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By H. B. Huntington

Some of the basic problems in understanding elec-tromigration in metals are discussed, along with the attempts that are being made to handle them. One such problem is the effect of the electrostatic forces. It is now acknowledged that the momentum exchange with charge carriers plays generally a dominant role in the driving force but the question remains to what extent the electrostatic force may still be effective. The electromigration of interstitial impurities is also an area which presents some intriguing questions. For the substitutional impurity, moving by the vacancy mechanism under the influence of an electric field, the correlation considerations are somewhat more complex than have been previously recognized. Another problem of basic importance in the calculution from first principles is the strength of the "electron friction" force, say for a simple one-band metal. A related problem growing out of the preceding is the prediction of the direction of the "electron wind" force for metals with band structure involving both holes and electrons. THE term electromigration has come to be used to describe the flow of matter in condensed phases carrying high electronic currents such as metals and alloys, whereas one usually reserves the term electrolysis for situations where the current is largely ionic, particularly in the liquid state such as molten salts. It follows that the mass transport number in electromigration is always very small, of the order of 10-7. Studies of electromigration date back some 30 years but the modern period would appear to date from the work of Seith and Wever1 who in the mid 1950's first incorporated markers to display mass motion relative to the lattice and first suggested that the direction of the mass flow was primarily determined by the sign of the charge carriers. Since that time interest in the field has grown steadily and more rapidly recently as certain technological applications became apparent. Chief of these is certainly the deleterious effects that electromigration can cause, even at relatively low temperature, to current-carrying elements in integrated circuitry.2 These phenomena have been the subject of intense study and considerable ingenuity. On the constructive side electromigration has proved a useful tool in the purification of certain metals.3 The interest of this paper is, however, centered more on the basic aspects of the subject than on its technological applications. That high electric currents should give rise to mass flow in metals and that the driving force should be more directly associated with momentum exchange with the charge carriers than with the electrostatic field are ideas that no longer cause surprise or particular interest. The field has matured to the point where the general concepts are widely accepted and continued progress in basic understanding rests on more detailed and quantitative exploration. It is the purpose of this paper to point out what are some of the current problems. As a result, we expect to raise more questions than we answer. The first of these will be the role of electrostatic forces, if any, in electromigration. A second section will deal with the electromigration of interstitials. A third and final section treats with electromigration of substitutional impurities or of the matrix atoms themselves. ELECTROSTATIC DRIVING FORCE In the conceptual treatments of electromigration it has been customary to write the driving force in terms of an effective charge number Z* and to divide it into two terms F = e£Z* = e£[Zel- z(pd/Nd)(N/p)(m*\m*\)] [1] The first of these represents the electrostatic force under immediate consideration in this section and the second and usually dominating term for metals arises from momentum exchange with charge carriers, commonly called the "electron drag" term. As can be seen it is set proportional to the electrons per atom, z, and the ratio of the specific resistivity of the moving entity to the corresponding resistivity per matrix atom. The (m*/Im*I) factor takes into account the fact that the sign of the charge carrier determines the sign of the driving force. The specific resistivity of the moving entity is averaged over its path. In the case of motion of the matrix atoms by vacancies this gives rise to approximately one-half the resistivity at the saddle point since the scattering power of the atom at its equilibrium position bordering the vacancy differs only slightly from that of a normal matrix atom. Although the formulation of the "electron drag" term in Eq. [I] is based on a highly simplified model for electron defect scattering, the essential features implicit in the expression are common to all the theoretical approaches that have so far appeared in the literature.4-6 As for Zel, most treatments of electromigration have included the quantity as the parameter which measures the direct interaction of the electrostatic field with the ion and equated it to the nominal valence of the latter. However, there has been considerable discussion whether this interaction may not be 0 in many cases.6 If the moving ion is always enveloped by the same distribution of shielding charge, then clearly its motion will not involve any work done by the electric field and one can expect there will be no electrostatic force exerted on such a neutral composite. From this point of view the shielding charge around the ion would be said to be complete and hence the entity within the Debye shielding sphere would be unaffected by the electrostatic field per se. There is, however, the prospect that, as the moving ion progresses, new charge comes in to participate in the shielding action

Jan 1, 1970

By C. W. Dunham

DESIGN of the structures for the Morenci Reduction Works involved many interesting problems. Naturally, the chief purpose of these structures is to house and support the equipment and other things necessary for or incidental to the conduct of production. hence most of the features of the design were developed to suit these particular conditions; however, several are so generally applicable as to warrant description.

Jan 1, 1942

By Walter S. Weeks

CONFUSION appears to exist in the discussions of fan testing because engineers do not agree on what energy should be credited to the fan in certain cases, and because certain terms that are used in the discussions seem to have double meanings. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to discuss the useful energy that should be credited to the fan and the methods of determining this energy, and to suggest changes in nomenclature for the sake of clearness. The instruments commonly used in the measurement of fan pressures are the manometer, the static tube, and the impact tube. The static tube is a tube with small pinholes in it. When connected to one leg of the manometer and placed in the air current with the holes facing at right angles to the direction of the current, this tube causes the manometer to register the static pressure, unaffected by the impact of the air. The impact tube is a tube with an opening that faces the air current. When connected to one leg of the manometer, this tube causes the manometer to register a pressure which is the static pressure modified by the impact of the flowing' air on the end of the tube. If the static tube is connected to one leg of the manometer and the impact tube to the other leg, and both instruments are inserted close together in the air current, the static pressure is eliminated and the manometer registers the impact pressure. The efficiency of a fan is the percentage of the expended power utilized in useful work. The items to be included as useful work are a matter of convention, and as the conventions are not universal I feel that the matter is open to discussion.

Jan 1, 1929

By N. J. Grant, C. C. Wang

The Ti-Cr-O ternary system has been studied in detail near the titanium-rich corner within the limits of 10 wt pct 0, and 20 wt pct Cr. Studies were extended, but not in detail, to the region beyond 25 wt pct 0, (50 atomic pct) and 62 wt pct Cr (60 atomic pct). Four isothermal sections at 1400°, 1200°, 1000°, and 800°C are presented as well as two vertical sections at 1 and 2 wt pct 02. DURING the last decade much interest has been shown in the development of high strength titanium alloys for high temperature and corrosion resistant applications. Extensive research is being carried out at present, as the current literature indicates, in order to study the properties of titanium and to develop improved alloys. Two of the important alloying elements in commercial titanium alloys are chromium and oxygen and it would be desirable to know their combined influence upon titanium. For this purpose the present work was carried out to investigate the titanium-rich corner of the ternary system TiICr-0. The binary systems Ti-Cr and Ti-0 have been published recently. The Ti-Cr system was studied by several investigators " and their results are in close agreement. The eutectoid decomposition of the B phase has been shown to be extremely sluggish. TiCr, was the only intermetallic compound found in this binary system and was formed at 1350°C by a transformation from the p phase. TiCr? was established as the cubic C 15 (MgCu,) type of structure with 24 atoms per unit cell and was designated as the y phase. This terminology will be adopted in the present work. There was disagreement about the actual composition of this compound among the several investigators, although it is evident from their data that the compound probably has a solubility range of about 2 to 3 pct and is in the vicinity of 65 pct Cr. It has been indicated recently that a high temperature modification of this y phase (TiCr,) existed at a temperature above 1300°C." ' This high temperature modification was identified as a hexagonal C 14 (MgZn,) type of structure with 12 atoms per unit cell. The exact transformation temperature from the high temperature phase to the low temperature phase has not been established. A considerable hysteresis was observed and, due to the sluggishness of this transformation, the high temperature phase often co-existed with the low temperature phase at temperatures below 1300°C. A preliminary study of several Ti-0 compounds and the Ti-0 system had been carried out by Ehr-1ich."-"' The most complete binary Ti-0 system was the one reported recently by Bumps, Kessler, and Hansen." The first intermediate phase found in the system was the 8 phase which formed by a peritec-toid reaction of the phases a and Ti0 at temperatures below 925 °C. This reaction is extremely sluggish. The structure of this 8 phase was tentatively identified by these authors as being tetragonal and the lattice constants were found as c,, - 6.645A, a,, = 5.333A and c/a = 1.246A. Experimental Procedure The raw materials used for this investigation were TiO,, electrolytic chromium, iodide titanium, and sponge titanium. The TiO, was in the form of powder of chemically pure grade (99.8 pct pure). The chemical analysis of the electrolytic chromium was: 0, 0.50 pct; Fe, 0.07; Cu, N, and C, 0.01; and Pb, 0.001. The oxygen in the chromium was calculated as part of the final oxygen content of the alloys. The alloys were prepared by the cold crucible method using a tungsten arc. The entire system was evacuated and flushed with purified helium three times and then filled with helium. Each alloy was melted, turned over, and remelted at least four times to insure homogeneity. The total melting time was generally from 6 to 10 min. A master alloy of 25 pct 0,-75 pct Ti was prepared to facilitate alloying by melting compacts of TiOl powder with either iodide or sponge titanium, yielding the compound TiO. It was found necessary to bake the TiO, powder compact at about 150°C to remove adsorbed moisture. This was done to prevent the disintegration and spattering of the compact when the arc was struck. TiO, powder dissolved quite readily into the melt and no other trouble was encountered.

Jan 1, 1955

By M. J. Coolbaugh

Mining of potash more than 3000 ft beneath the water-bearing sediments in Saskatchewan presented the unique challenge of designing stable mine workings and assuring protection from overhead water in a material that was believed to flow plastically, but whose behavior as a plastic material was not sufficiently known. Under the stress conditions ordinarily encountered in mining most rocks behave as elastic materials; that is, they compress slightly under pressure, and rebound when the pressure is released. Salt and potash, however, are different. Even under the relatively low pressures encountered at shallow depths, these materials become slightly plastic and yield to stress by flowing.* The plastic properties become more pronounced at greater depth and pressure, and the question arises as to whether or not the plastic flow will be rapid enough and exert enough pressure to destroy underground structures or interrupt the mining process.

Jan 5, 1967

By AIME AIME

N OW THAT the war is over it is possible to release data and correct some erroneous statements and impressions relative to the use of manganese-steel armor and helmets, which heretofore have been carefully guarded. The material of the helmets furnished to the English, American, and Belgian armies was invented by Sir Robert Hadfield, Bart., F.R.S., and was described in a paper read by him at the International Engineering Congress in August, 1893. The French helmet was 2 oz. lighter than the English but had a greatly inferior resistance. Tests showed that it was perforable at as low a velocity as 350 ft.- sec. impact of the standard shrapnel bullets. Helmets made of the Hadfield "Era" manganese steel kept out standard shrapnel bullets of the same quality at no less than from 750 to 950 ft.-sec. impact velocity. The respective energies were, in the case of the French helmet, only 0.021 ft.-tons, 46 ft.-lb., and in the British 0.095 ft.-tons, 213 ft.-lb. The German helmet was made of nickel-chromium steel and, although 12 oz. heavier and 12 per cent. thicker than the Hadfield, was not only perforate

Jan 1, 1920

By R. B. Woodworth

In the sinking of bore holes, there are but two fundamental operations —drilling and hoisting—which determine in the main the character of drilling mechanism and structures. There are endless ramifications, however, in the execution of these fundamental operations, according to the purposes for which the bore holes are drilled, their maintenance after completion, the protection and convenience of workmen, etc. The three main lines of use for bore holes are in mineral exploration, the sinking of water and salt wells, and the exploitation of pqtroleum and natural gas. This paper has to do more especially with the last. Here again there are many divergences. Wells may be drilled by either the percussive, the hydraulic, or the abrasive method. Finally, each of these methods, as applied by drillers of diverse nationalities, has followed somewhat different lines of development. The American system of cable-tool drilling has perhaps had the widest application; the hydraulic rotary is also in extensive use; but the Canadian system, the Galician system, and the Russian free-fall system all have their points of recognized merit and are preferred by operators accustomed to their use. These differences in drilling procedure, which rest ultimately on essential variations in geological conditions, are reflected in the drilling structures as well as in the drilling mechanism. The purpose of the present paper is to record those stages in the development of the application of steel to the construction of drilling mechanism and structures with which the writer has been intimately associated, and to contribute to the history of the art of drilling other data acquired in the course of his personal investigations. It is necessarily limited by reason of space to American practice, with especial reference, therefore, to the cable-tool system and the hydraulic rotary method of drilling wells for oil and gas.

Jan 1, 1916

By Clyde E. Williams

MODERN steelmaking has gradually evolved from an inefficient small-scale operation, utilizing tiny units, to a highly efficient one utilizing large units almost completely mechanized. The leading position of the United States in the steel industry is due to the possession of easily assembled high-grade raw materials and large-scale highly developed plants. Modern integrated steel operation is largely one of material handling. Mining and transportation of iron ore, coal, and fluxes, coking the coal in by-product ovens, smelting the ore with coke and limestone in blast furnaces, converting the resulting pig iron into steel in the Bessemer, or in the open hearth when supplemented with scrap, and fabricating the resulting steel ingots in the shapes of commerce all are done on a huge scale, mostly by machinery, most of the labor being employed either in operating the machine or keeping it in repair. At the same time the quality and uniformity of the product have been greatly increased by the development of scientific knowledge and operating skills. Thus, the steel industry in this country is highly developed both mechanically and technically.

Jan 1, 1942

By AIME AIME

ON JULY 12, 1921, S. S. Arentz, representative at large from Nevada, introduced in the House of Representatives, under the number H. R. 7736, a bill to revise, amend and codify laws of the United States relating to the location of mining claims on public domain, and other purposes. This bill had been drafted by a committee of consulting engineers of the U. S. Bureau of Mines. The immediate purpose of this introduction in Congress was to make it avail- able for general information and discussion. In pursuance of this purpose Mr. Arentz issued the following circular: This proposed codification and revision of the mining laws of the United States as received from a committee of mining and metallurgical engineers appointed by the Director of the United States Bureau of Mines was introduced in the House of Representatives by the undersigned (who has operated and developed mines throughout the West for many years). It is submitted to prospectors, mine operators and mining engineers, all of whom are affected and vitally interested in the subject with the hope that they will give this bill their careful consideration and study.

Jan 1, 1921

By G. Townsend Harley

STOPING methods in which shoveling plays an important part are gradually being replaced by other and cheaper methods. But there will always be considerable shoveling done underground in stopes as well as in drifts, tunnels, urinzes, and shafts. At the mines of the PhelpsDodge Corporation at Tyrone, N. M., the cost of shoveling in all stopes in 1917 amounted to 24c. per T. In the top-slice stopes for the same period, it cost 27 c. per T. or 16 per cent, of the total cost of these stopes. The tonnage for shovelers from all stoping was 9.3 T. per man, and for topslicing 8.2 T. per man. These stopes were not unduly hot, and there was not more than the usual amount of timber to interfere with the work of the men. The tonnages obtained per shoveler were considered low; first, because of a poor grade of Mexican labor, many of the men having come in from railroad grading camps; and second, because of a poor spacing of raises, especially in the top-slice stopes, where, in general, they were spaced 25 ft. by 66 ft. (7.6 by 20.1 m.) centers. The average wage per laborer shift was $2.67 during the year. It was thought, however, that even under these conditions the men were not producing the tonnage that they should, so, with the consent of the management, the writer undertook to determine how the general efficiency of the underground shoveling could be improved. No predetermined plan for conducting these experiments was arranged because we had no definite ideas as to the scope of the work or the number of elements into which the investigation would resolve itself, before all of its phases could be determined. We were sure, however, that any work that would thoroughly cover the ground would have to be in the nature of a systematic time study, combined with a course of instruction in correct shoveling methods and adequate and intelligent supervision of the work. Two or three companies in the Southwest have done some work to determine the proper shovel to be used undcrground, but so far as is known the work has been limited to equipping certain parts of their mines with a particular type and size of shovel and thereafter watching the cost and efficiency records. In each case it seems to have been the shovel that held the 21-lb. (9.5-kg.) load that gave the bcst results. Excepting personal communications from these companies, the only data available on scientific shoveling are contained in F. W. Taylor's book, "The Principles of Scientific Management," and D. J. Haucr's article, in The Contractor for March 29, 1918, "A Hundred Hints for Shovelers." This paper discusses and draws conclusions from several thousand time-study readings, taken both on the surface and in the mines for nearly a year. A sufficient number of readings were taken on each factor in the problem for the plotting of curves of the performances and to obtain accurate indices of the work to be expected from this class of labor. The work is not as complete in all of its details as we would like to havc it, because we were forced to stop the work temporarily, owing to the numbcr of men going into the National service and our inability to get others who could make time studies. The results obtained so far, however, have been of such a startling nature that we have decided to submit them at this time, subject to future modification. It is hoped, also, that a free discussion of this paper will lead to a disclosure of any errors that may have becn embodied and offer some valuable suggestions for the conduct of future work.

Jan 1, 1920

By Joseph R. Stephens

Deformation substructures of' polycrystalline tungsten, W-2, 9, and 24 pct Re, and W-3 pct Ta were studied by tra?zsrnission electron microscopy. The stress-strain curve for unalloyed tungsten showed gradual yielding followed by work-hardening. Electron nzicrographs indicated a gradual increase in dislocation density with increase in strain up to 5.0 pct. Dislocations, although frequently jogged, were straight over moderate distances and were in a randorn array. Stress-strain curves for alloy specimens of W-2 and 9 pct Re and W-3 pct Ta exhibited a drop in stress at yielding followed by only slight work-hardening. Electron micrographs of these specimens after strains of 0.05, 0.1, and 0.5 pct revealed no change in dislocation substructure from the unstrained specimens. After 2.0 pct strain, the three alloys exhibited dense networks. W-3 pct Ta was characterized by straight, frequently jogged dislocations comparable with the dislocation structure in unalloyed tungsten after a similar amount of strain. In contrast, W-2 pct Re exhibited dislocations that contained widely spaced jogs, while W-9 pct Re had developed a cell structure after the relatively srnall strain of 2.0 pct. The W-24 pct Re alloy contained a few dislocations after 0.1 pct strain, while after 0.5 pct strain twins were evident. Dislocation slip bands apparently preceded the twins. The stress-strain curve for the alloy indicated that twinning commenced after approximately 0.25 pet strain. These results indicate that the primary effect of low rhenium concentrations (2 and 9 pct) in tungsten is to increase dislocation multiplication after macroyielding by reducing the Peierls-Nabarro force (lattice resistance to dislocation motion). The dislocation bands that precede twins in W-24 pct Re may be caused by localized internal stresses resulting fro a metastable structure, for example, clustering of rhenium atoms. The effect of high rhenium additions (22 a 65 pet* Rproperties of tungsten. Klopp, Witzke, and Raffo5 reported bend transition temperatures as low as -100°F (200°K) for dilute electron-beam-melted W-Re alloys tested in the worked condition. Recrystalliza-tion increased the bend transition temperature, but alloys with 2 to 4 pct Re were still markedly superior to unalloyed tungsten. Fractographic examinations of tungsten and W- 3 pct Re and W- 5 pct Re alloys by Gilbert 6 revealed that these low rhenium alloys showed a greater tendency toward cleavage failure than did tungsten. Garfinkle 7 showed that rhenium additions, up to 9 pct, to (100) oriented tungsten single crystals increased the proportional limit stress and decreased the flow stress and the rate of work-hardening. In addition, while deformation in unalloyed (100) oriented crystals apparently involved both (110)100) and (112) slip, crystals with rhenium contents of 5 andpct or more deformed primarily by (112) slip. The mechanism by which high and low rhenium additions affect the mechanical properties of tungsten is still not well-established. The present investigation was undertaken to determine by transmission electron microscopy the effects of low rhenium additions, 2 and 9 pct, and a high rhenium addition, 24 pct, on dislocation substructure in the early stages of deformation of polycrystalline electron-beam-melted tungsten. Unalloyed tungsten and a W- 3 pct Ta alloy were included for comparison. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES Materials. Triple electron-beam-melted tungsten, W-2, 9, and 24 pct Re, and W- pet Ta were used for this investigation. Chemical analyses of the cast ingots are given in Table I. A description of the starting metal powders and melting and fabrication pro-cedures for unalloyed tungsten and the W-Re alloys is reported.5 The W-3 pet Ta alloy was processed in a similar manner. Compression specimens measuring 0.300 in. (7.6 mm) in length by 0.130 in. (3.3 mm) in diam were machined from swaged rods. All alloy specimens were annealed in a vacuum of 8 x 10- 6 Torr (10'2iVper sq m) for 1 hr at 3600°F (2255°K). The recrystallized grain size ranged from 0.06 to 0.08 mm diam for the alloy specimens. Unalloyed tungsten was annealed at 2400° F (1589°K) for 1 hr to produce a recrystallized grain diameter of approximately 0.12 mm. Specimens were electropolished in a 2 pet NaOH solution to a diameter of 0.125 in. (3.18 mm) to remove surface notches resulting from grinding and to improve reproducibility of t data. The ends o the compression specimens were ground flat, parallel to each other, and perpendicular to the longitudinal axes with 4/0 emery paper. Compression Tests. The compressive stress-strain apparatus used for compression tests is described in detail by Stearns and Gotsky.9 Room-temperature compression tests were conducted at a crosshead speed of 0.01 in. per min (0.25 mm per min).

Jan 1, 1969

POSITIONS VACANT No. 228. Slate mining company desires men for the following positions: Superintendent to take full charge of underground work, quarrying and milling. Assistant or night superintendent. . Foreman for sinking a new shaft. No. 229. Chief engineer to take charge of drafting room, on furnaces and combustion apparatus. ENGINEERS AVAILABLE (Under this heading will be published notes sent to the Secretary of the Institute by members or other persons introduced by members.) Mining engineer and executive. Member. Columbia graduate. Age, 32. Married. 9 years' responsible work in mine examination and development. Experience in United States, Canada, Mexico and South America. Now superintendent large operating mine. Personal interview in New York. Available in August. No. 367.

Jan 8, 1917

By J. V. W. REYNDERS

NOT only is your toastmaster silver-tongued in his references 'to myself, but he is also quite in the habit of "saying it in silver." I have analyzed with some care his statistics of the world's silver production, which have been distributed here along with the menu, although frankly from the point of view of most of us, the distribution rather than the production of silver is of immediate concern. Unlike the performers by whom we have been entertained between courses, the rest of us on the program will have to do without costume or musical accompaniment, which as my friend Rains can testify puts an artist under severe strain. I am entitled by right of office and of precedent to receive your attention for ten minutes. The Governor, who appears on the program as a speaker; however, has asked me for five minutes of my time, and Senator Thomas has insinuated that he would appreciate one-half of the remainder, wherefore, I must ask your close attention to the very brief remarks that I am able to make under such restricted circumstances. To begin with, I want you to believe that I am approaching the task set by your toastmaster with misgivings. In looking over the Institute records relating to the Salt Lake City meeting of 1914 for some precedent as to what I ought to say, I found but one reference-and that of the following indefinite char¬acter-" and Friday night there was a hilarious banquet to 350 members and guests."

Jan 1, 1925

By R. H. Swallow, George Hess

Aerial photography was once a crude, uncertain tool. Today it is a precision mapping instrument which saves important time and money for strip mining and other industry. Aerial photography began in the boxkite days of aviation. The Army first used it for rough reconnaissance photographs. Then, in the early Twenties, industry began to use aerial photographs of their plants and facilities for advertising or annual reports. The quality of these pictures was not very good by today's standards, but this work began the development of better cameras, better lenses, better photographic techniques.

Jan 1, 1949

By C. E. Cottrell, G. W. Preckshot, N. D. Delisle, D. L. Katz

Most crude oils contain asphaltic substances that may be naturally or artificially precipitated. In the Greeley field, California, this asphaltic bitumen is precipitated during the flow of the oil from the reservoir to the stock tank The mechanism of such precipitation is not well understood. This paper presents the progress that has been made by using the electron microscope as a new tool and by observing the effects of the streaming potential on the formation of bitumen particles. Crude oils at atmospheric pressure viewed in the electron microscope in very thin films under a vacuum showed no asphaltic particles. A technique of preparing slides of thin films by dilution of the oil with benzene and washing in petroleum ether was used at first, and these observations showed that the solvents caused the formation of the particles, varying from 0.01 to 0.2 micron in diameter. The electrical effects of fluids flowing through porous solid were studied, with emphasis on the formation of colloidal particles by the streaming potential. The streaming potential of crude oil flowing through sand was measured and was shown to be responsible for the formation of bitumen particles. These results bring out a new phenomenon, which may occur when crude oil flows through the porous oil reservoir. mechanisms. Asphalt has been the subject of widespread investigation but, owing to the complexity of the substances being considered, progress has been slow. Investigators working primarily with the asphaltic substances have treated the subject from the colloidal standpoint and have developed theories that picture the asphaltic particles as surrounded by adsorbed materia1s.14,15,17,24 The deasphaltization of lubricating oil by the use of solvents treats the subject primarily from the standpoint of liquid-liquid equilibria.'' A complete understanding of asphaltic substances would make possible the following of the material from its initial state in the crude oil through precipitation processes to the final plastic stage, the most common form of which is used in asphaltic pavements. Since these asphaltic particles are very small, it appears 'hat the electron microscope4 might be a useful tool in studying the precipitation processes. Specimens are examined by the electron microscope in a vacuum and as very thin films, requiring special techniques in preparation of samples. A brief description of the electron microscope and its operation will bring out the difficulties and advantages of its use for this problem. The first work was done with crude oils that had been diluted with solvents for the preparation of the film to be examined. Later a technique was developed by which the undiluted oil film could be made thin enough for direct examination. These two techniques show vastly different results Asphaltic particles have been precipitated from crude oils by a variety of

Jan 1, 1943

By G. W. Preckshot, C. E. Cottrell, D. L. Katz, N. D. Delisle

Most crude oils contain asphaltic substances that may be naturally or artificially precipitated. In the Greeley field, California, this asphaltic bitumen is precipitated during the flow of the oil from the reservoir to the stock tank The mechanism of such precipitation is not well understood. This paper presents the progress that has been made by using the electron microscope as a new tool and by observing the effects of the streaming potential on the formation of bitumen particles. Crude oils at atmospheric pressure viewed in the electron microscope in very thin films under a vacuum showed no asphaltic particles. A technique of preparing slides of thin films by dilution of the oil with benzene and washing in petroleum ether was used at first, and these observations showed that the solvents caused the formation of the particles, varying from 0.01 to 0.2 micron in diameter. The electrical effects of fluids flowing through porous solid were studied, with emphasis on the formation of colloidal particles by the streaming potential. The streaming potential of crude oil flowing through sand was measured and was shown to be responsible for the formation of bitumen particles. These results bring out a new phenomenon, which may occur when crude oil flows through the porous oil reservoir. mechanisms. Asphalt has been the subject of widespread investigation but, owing to the complexity of the substances being considered, progress has been slow. Investigators working primarily with the asphaltic substances have treated the subject from the colloidal standpoint and have developed theories that picture the asphaltic particles as surrounded by adsorbed materia1s.14,15,17,24 The deasphaltization of lubricating oil by the use of solvents treats the subject primarily from the standpoint of liquid-liquid equilibria.'' A complete understanding of asphaltic substances would make possible the following of the material from its initial state in the crude oil through precipitation processes to the final plastic stage, the most common form of which is used in asphaltic pavements. Since these asphaltic particles are very small, it appears 'hat the electron microscope4 might be a useful tool in studying the precipitation processes. Specimens are examined by the electron microscope in a vacuum and as very thin films, requiring special techniques in preparation of samples. A brief description of the electron microscope and its operation will bring out the difficulties and advantages of its use for this problem. The first work was done with crude oils that had been diluted with solvents for the preparation of the film to be examined. Later a technique was developed by which the undiluted oil film could be made thin enough for direct examination. These two techniques show vastly different results Asphaltic particles have been precipitated from crude oils by a variety of

Jan 1, 1943

By J. A. Putnam, A. D. K. Laird

In laboratory research on the behavior of oil, gas and water in porous materials, no direct method has been devised to measure saturation without disturbing the flow. Indirect methods involving various forms of radiation have been developed for measuring one or two components. The X-ray absorption method for two components has been described previously1-3. The possibility of three component measurement has also been mentioned1. Since two component measurement still requires considerable care to insure accuracy, the fact that three components can be measured satisfactorily is not generally appreciated. The fraction of the energy of an X-ray beam of one wavelength transmitted through a material is given by the transmission factor. in which 1 is the beam's path length through the fluid. p is the fluid density, and 1,. is its mass absorption coefficient. Eq. 1 implies that all parts of the beam pass through equal amounts of the fluid. Practical applications are, therefore, limited to systems in which the fluid is distributed so that I varies negligibly over the cross-section of the beam. Typical variations of the transmission factor with X-ray tube potential arc shown in Fig. 2 from which experimental points have been omitted for clarity. The X-ray absorption of low pressure gases in a core is practically zero so it cannot he distinguished from that a vacuum by instruments that will differentiate between liquids. The transmission factor of a gas in a core is. therefore, unity. Consequently, the saturation of only one gaseous component can be found. If two fluids completely fill a core, their two saturations add to unity and, therefore, only one value of the transmission factor, T, is needed to determine both of them. When two liquids do not completely fill the core, their saturations do not add to unity and transmission factors at two wavelengths must be measured. At one of these wavelengths, 7 for one liquid must be different from T or the other liquid. The change of T for one liquid us the wavelength is changed between the two values must be different from the corresponding change of T in the other liquid. The two values of fluid saturation will also give that of the gas because the three saturations must add to unity. In Fig. 2 it can be seen that there are many large differences of T between various oil solutions and water solutions at any one potential, and between potentials for any one solution. Consequently, conditions for optimum accuracy of measurement of the saturations of a gas and two liquids can be chosen. Once the operating potentials have been selected, however. it is more convenient to cross plot the data from Fig. 2 on transmission factor-solution concentration coordinates for the chosen potentials, as shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 3 was used to plan the experimental procedure for Core N-38-1. Since the voltage control at 45 kv was good, the slopes of the curves in Fig. 2 at this potential would cause little error. At low potentials, however, the voltage control was not good, so 33 kv was chosen because the small slopes of the curves made voltage control less critical. The lowest strength beam that could be measured reasonably at 33 kv corresponded to a minimum T factor of 0.385. Fig. 3 shows that both 4.80 weight per cent of cadmium chloride in water and 24.0 per cent of iodobenzene in crystal oil had this T value, and, consequently, were indistinguishable to the X-rays at 33 kv. Thus, at 33 kv, the liquid saturation was given by the same curve regardless of the relative amounts of oil and water solutions present. This simple calibration curve from which the gas and liquid saturation can be read, is shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 3 also shows that at 45 kv, T for the aqueous solution is 0.610. and that T for the oil solution is 0.220. These values were transferred to Fig. 4 to give the triangular calibration plot from which the brine and oil saturations can be found, after the gas saturation has been determined at 33 kv.

By J. B. Urnfileb

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

Jan 1, 1932

By L. W. Blau

PERHAPS the most important event f or exploration geophysics in 1940 was the publication of three textbooks : "Geophysical Prospecting for Oil," by L. L. Nettleton ; "Exploration Geophysics," by John J. Jakosky; and "Geophysical Exploration," by C. A. Heiland. The literature had grown so bulky, and such a long time had elapsed since the publication of the texts by Ambronn and Eve, that treatises covering exploration geophysics comprehensively in all its branches and giving literature and patent references were sorely needed. This need has been satisfied admirably in these textbooks, and geophysicists owe the authors a debt of gratitude. In 1940, geophysics came of age. A conference on applied nuclear physics was held at Massachusetts Institute of Technology from Oct. 28 to Nov. 2. Several papers on geophysical subjects were presented at this meeting. Geophysical activity has decreased in all parts of the world except perhaps in Canada where, under the stimulus of the war's increased demands, prospecting for oil has increased. However, even there the war has had a seriously adverse effect on prospecting for ores and upon the promotion of new properties, although activity in producing and near-producing mines has been stimulated.

Jan 1, 1941

By William S. Springer

A NEW preparation plant has been put in - operation to treat coal from the recently opened Concord mine, located about 15 miles west of Birmingham, Ala., by the Tennessee Coal, Iron & Railroad Co., a U. S. Steel subsidiary. The mine produces metallurgical grade coking coal from the American seam for use as coke in the company's blast furnaces at the Fairfield and Enseley works. The capacity of the operation is 1000 tons of run-of-mine per hr, approximately half of which is delivered to the by-product coke plant at Fairfield after beneficiation to metallurgical grade. The remaining portion of the mine run is rock and refuse removed during preparation. No boiler coal or other fuels are produced by this mine. Preparation of the coal is done both under- ground and on the surface. The underground primary crushing station removes some tramp iron, and screens and crushes the oversize, most of which is rock, to protect the main slope conveyor. The surface plant consists of a crushing and screening plant, large blending bins, a two- process washing plant, a water clarification and

Jan 1, 1950