunnel to measure and compare the major toxic gas concentrations evolved during the combustion of the materials. The toxic gas concentrations, measured simultaneously through a multiport sampling device and treated as yield values, included hydrogen chloride (HO), hydrogen cyanide (HeN), oxides of nitrogen (NO, treated as NO), and carbon monoxide (CO). The data obtained from the two experimental systems were in good agreement. Correlations were developed for the toxic gas yields as a function of the percentage of chlorine (for HO gas), nitrogen (for HCN and NO, gases), and carbon (for CO gas) contained in the original materials. The toxic gas yields were also used to calculate a toxicity index (TI) parameter to assess the potential gas toxicity of belt materials during a fire. Furthermore, the TI and the mass loss burning rate values were used to calculate a toxicity hazard (TH) parameter to estimate the toxic gas hazard produced by a burning belt in a ventilated system. Results show that polyvinyl chloride (PVC) belts released higher HC1 concentrations because of the higher chlorine content; styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) belts released higher CO, HCN, and NOz concentrations because of the higher carbon and nitrogen contents. The TI's, however, were greater for the PVC belts due primarily to the higher levels of HC1 produced. The fire tunnel data indicate that the SBR belts can bum with higher mass loss rates than the PVC belts, resulting in a potentially higher toxic hazard (higher TH values) even though their TI values were lower than those of the PVC belts.

By J. F. Gormley

Drill pipe, and the connections used to join the pipe together, have had a long history of development and improvement. With the growing use of high tensile-strength pipe, the rotary shouldered connections used to join the lengths of drill pipe have become more critical. Fatigue-type failures of rotary-shouldered connections, or tool joints, have become a cause of much conern to operators and manufacturers. Most fatigue tests on tool joints have been made on the basis of bending moment applied vs number of cycles, rather than on the basis of stress vs cycles. A desire to learn more about the nature of stress in a tool joint due to bending caused a rather intensive experimental study to determine what actually happens to cause fatigue failure. It was known that a tool joint with insufficient make-up torque was subject to early fatigue failure. Therefore, the establishment of the relationship between make-up torque and allowable bending moment would enable a testing engineer to better correlate the results of various tests. The problem of calculating the stress in a tool joint due to an applied bending moment was complicated by: the effect of unknown stress concentrations; the applicability of the well known formula S = Mc/I; and the question of whether to use the combined cross section of the pin and box in calculating the moment of inertia I. TEST EQUIPMENT The test equipment consisted of the following. 1. A lathe modified to act as a fatigue machine for full-size tool joint or drill-collar specimens. 2. An adapter plate bolted to the headstock of the lathe and into which a short adapter was screwed. 3. Tool-joint pins on sections of drill collars bucked into the adapter. 4. A hydraulic load cylinder which rested on the bed of the lathe and applied bending moments to the joints. 5. Paper-backed strain gauges (FAP-12-12, 1/8-in. gauge length and A-5-1, 1/2-in. gauge length). 6. Eastman 910 contact cement for bonding gauges to joint and Epoxylite 222 waterproofing. 7. A 12-position switchbox, SR-4 bridge balancing unit connected to an SR-4 strain indicator to read the gauge output. 8. A four-channel Sanborn recorder, Model 150, was used as the readout instrument for part of the testing. The fatigue machine was well suited as a loading device. Because of the long lever arm available, the change of moment with distance was small; consequently, the vertical shear stress was small, less than 300 psi. Some difficulty was experienced with the hydraulic load cylinder at high bending moments due to leakage. The strain gauge equipment was simple and quite reliable. A 41/2-in. extra hole (E. H.) joint with "as machined" threads and shoulders and a 2 7/8-in. internal flush (I. F.) joint with copper-plated threads and shoulders were selected for testing because of their common usage in the field. In addition, the 4 1/2-in. E. H. was suitable because it had an inside diameter large enough to permit the insertion and accurate positioning of strain gauges without using special jigs, while the 2 7/8-in. I. F. joint required much lower bending loads to cause separation of the shoulders of the joint when made up to the recommended torque. The joints were made to standard API specifications, except for very small bevels on the box and pin shoulders and cylindrical stress-relief grooves added to the pins. Larger bevels would have

By R. C. Craze

This paper discusses the characteristics of the velocity logs now available to the petroleum industry, and some of their advantages and limitations. The velocity log was designed as an aid to the geophysicist to determine velocity layering in the earth and to provide fast, accurate and economical vertical travel time data. After a number of logs had been made, studies were carried out on their use ia correlating strata in adjacent wells. It was found that adjacent strata usually show sufficient velocity contrast to make it possible to correlate these from well to well, even in areas where electric or radioactive logs fail.' In addition, velocity logs have been useful in the determination of porosity and thickness of reservoir rock.' These uses for velocity logs require an understanding of the characteristics of the log in response to the changes in velocity and in borehole conditions encountered normally in logging. GENERAL DISCUSSION OF INSTRUMENTATION The measurement made in velocity logging is more accurately described as a measurement of time rather than velocity. Ideally the log is obtained by measuring the length of time required for compressional sound waves to travel through a fixed distance in the formation. In practice, the time measurement may be made accurately but the distance through which the waves have traveled may vary slightly. Changes in borehole diameter are responsible largely for the difficulty in maintaining a fixed distance, especially if the diameter variations are so abrupt and frequent that the borehole instrument cannot follow contours of the hole. Several service companies have velocity logging equipment available or under development which have different transmitters, receivers, and measuring systems. While these differences are important, there are actually only two systems in use at the present time (Fig. I)."' The first system initiates a pulse at a trans-mitter and detects it at a single receiver. The transmitter and receiver are separated by a fixed distance, called the spacing. The time measured is that between the initiation of the pulse and the first arrival of acoustical energy at the receiver. The second system uses two receivers and a transmitter. The receivers are separated by a fixed distance and the time between arrivals of energy at the two receivers is measured. Here, the spacing is the distance between receivers. The two systems have much in common for it is possible to record both logs simultaneously. Usually the transmitter is an electro-mechanical transducer which produces discrete

By S. Gallagher

If we consider ergonomics to be an exercise in matching job demands to worker capabilities, one of the principal capabilities we must be concerned with is that of human strength. Our ability to evaluate different characteristics of muscular strength has increased dramatically over the past couple of decades with the development of new and increasingly sophisticated instrumentation. One would think that armed with such advanced techniques, we might be able to develop methods to conclusively identify workers at risk of injury in physically demanding jobs. Unfortunately, this has not yet proven to be the case. Instead, what these instruments have continued to point out is how intricate a function muscular strength really is, and how complicated and ambiguous its relationship is to musculoskeletal injury. While we cannot just use isolated tests of strength to specify precisely who may be at risk of injury, studies have indicated that strength testing can be a useful tool for job design and, under certain circumstances, selection of workers for demanding jobs. However, because strength is such a complex phenomenon, there has often been some confusion regarding the proper application and interpretation of strength tests in ergonomics, especially among persons not thoroughly familiar with the limitations and caveats associated with the available procedures. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss some of the fundamental principles of strength assessment in ergonomics, so that these procedures can be better applied to control the risk of musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace 1.1. What is Strength? (And what are we Measuring?) Many of the complications associated with strength assessment arise from the simple fact that even our most sophisticated machinery does not directly measure the force or tension developed by a muscle in a living person. Instead, we can only observe the consequences of force development by a contracting muscle, or more likely, by a combination of muscles There are many ways in which we can measure the effects of muscular contraction, and the techniques we use can have a dramatic impact on the strength readings we will obtain. Consider the situation illustrated in Figure 1. In this example, the muscle exerts a constant force of 1000 Newtons (N). However, the forces we measure can vary quite dramatically depending on where we place the force cuff - from 167 N if we place it near the wrist to 500 N if we place it near the elbow. Which value should we select as properly representing the muscular strength for this elbow flexion exertion? The preceding example illustrates some important points with regard to strength assessment. Perhaps the most important is that "muscular strength is what is measured by an instrument" (Kroemer et al. 1999). It should also be clear from this example [ ] that two researchers could perform an elbow flexion strength experiqent on the same group of subjects, but if each selected different force cuff positions, they might end up with wildly differing estimates of strength. Differences in the strengths of various muscle groups in the published literature may be the results of differences in the procedures and measurement methods used by the experimenters Thus, it is critical that any strength data presented be accompanied by a detailed account of the manner in which the data were obtained. A few additional points need to be made with regard to the testing of human strength. We must be clear that what we are obtaining in such tests are not a person's maximal strength capability, but their maximal voluntary strength. The voluntary nature of the exertion introduces an unknown, but surely substantial, amount of variability in our measurements of strength. One can imagine two subjects with identical muscular strength capabilities, but with varying levels of motivation or discomfort tolerance, for example. We are likely to observe considerable differences in the voluntary force exerted by the two, but it should be understood that such results may be largely the result of psychological factors, and not differences m muscular strength per se. The important point to be made here is that not only are we unable to directly measure muscular force, what we are able to measure is modified by an invisible filter - a filter subject to a wide variety of influences and which will differ considerably for every person we test To make matters worse, this filter would be expected to change even within a given individual on a given day. From the foregoing discussion, one can perhaps better appreciate some of the difficulties with establishing a definitive relationship between an individual's measured strength and that individual's risk of injury.

By J. G. Savins

Analytical procedures are described for optimizing the selection of a rheological model when it is desired to express the functional relationship between true shearrate and shearing stress in analytical form. The procedures are extended to two principal model categories — "Generalized Newtonian" and "Viscoplastic" models. Graphical examples are presented to illustrate the utility of certain characteristic deriuative functions in distinguishing between these categories and in determining how well a particular model reflects the flow behavior of rheologically anomalous materials in simple shearing flows. INTRODUCTION Modern drilling fluids and fracturing fluids, being chemically complex, are frequently non-Newtonian — a peculiarity which complicates the solution of problems such as designing flowline and process equipment, and predicting laminar-turbulent behavior, solid-suspending ability and cutting-transport efficiency. Therefore, techniques of data analysis which accurately characterize the behavior of rheologically complex materials are needed for the accurate formulation of solutions of these and similar problems. It is the purpose of this paper to describe the application of a sensitive method of rheological data analysis — the dual differentiation-integration method of optimizing the selection of the functional relation between shear rate and shearing stress — to a variety of materials of interest in drilling and production practices. BASIC CONCEPTS THE DIFFERENTIATION METHOD To a first approximation, the viscosity function for a non-Newtonian system can be expressed in a form analogous to Newton's law of viscosity by the following generalization2.3 between the stress On introducing the restrictions that the system is incompressible and the motion is rectilinear, then l = 0 and l3 = 0 ; and with the further restriction that the flow is slip-free, the viscosity (an invariant) is then determined solely by 12. With this approach one can set up a suite of integral equations relating observed kinematical and dynamical parameters for certain types of flow experiments involving simple shearing motion, e.g., flow in a cylindrical tube, flow between rotating concentric cylinders, and flow between fixed parallel surfaces of large aspect ratio. Taken in the order cited, these integral equations are as follows.

By Christopher C. Jobes, Alan G. Mayton, Timothy J. Matty, Joseph P. DuCarme

Mining injury statistics show that a significant number of back, neck, and head injuries are linked to exposure from vehicle vibration. Use of a suspension seat is a common way to isolate the vehicle operator from the adverse effects of vibration exposure. Thus, researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health1 – Pittsburgh Research Laboratory (NIOSH – PRL) performed laboratory studies on four passive and two semi-active seat suspension designs. These are typical of seat suspensions commonly found on large off-road heavy surface mining, construction and agricultural vehicles as either replacement or original equipment manufacturer (OEM) systems. One included a pneumatic (air bladder) spring mechanism. The fifth and sixth suspensions were a NIOSH magnetorheological (MR) semi-active damper design based on the pneumatic (air bladder) and one of the coil spring suspensions above. These suspensions were modified with a commercially available MR damper substituted for the OEM damper. These six seat suspension systems were tested and analyzed, for vertical vibration only, using the ISO 5007 Standard [1]. This paper describes the laboratory vibration tests using a MTS® shaker table and discusses the results obtained for the different suspension designs and highlights the rheonetic technology studied. Implications of the seat suspension designs relative to their capabilities for isolating vehicle operators from vibration exposure are discussed. Results for suspensions 1 through 3 showed frequencies of isolation from 2.1 to 3.0 Hz using the 40-kg (88-lb) mass and from 1.65 Hz to 1.8 Hz using the 80-kg (176-lb) mass. Suspension #4, in tests with only the 80-kg (176-lb) mass, showed an isolation frequency of 3.7 Hz. With the MR damper added to seat suspension #4, the peak transmissibility was lowered from 1.3 to 0.95 and showed a corresponding downward shift in frequency from 2.25 Hz to 1.4 Hz. In fact, the results for suspension #5 (the MR damper added to seat suspension #4), using test #3 conditions of the programmed control algorithm, showed isolation (attenuation of transmitted vibration) throughout the test frequency range from 1.0 to 6.0 Hz.