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By M. Kaitz

A continuing discussion in both the petroleum engineering and economic literature is directed to the difficulties encountered in the use of discounted cash flow rate of return (DCF) as a measure of investment worth. Although useful in most Instances, DCF has been criticized because it is time-consuming in its trial-and-error solution, theoretically invalid, not adaptable to cash flow streams yielding multiple return solutions and not entirely reliable in selecting between mutually exclusive investments. The theoretical invalidity of DCF stems from the reinvestment assumption implicit in the calculation that earnings are reinvested at the DCF rate. The emerging consensus of the economic literature is that the net present value or the present worth of the net cash flow stream (discounting at the average opportunity or cost of capital rate) is more correct and reliable. Other criteria proposed have been ratios of net present value divided by initial investment or by present value of all investments in a project. All of these criteria are simple to determine and explicitly assume a reinvestment rate for [he income generated by a project. This paper develops and discusses a theoretically valid profitability criterion which is simple to compute and retains the appeal of a percent return on investment. It is called "percentage gain on investment" or PGI. It measures the gain an investment is expected to realize over like capital invested in the average opportunity and explicitly considers reinvestment potential. Why add another Concept to the large array of investment criteria now available, any one of which, or perhaps a combination of several, appears to embrace the form's (or individuals) objectives? The answer is that not one of the existing criteria provides both a readily comprehensible and theoretically valid measure of risk coverage that has general application. The proposed PGI does fulfill these requirements. INTRODUCTION An ancient expression warns that "one must yield to the times" — there are better ways of doing things. A review of the petroleum engineering and economic literature on one topic alone, measurement of investment worth, certainly is witness to this truth. In use for a number of years, the DCF has recently received attention, directed mainly to its theoretical invalidity. Several alternatives to DCF have been proposed to provide a valid, simply determined criterion to describe investment worth and to overcome the criticisms previously mentioned. This paper introduces another method called percentage gain on investment (PGI) and is proposed as but one of several yardsticks that should be used in making investment decisions. MEASURES OF INVESTMENT WORTH This paper will consider only those criteria which give weight to the time pattern of future earnings. These criteria are usually compared with an average opportunity rate or cost of capital of the firm to judge the relative worth of the investment. For purposes of demonstration, a 9 percent average opportunity rate will be used throughout this paper. Implicit in the DCF calculation is the assumption that earnings are reinvested at the DCF rate. Some argue, though, that there is no reinvestment assumption,' that the DCF rate is simply that maximum rate of interest one can pay on the investment over the life of the project and break even. The determination of DCF is accomplished by discounting the net cash flow stream at that rate (DCF) which will yield zero. The question is: why should reinvestment potential be explicitly considered in calculating return on investment or other criteria measuring economic worth? Perhaps the answer lies in consistent or equal treatment of future cash flow. It appears entirely illogical to give different present worth value to $1 received, say, 10 years from now, which is the circumstance resulting in comparing projects with different DCF returns. In fact, $1 received in 10 years has the same value regardless of which project generated the income. DCF return thus favors investment projects which are expected to provide early income as compared to those providing long-term income. Not surprisingly, the controversy on reinvestment assumption is an old one. Hoskold' discussed this same problem in 1877. He considered the future income from mineral properties as an annuity or a series of fixed future payments. (As will be demonstrated, his equation can be modified for variable income.) Prior to Hoskold, the value or what one could pay for the mine, was determined with the use of standard, single-interest tables. Here is what Hoskold said with regard to these tables. "This table, and others of its kind, to be found in most works on annuities, is constructed correctly according to

By S. A. Mersol, C. T. Lynch, F. W. Vahldiek

The room-temperature Knoop hardness of single -crystal titanium diboride has been determined. Variations in microhardness have been correlated with orientation and structural imperfections in the crystals. Maximum differences in hardness values of 750 kg per sq mm with respect to orientation and 450 kg per sq mm with respect to substructure were found. The effects of etchants, load on indenter, and degvee of cracking of indentation were studied. The average hardness was determined as 2800 kg per sq mm on the as-grown crystals. Annealing increased the average hardness to 3375 kg per sq mm. ThE microhardness of polycrystalline titanium diboride approximating the stoichiometric composition TiB, has been studied by several investigators. The values for the Knoop hardness number range from 2710 kg per sq mm (Khn = 2710 kg per sq mm) to 3400 kg per sq mm.'-4 Samsonov et al.' reported a Vickers hardness number of 3400 kg per sq mm (Vhn = 3400 kg per sq mm) at 120-g loads for a 98 pct Ti + B material of 96 pct theoretical density. Recently Dunegan measured the Vickers hardness and obtained 2060 kg per sq mm with a 10-g load (Vhnlo = 2060 kg per sq mm), 1425 kg per sq mm for Vhnloo, and 1320 kg per sq mm for Vhnlooo. We have obtained a Khnloo = 3000 * 350 kg per sq mm for hot-pressed polycrystalline TiB2 that was 99.1 pct Ti + B and 96.6 pct of theoretical density. The present investigation has been made on single-crystal titanium diboride boules, and is believed to be the first such study on TiB, crystals of known orientation. EXPERIMENTAL The single crystals were prepared by a Verneuil-type process using an electric arc by the Linde Division of Union Carbide Corp. The largest specimens were 6 mm in diameter by 12 mm long. The crystals were of theoretical density (4.50 g per cm3) with a Ti + B content of 99.8 pct. The major impurities present were: 0.03 pct (by weight) 0, 0.06 pct C, 0.01 pct Si, 0.05 pct Fe, 0.01 pct Cr, and 0.01 pct Ni. The crystals were boron-rich, the average boron content being 31.S7 wt pct (stoichiometric value is 31.12 wt pct), and titanium-poor, the average titanium content being 68.2 wt pct (stoichiometric value is 68.88 wt pct). Titanium was determined gravimetrically by cupferron precipitation and boron by titration of H3B03 from a NaOH-fused specimen after removal of titanium with BaC03. The outer edge of the boule accounted for some of the excess boron. An electron-microprobe analysis showed that the titanium content increased from 60.0 wt pct at the edge to 68.5 wt pct at D, ~ 1000 p, where D, = distance from outer edge (see Fig. 5). X-ray measurements indicate that the boules are single crystals with considerable substructure. Upon etching this structure is seen in the form of a Widmanstatten-type rhombohedral line pattern in the basal (c) plane and a parallel "lines" pattern in the prism (a) planes. A typical WidmanstHtten-type pattern is seen in in Fig. 1. Electron microscopy reveals that the lines are less than 1 p across, which does not allow direct electron probe or microfocus X-ray determination of their composition. The identity of the second phase has not been established. It might be a higher boride or a nonstoichiometric TiB2. On annealing above 2200°C the precipitate is dispersed and dissolves in the matrix. The best etchants found were HF/HNO/HO, KF(CN)$NOH/HO (Murakami's Etch), and A large number of other etchants were previously Studied. The acidic etchant produced an acicular or "needles" pattern in the (a) planes which is an etchant effect on the "lines" pattern.

Jan 1, 1965

By Alwyn Birchmore Cox, Ian William Wark

In defending the chemical theory of flotation, Taggart, del Giudice and Ziehl have criticized1 the views of those who prefer to attribute the effects of certain flotation agents to adsorption. Perhaps with some justification, they describe the latter term as the "haven of refuge of writers lost in a morass of shaky experiment and muddy thinking." We prefer to regard it, however, as a haven of refuge for writers who seek a conventional term to describe the formation of films of flotation reagents on solid surfaces, because in many cases it is not yet possible to specify the forces that hold them there. Originally, as Taggart and his associates state, adsorption connoted a concentration difference and nothing more. In recent years, workers in the field of surface chemistry have tacitly added other meanings, and they now speak of orientated adsorption of unimolecular films on a solid sub-strate, of chemi-adsorption, and of exchange adsorption. Thus the term adsorption may connote simply the Gibbs layer of excess concentration at the surface of a solution, or a unimolecular film at the surface of a solid. Perhaps this has led to the misunderstanding of Taggart, del Giudice and Ziehl concerning the relationship between surface tension and adsorption at solid surfaces. The change in "surface tension" accompanying adsorption at a liquid surface can be used as a measure of the adsorption, and the Gibbs equation as quoted by these authors correlates these two conceptions. But, to correlate two conceptions docs not necessarily imply an attempt to explain either, although sometimes such an "explanation" is carelessly inferred. Use of "surface energy per unit area" instead of the numerically equal but more difficult and less definite conception of "surface tension per unit length " would lessen many of the present difficulties. (Compare with Adam.2) At interfaces involving a solid phase, neither '" surface tension " nor " interfacial tension "can have any meaning, but the conception "interfacial energy per unit area" call be understood by anyone who is familiar with the concept of free energy. While it is true that surface energy cannot be directly measured at a solid surface,

Jan 1, 1939

By Ian William Wark, Alwyn Birchmore Cox

In defending the chemical theory of flotation, Taggart, del Giudice and Ziehl have criticized1 the views of those who prefer to attribute the effects of certain flotation agents to adsorption. Perhaps with some justification, they describe the latter term as the "haven of refuge of writers lost in a morass of shaky experiment and muddy thinking." We prefer to regard it, however, as a haven of refuge for writers who seek a conventional term to describe the formation of films of flotation reagents on solid surfaces, because in many cases it is not yet possible to specify the forces that hold them there. Originally, as Taggart and his associates state, adsorption connoted a concentration difference and nothing more. In recent years, workers in the field of surface chemistry have tacitly added other meanings, and they now speak of orientated adsorption of unimolecular films on a solid sub-strate, of chemi-adsorption, and of exchange adsorption. Thus the term adsorption may connote simply the Gibbs layer of excess concentration at the surface of a solution, or a unimolecular film at the surface of a solid. Perhaps this has led to the misunderstanding of Taggart, del Giudice and Ziehl concerning the relationship between surface tension and adsorption at solid surfaces. The change in "surface tension" accompanying adsorption at a liquid surface can be used as a measure of the adsorption, and the Gibbs equation as quoted by these authors correlates these two conceptions. But, to correlate two conceptions docs not necessarily imply an attempt to explain either, although sometimes such an "explanation" is carelessly inferred. Use of "surface energy per unit area" instead of the numerically equal but more difficult and less definite conception of "surface tension per unit length " would lessen many of the present difficulties. (Compare with Adam.2) At interfaces involving a solid phase, neither '" surface tension " nor " interfacial tension "can have any meaning, but the conception "interfacial energy per unit area" call be understood by anyone who is familiar with the concept of free energy. While it is true that surface energy cannot be directly measured at a solid surface,

Jan 1, 1939

By Charles E. Weaver

During the past few years there has been considerable activity in prospecting for oil and gas in several parts of western washington. From time to time seepages of oil or emanations of gas have been reported from various places. Several companies have been organized for the purpose of drilling, but only a part of these have actually begun operations. In certain localities very small seepages of oil occur, but up to the present time no oil or gas in commercial quantities has been obtained. In order to determine the conditions which may be favorable or unfavorable to the occurrence of petroleum it becomes necessary to know the character and extent of the geological formations in which such deposits might occur. In other regions where producing wells have been developed it is possible to know what formations contain the oil and what structural conditions influence its concentration in reservoirs or zones. It is usually possible to determine those strata which contained the materials from which the petroleum may have been derived and also the position and distribution of the more porous sandstone belts into which it may have collected. Detailed stratigraphic surveys may even determine the depth at which a certain known oil-bearing zone may be tapped at any particular place. It is also possible to recognize those formations which are presumably barren of oil, as well as those which are absolutely so. In new regions far distant from any of those which are now producing or have produced in the past, it becomes absolutely impossible to foretell whether oil may exist in commercial quantities or not. Assuming that such deposits do exist, it is extremely difficult to predict at what depth the produciqg zone or zones occur. However, in prospecting in a new and unexplored region, use should be made of such laws as have been found to govern the occurrence of petroleum deposits in other well-developed fields. Such deposits in their world-wide distribution are found almost exclusively associated with sedimentary rocks. Areas composed predominatingly of igneous and metamorphosed rocks are to be rcgarded as extremely unfavorable localities for the occurrence of commercial deposits of oil or gas. Assuming that such oil deposits are

Jan 1, 1916

By R. J. Piros, Brusenback, D. A. Dahlstrom

DEWATERING fine coal has been a serious problem to many operators who desired to wet-wash finer sizes and maintain high recovery. Centrifugal driers have become popular for this purpose for sizes between 3/8 in. and 14 mesh. Below 14 mesh the perforated screen centrifuges lose a large per- cent in the effluent solid bowl types that do retain -14 mesh coal, produce excessive degradation, tend to retain the highest ash fraction in any size fraction, and are subject to abrasion, which results in higher maintenance. In 1949 Truax-Traer Coal Co. planned a cyclone installation at their Ceredo preparation plant to recover coal down to 150 mesh with approximately a 14-mesh top size. Since available centrifugal equipment was not considered satisfactory, an investigation of rotary vacuum filters was begun in cooperation with the Peterson Filters and Engineering Co. to determine the suitability of the Peterson Top Feed Reservoir (TFR) filter. This investigation, which is described below, has resulted in a highly satisfactory installation of two 6x10-in. Peterson TFR filters that have been in operation over a year. After some preliminary laboratory batch vacuum filter tests, a pilot plant double-drum Peterson TFR filter was installed at Ceredo to prove the feasibility of vacuum filtration and determine optimum conditions. The full scale units were then installed on the basis of the pilot plant results. This was followed by an extensive research program on vacuum filtration in the laboratory at Northwestern University to investigate basic design and operating variables and their influence on final moisture con- tent of the filter cake. A method of scale-up from laboratory batch tests to the full-size unit was also proposed and proved. Because of the importance of dewatering fine coal today, it was felt that the results of the three steps should be made available for the use of others facing this problem. The work at Northwestern is given in a theoretical section following the discussion of the pilot plant and full- scale operation. Fig. 1 is a flow diagram of the cyclone and filter installation. The feed is drawn from below the

Jan 1, 1952

By J. B. Newsom

SAFER, cheaper, and faster sinking of mine openings seems to have been realized with the completion of a borehole 5 ½ ft. in diameter and 1208 ft. deep, in Minnesota, during 1938. Moreover, as the opening is to be used solely for ventilation, its circular cross section, smooth walls and freedom from fire hazard recommend it in comparison with the usual timbered shafts of rectilinear cross section. It should be pointed out that a drill hole sunk without the use of explosives frequently will stand open without support, whereas a shaft sunk by standard procedure using dynamite usually must be timbered because of the wall-shattering effect of explosives. The saving in maintenance resulting from the elimination of timber is obvious. The work was done by Pickands Mather & Co. at its Zenith mine, Ely, Minn. This company wanted a ventilation opening capable of delivering 50,000 cu. ft. of air per minute to the fourteenth level, 1200 ft. below the surface. While several general articles1-3 have described the method used, detailed time and performance records have not been presented before. Moreover, with a method as new as this, it is important to compare the results attained under widely varying conditions. Among the new conditions faced at Ely were some extremely hard rock, a series of vertical fractures, seepage water, and some long stretches of sound rock which, combined with excellent equipment, gave a chance to operate without unusual delays. Developments in boring large holes have generally taken the obvious course of increasing the size of the equipment, a line of attack that has resulted in putting down 3-ft. diameter holes at damsites for studying the foundations4 and in drilling ventilation openings between levels at Butte. 5 Such drills operate from the collar of the hole, and the power from the drill is transmitted to the cutting tool through drill rods or pipes. In order to keep down the volume of rock that must be ground to sludge, the cores in large-diameter drilling are made as large in diameter as possible. Their large diameter increases their weight per foot of length, which

Jan 1, 1939

By H. J. Wasson, E. B. Hopkins

Throughout 1928, production of oil from Venezuela steadily increased, and at the close of the year, the output was at the rate of nearly 400,000 bbl. a day. The total for the year was approximately 106,500,000 bbl., representing an increase of about 66 per cent. over the 63,000,000 bbl. produced in 1927. Venezuela now stands next to the United States as the second largest oil-producing country in the world; and there is abundant evidence to suggest that this relationship will endure for a number of years. Reserves were notably increased in the Lake shore fields, and the potential output of the Maracaibo Basin is much greater than the current production. In spite of this, the percentage of production increase was comparatively moderate, and the rate of this increase continued to fall off slightly, as has been the case for the last three years. This does not suggest that further annual increases in Venezuelan output will not materialize; only that the rate of these increases appears to be on the decline, and that with every succeeding year the future tendency will be in the direction of a stabilized level of output. The following table shows the production trend of the country since 1925: 1925 increase over 1924, 132 per cent. 1926 increase over 1925, 80 per cent. 1927 increase over 1926, 75 per cent. 1928 increase over 1927, 66 per cent. Many factors will work to prevent a reversal of this trend, but the principal ones are strong ownership in large-acreage units, and the probable indisposition of the world market to absorb a more rapidly increasing Venezuelan output at prices profitable to the producers. The distress oil element is not a factor in Venezuela; also, any unforeseen jump, such as results in the United States from the discovery of a Seminole or a deep sand at Long Beach, or Santa Fe Springs, is impossible in Venezuela, on account of lack of means for transporting a sudden surplus of oil, and the slowness with which additional transportation equipment in the form of shallow-draft tankers can be obtained.

Jan 1, 1929

By Denis Yeung, B. H. G. Brady

A hybrid finite element-boundary element code with eight noded isoparametric finite elements and three noded boundary elements is described for plane strain and linear isotropic elasticity. In the direct formulation of the Boundary Flement Method, quadratic variation of geometry and displacements, and linear variation of tractions with respect to the element intrinsic coordinates are used. The boundary element region is treated as a "super-element" in the finite element sense.

Jan 1, 1982

By W. B. Daly, A. S. Richardson

The application of artificial refrigeration, or air-conditioning, to the ventilation of deep, hot mines has long been a subject of interest to the operators of such properties. Artificial cooling of the air in theaters, railroad coaches, and various industrial plants has been so successful within recent years that it has been natural to assume that the adoption of similar methods would afford a ready solution to the difficult problem of mine ventilation. It should however, be obvious, that although there may be nothing technically impossible in the application of this process to mine ventilation there is a great economic distinction between the maintenance of a high standard of comfort for a large number of people in a relatively small space such as a theater and the cooling of air to improve working conditions for miners scattered throughout the extensive workings of a large mine. Many methods of air-conditioning have been considered by the management of the Anaconda Copper Mining Co. at various times, but until the development of the process to be described in this paper none has seemed economically practicable. The Ventilating Problem at Butte The main obstacle to satisfactory ventilation in the Butte mines is the normally high temperature of the granite country rock. In the present operating zone, rock temperatures as high as 120' F. have been noted, and in some parts of the district the rate of increase of temperature with depth has ranged as high as 3.5" F. per 100 ft. Other factors, such as the decay of mine timber and the oxidation of sulfide minerals in the ore bodies, contribute to raise the temperature of the air in the working places but, particularly in the development of the mines to greater depth, the naturally high temperature of the rock is of predominant importance. In few other places, probably, are the ordinary ventilating measures more hindered than at Butte. At an operating depth now exceeding 3000 ft., all of the air required for ventilation must pass through timbered shafts which, because of heavy ground, are of small size and offer great resistance to the flow of air. Shaft compartments are rarely more than 4.5 X 5 ft., and the shaft area open to the flow of air usually does not exceed 65 sq. ft.; in only two shafts is the area as great as 85 sq. feet.

Jan 1, 1934

GENTLEMEN Herewith are transmitted reports from the Treasurer and of the principal standing committees of the Institute. To these special reports members are referred for details as to the year's work. Despite the unfavorable business conditions obtaining throughout the year, the Institute was able to carry on its various activities without curtailment and without drawing on the surplus accumulated through previous years. In fact, small additions were made to the Life, Member¬ship and various other funds. It is highly desirable that such additions should continue to be made, especially to the Life Membership fund, for reasons reported last year. At present, money must be used from current receipts in order to enable the Institute to fulfill its obligations to those who on joining the organization commuted their dues by a single payment. In addition, with the passage of years the number increases of those who have paid dues forty years or more and who, by reason of age or dis¬ability, are unable longer to practise their profession. These men have supported the Institute through their active professional life and it would be a pity to lose them as members through resignation or for failure to keep up their dues. In accordance with the By-laws the Board has authority to advance such members, on application, to the Honor Roll of Senior Members and to relieve them from further payment of dues. It has been the policy of the Board to do this liberally, but to keep up this, as well as to meet other obligations, it is necessary for money to be provided. It has been estimated by the Treasurer that nearly $50,000 additional should be placed in the Life Membership fund as soon as possi¬ble to meet these obligations without using current income and to that end it is necessary, not only to avoid running behind currently but to earn, if possible, some surplus each year. The small amount transferred to the Life Membership fund from surplus this year was, as a matter of fact, made possible by certain members paying personally bills that were properly chargeable to the Treasury. Such generosity is common among those active in Institute work and probably no year would have closed with a surplus except for it.

Jan 1, 1923

By P. R. Gage, R. W. Bartlett

At high temperatues and reduced oxygen pressuves, molybdenum silicicles oxidize to form SiO(g) vathev than a passivating SiO2 film. This is a sevious problem for low-pressure applications of sili-cide-coated rejvactory tnetals. As oxiclalion pvoceeds, the higher oxidntion potential of silicon initially suppresses oxidation of molybdenum and silicon is depleted near the surface. Eventually, silicon depletion causes secondary passivation (SiO2) mid an active to passiue transition in oxidntion behavior at moderately low pressures. At very low pressures, silicon depletion continues until steady-state oxidation of both silicon and rnolyhdenum can proceed at rates propovtional to their initial stoicliiorrzetvies. Ohsel-vations of 'oxidatiou-rate belzcriliov at temperatures from 1101° to 1700°C and oxygen pressures from 10-7 to 1 at in were made using thermogravimetn'c, X-ray diffraction, and elect?*on-rtric?ro/,vobe techniqrres. The experimental results are in good agreement with calculated lirnits for the various types of behavior that were based on tlievtnochernicnl atzd dffusion rate data for the Mo-Si system. A protective oxide film normally forms during the oxidation of elemental silicon. However, at elevated temperatures and reduced pressures this film is not present and oxidation is rapid. wagnerl has shown that this behavior occurs because SiO(g) is more stable than SiO2. The behavior of the silicides at high temperatures is similar but more complicated. Molybdenum and several silicide compounds are involved and the chemical activity of silicon, or the equivalent silicon vapor pressure, can vary considerably in these phases. Also, diffusion in the silicides resulting from reactions in which a higher silicide is reduced to a lower silicide, or molybdenum containing dissolved silicon, must be considered. EXPERIMENTAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS Isothermal oxidation experiments were conducted using hot-pressed MoSi2 and Mo5Si3 wafers. Each experiment was conducted at a fixed oxygen pressure by controlling the flow of oxygen in and out of the furnace chamber. Most of the experiments were conducted in a molybdenum-wound tube furnace. Special construction features, including use of a high-purity dense A12O3 refractory tube, permitted operation in high vacuum to 1500°C. Higher temperatures could be obtained at higher working pressures and with a sacrifice of tube lifetime. Temperature was measured with three Pt 6 pct Rh/Pt 30 pct Rh thermocouples and controlled with a proportional controller. Weight changes were monitored with a quartz spring balance. The few experiments, at higher temperatures and low pressures, were conducted in a cold wall vacuum chamber using induction heating with direct susceptance of the sample. Because of the variable levitation effect of the induction coil on the sample, weight changes could not be monitored continuously in these experiments. All samples representing both experimental methods were weighed before and after oxidiation and examined with a microscope and analyzed by X-ray diffraction. The analytical treatment assumes equilibrium at interfaces and uses existing thermodynamic data. For convenience, equilibria are expressed as chemical potentials or as vapor pressures of the gases involved. The resulting differences in equilibrium vapor pressure between adjacent interfaces and between the surface and external atmosphere drive diffusion processes in the solid and gas boundary film, respectively. These diffusion processes govern the rate of oxidation. A bibliography of the sources of thermochemical data for the reactions pertinent to the Mo-Si-O system is given in Table I. Reactions are listed with the sources of free-energy data referenced. Since all of these reactions involve one or more gas species, usually oxygen, a plot of the product-gas chemical potential, -RT In Pg, vs absolute temperature for each reaction is given in Fig. 1. These curves can be used to determine equilibrium vapor pressures or to compare the stability of different compounds in the various gases: O2, Si, SiO, and Moo3,. The data of Table I and Fig. 1 were used to determine the analytical results presented in this paper. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS The weight changes for three MoSi, samples oxidized at 1500°C are plotted against time in Fig. 2. The treatments were identical except for the indicated variance of oxygen pressure and each curve represents one of three characteristic types of behavior that were observed. The upper curve is an example of passive oxidation, which is defined as

Jan 1, 1965

Flexibility is the keynote in designing modern exploration drills that and mobility. Add to the flexibility of individual drills the wide range of models, and the man looking for a drill has ample choice today. Weight? Choose from models as light as 50 lb or as heavy as 10,000 lb. Hole capacity? From less than 1 in. for smallest core drills to 20 in. or more for auger types. Transportation? The lightest go by packsack (in fact, that is one trade name) ; others are designed to go by Jeep, truck, on skids or are built on light trailers. Power? Select air power, gasoline or diesel engine, electric motor, or use a power take-off from the vehicle on which the drill is mounted. Drill bits offer almost as much variety as the drilling machines themselves. Many drills are suitable for a variety of uses, and often adapt to several types of bits with ease. Some of the types available are: diamond core, diamond reaming, rotary, auger, shot, and special soil sampling tools.

Oct 1, 1955

By T. Egleston

ALTHOUGH the success of metallurgical operations depends so largely on the possibility of finding proper refractory materials, which enter so prominently into the cost of their operations, it can hardly be said that our knowledge of them is in a very satisfactory condition, or even that we know very much about them, beyond a few facts which have been gathered through their use. Experience, as a general thing, is an excellent master, but the requirements of * This article was written at the suggestion of the Committee of the Institute on Refractory Materials, with a view of calling attention to the anomalies and difficulties of the subject. It was hoped that its discussion would eventually lead to the appointment of a Commission, by the great metallurgical interests of the United States, to investigate the whole subject, since it is believed that a better and cheaper artificial product can be made than any now in use, and that many other important incidental results would be accomplished by such an investigation.

Jan 1, 1876

By H. N. Hall

Various factors must be considered in an engineering evaluation of gravity-drainage reservoirs. Among these are: (1) the effect of producing rate on total oil recovery; (2) the effect upon well productivity and ultimate recovery of the pressure level maintained during the producing life of the reservoir; (3) the economic advantage of full or partial pressure maintenance; and (4) estimate of the rate of gas production and injection and the possible purchase of gas under conditions of full pressure maintenance to ascertain compressor facilities needed. All of these factors can be evaluated only when a reliable method is employed for determining reservoir performance in gravity-drainage reservoirs. The purpose of this paper is to present a general method for calculating the performance of a gravity-drainage reservoir. This method is applicable for conditions of complete pressure maintenance, partial pressure maintenance and normal pressure depletion. Provisions are made to take into account variations throughout the reservoir of reservoir configuration, changes in permeability and fluid composition. Based on the method presented in this paper, an IBM 650 computer program has been developed. The past performance of an actual gravity-drainage reservoir producing under conditions of declining pressure and no gas injection was duplicated using this program. INTRODUCTION In tilted reservoirs the production of oil is influenced by drainage of oil from upstructure to downstructure locations. When this downstructure drainage of oil is sufficient to cause effective segregation of the gas and oil in a reservoir, the reservoir is usually classified as a segregation drive or gravity-drainage reservoir. (Discussion will be restricted to gravity-drainage reservoirs which have no encroachment of edge water.) The important feature in gravity-drainage reservoirs is the density difference between reservoir oil and gas. These phases tend to segregate in the reservoir with the result that in the gas cap the oil saturation is maintained at a higher level by drainage of oil from the gas-cap area. Oil can be produced from the oil zone at a low gas-oil ratio and reservoir energy is thereby conserved. The standard material balance in not adequate for predicting gravity-dramage reservoir performance because it does not take into account the difference in saturation above and below the gas-oil contact. Several authors'.' have presented methods for calculating the performance of gravity-drainage reservoirs in which reservoir pressure is maintained constant by gas injection into the gas cap. Using some simplifying assumptions, these methods can be employed with a desk calculator to give acceptable results. The problem of predicting the performance of gravity-drainage reservoirs under the conditions of declining reservoir pressure is many time more complex than that of constant pressure. fierefore, attempis to develop a method suitable for desk calculation have required excessively simplified assumptions. In the past several years, highspeed digital computers have become more widely available for reservoir engineering problems. These corn puters are well suited to problems such as the prediction of the performance of gravity-drainage reservoirs with pressure decline. Many of the simplifying assumptions necessary for hand computation can be eliminated so that a realistic approach to the gravity-drainage process can be made. CONCEPTUAL PICTURE OF OIL MOVEMENT IN GRAVITY-DRAINAGE RESERVOIRS Before attempting to develop an analytical treatment for conditions occuring in a gravity-drainage reservoir, a concept should be formed concerning the movement of fluids in the reservoir as oil is produced. A review of the literature'.' shows that it is customary to classify gravity-drainage operations into two categories—(1) with complete pressure maintenance, and (2) with declining pressure. The same line of reasoning will be followed in presenting the concept of the movement of fluids in the reservoir because it is easier to visualize the movement of fluids under conditions of complete pressure maintenance. After discussing complete pressure maintenance, an analogy will be made between that and the case of declining pressure. It should be kept in mind throughout that the final aim for the problem of solving gravity-drainage performance with digital computers will be to develop a general program for any kind of gravity-drainage reservoir. COMPLETE PRESSURE MAINTENANCE One feature which is generally common in gravity-drainage reservoirs is a gas cap located at the top of the structure. This is shown in Fig. 1(a). Fig. l(b) shows oil saturations that might occur through the reservoir. In the gas cap, oil saturation is lower than

By W. R. Bendy

GRINDING is a large and costly part of Portland cement manufacture. Prior to clinkering in the rotary kiln, raw materials are ground to a fineness of 80 to 90 pct passing 200 mesh. Then, after burning and cooling, the resulting clinker is ground to about 92 pct passing 325 mesh. In the cement industry the most favored method of grinding has always been by impact and attrition of a ball charge in a rotating mill. Other types of mills, in which materials are ground between die rings and rollers, or between die rings and large balls, are sometimes used for single-stage grinding and often for preliminary grinding followed by grinding in ball-type mills. Their efficiency is usually high, but maintenance and repair costs are high also, and the ball-type mill continues to be the most widely used. Together with 4 pct gypsum to retard setting time, the kiln run clinker—consisting of hard, semi-fused lumps that may have been crushed to — 1/2 in.—is ground to a Blaine surface area of 3000 sq cm per gram and about 92 pct passing 325 mesh. Approximately 32 kw-hr per ton, or 6 kw-hr per 376-1b barrel, are consumed in the grinding mills alone, not counting auxiliaries. Open Circuit Clinker Grinding: Many early clinker grinding plants employed two-stage, open circuit grinding. Comparatively short mills of large diameter, loaded with balls 4 in. and smaller, first reduced the clinker to 95 pct passing 14 mesh. Tube mills of smaller diameter and greater length, loaded with balls 11/4 in. and smaller, carried out the fine grinding operation. An early development was to assemble two or more stages of grinding in a single mill having two, three, or four compartments separated by division heads. There were difficulties in balancing the compartments, but compartment mills were popular in the 1920's because the layout was simple and there were no elevators and conveyors. Oversize Particles: Open circuit mills, whether separate ball and tube mills or compartment mills, always encountered the problem of tramp oversize in the product. A small percentage of clinker survived passage through the first grinding stage as particles—perhaps 1/16 in. diam—that were too large for the smaller balls in the following stages to reduce to —200 mesh. When the feed rate was lowered to reduce tramp oversize, there were serious losses in grinding efficiency. Many ingenious designs were perfected to incorporate perforated screen plates or wire mesh screens in the ball mills or in the first compartments of compartment mills. Their purpose was to prevent mate: rial passing out of the first stage until it was small

Jan 1, 1958

By R. L. Smith, J. L. Rutherford

ALTHOUGH considerable effort has been devoted toward the determination of the mechanical properties of pure metals, it is extremely difficult to compare the results of such work. This is because of differences in method and type of test, grain size, heat treatment, and purity of material. There is very little information on the properties of most of the high melting point reactive metals with purities greater than 99.9 pct. Previous evidence concerning the tensile properties of unalloyed metals show that: body-centered-cubic metals are brittle at low temperatures; face-centered-cubic metals remain ductile; some hexagonal metals remain ductile, others become brittle. It may be that traces of impurities decrease the low temperature ductility of the body-centered-cubic lattice. This would suppose that a body-centered-cubic lattice free from impurities would exhibit nearly the same ductility as a face-centered-cubic structure. The present investigation has been an evaluation of the tensile properties of zone refined iron in order to determine whether higher purity material than that previously evaluated behaves differently. Experimental Procedure In this investigation, high purity iron was zone purified using the floating zone method.' The starting stock was obtained from two sources. The first,

Jan 1, 1958

By David R. Mitchell, Byron M. Bird

THE revision of this chapter has presented a problem in that heavy-medium jigging has come into the picture since the chapter was originally written (seven years ago), a practice in which an artificial medium is built up and maintained in the jig circuit. As this development makes the jig a "true" heavy-medium process, the method belongs in the chapter dealing with such processes. Although putting this development in its proper position in the book involves some repetition, this seems to be the best procedure, and it has been followed. As the chapter on jigs in its original form was intended to be more or less a handbook on jigging for the use of the practical man, and the great bulk of the material therein is still generally applicable, the text has been re-used in large measure. Two major changes should be noted: (1) the portion of the text relating to the refuse-withdrawing mechanism of the McNally-Pittsburg jig has been entirely rewritten, and (2) a description of the hutch valves on the Jeffrey jigs has been added. Jigging is the stratification of a mass of solid particles in upward and downward pulsations. The stratification usually is effected in a rectangular open-top container having a perforated bottom through which the pulsations of water are applied to the materials to be separated; in separating coal, to a mass of coal and refuse. Jigging usually is a continuous process involving three steps: (1) the reception of the raw coal, (2) the stratification of the coal and refuse so that the refuse settles to the screen plate, and (3) the overflow of the cleaned coal and the withdrawal of the refuse collected on the screen. The jig is the most universal washer ever devised. It is handling in practice a wide range of closely sized coals and ores, mixed sizes of coal from 8-in. to 0 through 3/4-in. to 0, and mixed sizes of ores down to 7/32-in. to 0and even smaller. It is treating materials ranging in specific gravity from that of gold at 19 to that of coal at 1.30. It is handling feeds in which the proportions of high-gravity materials range from 90 per cent or higher, as for some iron ores, to 10 per cent or less for some coals. It is handling feeds containing all shapes of particles-round, rectangular, and flat. It is handling simple separation problems and difficult separation problems.

Jan 1, 1950

By C. R. Kuzell

The Editor desires to call attention to the charts in the paper of the above title which were published in the August Bulletin on pages 2190 and 2191. It was impracticable to include in the Bulletin. charts of sufficient size to be used as working diagrams for the direct determination of operating values, but the Institute is prepared to furnish copies of these charts on a large-size scale, at a moderate cost, to those who desire to have them for this purpose. CORRECTIONS Page 2185, line 3. For "is accessory apparatus" read "in accessory. apparatus." Page 2188. Substitute for lines 11 and 12: Nitrogen, oxygen, carbon monoxide, Cp = 6.50 + 0.0010T Hydrogen, Cp = 6.50 + 0.0009T

Jan 9, 1914

By Arthur Taggart

THE major portion of the work described in this paper was performed by R. W. Young,+ a graduate student in the department of Mining and Metallurgy, Sheffield Scientific School, Yale University, working under a cooperative agreement between the Hardinge Conical Mill Co., the Sheffield Scientific School, and himself. Since this cooperative scheme is at present in effect in the case of a considerable number of other students in the department and since it is the hope of the school that the privilege thus extended may be utilized even more freely in the future by mining and manufacturing companies, it may not be amiss at this point to give a summary of the general plan. Briefly it is as follows: A graduate student, whose undergraduate work in this or other universities shows promise of ability to handle research work, is chosen by conference between the company and instructor involved. The aim of the company in the agreement then entered into is to obtain the solution of one or more of the technical problems with which it may be confronted, or, at the end of 1 or 2 years, to obtain as an employee a man especially trained in its work. As. a means to accomplish one or both of these ends, the company furnishes the machine, apparatus, or material to be tested and pays the student during his graduate work a small salary, usually just sufficient to cover his living expenses, tuition and fees. The aim of the student is special training along a line in which he is particularly interested, the attainment of his advanced degree, and the chance to show to his future employer ability to handle such problems as may be presented to him. In return for the financial aid which he receives he agrees to devote at least half of his working time to the special problem submitted by his company. The other half is devoted to study of the collateral subjects required by the department for the granting of the degree which the student seeks. The student further agrees to enter the employ of the company in question at a wage not greater than that paid in like positions to recent graduates not specially trained and to remain with his employer at such wage for at least 1 year. If the student is to obtain a degree, the special work forming the basis of his investigation must be such as will involve real research and not mere routine manipulation. The subject is chosen by conference between the three parties to the agreement. The work is carried on under the direct supervision of the instructor involved. The school furnishes the general laboratory and library equipment essential to the pursuit of any extended investigation, In

Jan 4, 1917