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By A. A. Stripling

The Cretaceous limestone wells of the Mara/Maru-caibo Dist. of Venezuela are extremely prolific producers. To maintain production on cessation of natural flow, large scale gas-lift operations were commenced involving high production rates on caring Flow. For the design of these gas-lift installations it was essential to have some knowledge of the pressure gradients involved in casing flow, so that the required injection pressures, optimum gas injection raws, etc., could be forecast. This paper presents a method of calculating these annular pressure gradients. Basically the method makes use of an energy balance equation coupled with an empirical energy loss factor derived from field data. The calculations have been put in a form suitable for "punch card-type" calculating machines. A set of gradient curves for Mara/Maracaibo conditions covering flow rates up to 12,000 B/D, and GOR's of 500 to 2,000 cu fd/bbl is presented. From these curves the flowing BHP can be predicted from surface data and the vertical pow performance under varying conditions of gas injection can be estimated. The method has been applied to La Paz and Mam gas-lift operations for over three years and has given consistently accurate results. INTRODUCTION The Cretaceous limestone fields of the Mara/Maracaibo area in Venezuela are characterized by the presence of widely distributed fissure systems. Under these conditions individual wells frequently have extremely high potentials and such wells are generally flowed on the casing-tubing annulus in order to reduce the pressure loss in vertical flow. To maintain production on cessation of natural flow, an extensive gas-lift system was planned. As a first approach to this gas-lift design problem, an attempt was made to construct a set of empirical flowing gradient curves from the available subsurface pressure data. Such a method has been used successfully for tubing-flow conditions in California by Gilbert'. Unfortunately, the empirical construction of casing-flow gradient curves presents additional difficulties, as pres- sure bombs cannot bc run in the casing-tubing annulus against high rates of flow. Thus, the Full flowing gradients cannot be defined by actual measurement and the best that can be done is to obtain spot pressures at the tubing shoe. Under these conditions a vast accumulation of BHP data is required to construct a set of gradients. To the La Paz and Mara fields the majority of the available flowing pressure measurements fall into a relatively narrow GOR range, in the neighborhood of the solution ratio. While there appeared to be reasonable prospects of constructing gradient curves for this limited range, measurements at higher GOR's, which were of major interest for gas-lift operations, were relatively few and the prospects of constructing empirical curves cor~spondingly remote. As an alternative approach, the possibilities of a mathematical analysis of vertical flow conditions were investigated. May and Laird2fV n 1934 presented an excellent analysis of the vertical-flow conditions in the Anglo-Iranian Oil Co.'s fields. Their analysis was based on an energy-balance equation and calculated the losses due to kinetic energy, friction and slippage separately. By combining these losses with the total calculated available energy, the required depth-pressure traverse could be deduced. On applying the method to La Paz conditions, good results were obtained for tubing flow at high tubing-head pressures. However, for lower wellhead pressures (300 psi and under) the discrepancy between calculated and measured values increased appreciably. It was considered that this was probably due to energy losses caused by slippage or liquid hang-up in a continuous gas phase, for which it was difficult to visualize any analytical approach. In 1952 Poettmann and Carpenter4 presented a method of pressure gradient calculation which, while based on an energy-balance equation similar to that employed by May and Laird, made no attempt to evaluate the various components making up the total energy loss resulting from irreversibilities of flowing fluids. Instead, they proposed a method of analysis which assumed that all significant losses for multiphase flow could be correlated in a form similar to that of the Fanning equation for frictional losses in single-phase flow. They then derived an empirical relationship linking measurable field data with a factor which, when applied to the standard form of the Fanning equation, would enable the energy losses to be determined. The total available

By R. P. Harvey, J. E. Walstrom, A. A. Brown

In view of the large number of wells directionally drilled from offshore platforms and urban drillsites, greater interest is being focused on the directional survey and on the uncertainty inherent in calculating the position of the bottom of the hole, or other benchmarks in the wellbore. Of the two methods presented here for evaluating this uncertainty, the first is analytical and uses the principles of probability and statistics. The second method uses Monte Carlo simulation to generate a pattern of the scatter of possible bottom-hole locations. Both methods are based on a model for which the usual assumption is made that the curvilinear axis of the wellbore is adequately represented by a large number, M, of linear segments joined end to end from the top to the bottom of the hole and closely following the course of the hole. The errors due to this approximation are assumed to be negligible and are not studied here. One form of the model is to consider that for a given hole there exists a perfect set of data describing it, of the above form. Each linear segment has an angle of inclination with the vertical 7, in radians, an azimuthal angle from true north xi in radians, and a length Si, in feet. The subscript variable, i, extends from 1 to M. Each of the M linear segments representing the axis of the wellbore has three components in the X, Y, and Z directions. These components are calculated from the equations: The bottom-hole coordinates as determined from the reference set of data for the wellbore are given by the following for i = 1 to M: X=SX, Y = Sy, Z=SZ; . (2) A directional survey instrument, lowered into the wellbore to the M segments, or stations, measures the values of the 7; and the 3,. In general, because of errors from various sources, the resulting angular measurements will not be precisely equal to the 7" and xi. Random variables l, and Ai are therefore considered with associated probability density functions fi(li) and gi(Ai), respectively, which represent the distributions of potential survey measurements for this hole. Since it is assumed that the values Si are accurately measured they are treated deterministically. The random variables corresponding to the surveyed bottom-hole coordinates are given, for i = 1 to M, by:

Jan 1, 1970

By JOHN JANNEY

STABILIZATION of the adjustment of normal consumption to normal production of world commodities is quite different from reducing production until visible surpluses are consumed. The first means restoration and maintenance of prosperity, the second means merely a temporary alleviation of a condition with the prime cause remaining uncorrected. Overproduction of foodstuffs in some sections of the world while millions starve in other sections represents not so much overproduction of foodstuffs as mal-distribution of foodstuffs. The flour mills of Washington and Oregon normally ship quantities of flour to China. Now, the wheat that would make this flour goes East instead of West. Is this overproduction, or is there something wrong that calls for study, analysis and correction? Can the plan used by the ostrich of hiding its head in. the sand get us by this present world tragedy, or must the challenge to solve this problem be met, constructively? Can we not make out of this breakdown in the world's economic system an opportunity? And use it as the stimulus for remedying the basic cause of the trouble and not content ourselves with devising temporary expedients that aim at remedying this or that of the obvious conditions, in themselves not causes at all but rather the evidence of causes, or that are the symptoms of the real trouble.

Jan 1, 1931

By T. K. Perkins, L. R. Kern, R. E. Wyant

Many factors influence the results of hydraulic fracturing to stimulate well productivity. Most of these factors have been studied and their effects discussed in the literature. However, the movement of sand through the crack during fracturing has received little consideration. Exactly where the sand goes in the fracture, how it gets there, and how this might influence results have not been studied, judging from published reports. To get an answer to some of these questions we have studied sand movement through a simulated crack segment in the laboratory. Although the work is preliminary, we have answered some questions about sand movement in a semiquantitative sense. We are reporting our results at this time in the hope of stimulating interest and further study in this important aspect of fracturing. LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of equipment used in this study. A segment of a vertical crack 0.25-in. wide was formed between two Plexiglas plates, and movement of sand in fluid through the crack was observed under various conditions. Sand and fluid were injected into the crack at constant rates. The top and bottom of the crack were closed so that the fluid flowed horizontally. Because of gravity most of the sand settled to the bottom before moving very far through the crack. If the fluid velocity exceeded a certain critical value, then all the sand injected was washed on through the crack even though it had settled to the bottom. When the fluid velocity was less than this value when sand injection was started, most of the sand which settled in the crack remained in place until enough of the area open to fluid flow was blocked by the settled sand to increase the fluid velocity to the critical value.. At this point all injected sand moved on through the crack even though it settled to the lower portion of the moving fluid section. All sand previously settled remained in place. When fluid velocity was increased at this paint by increasing fluid injection rate (without also increasing sand injection rate), some of the previously settled sand was washed out until enough area was open to flow that the velocity dropped to the critical value. Conversely, when the fluid velocity was decreased by decreasing the fluid injection rate (without changing the rate of sand injection), additional sand would settle until the critical velocity was again attained. In short, the critical velocity is an equilibrium value which the system will automatically seek, if possible. The equilibrium (or critical) velocity was measured under several conditions. The results of these measurements are shown in Pig. 2 where the equilibrium velocity is shown as a function of the amount of sand injected per minute. The points falling in the shaded band shown in Fig. 2 were obtained with water. The higher viscosities were obtained by adding CMC (carboxymethylcellu-lose). Data indicate that the equilibrium velocity is not very sensitive to sand size or transport fluid viscosity, or to sand injection rate (except at very low rates). Points connected by the solid CUrve in Fig. 2 were obtained with water and 20- to 40-mesh steel shot. The equilibrium velocity is apparently fairly sensitive to difference in density between particle and fluid. Only one run was made with a gelled fluid and that was gelled water at zero sand injection rate as shown in Fig. 2. (Measurements of equilibrium velocity at zero sand injection rate were made by filling the crack

By K. E. Brown, J. P. Brill, A. R. Hagedorn, T. C. Doerr

A recent correlation for multiphase vertical flow by Hagedorn and Brown1,7 has been used to examine the effect of numerous variables such as pipe size, gas-liquid ratio, liquid flow rate, liquid viscosity, liquid surface tension, oil API gravity, water cut, etc., on flowing pressure gradients. Most previous correlations were derived by using a form of the general energy equation which assumed negligible changes in kinetic energy. Under certain flow conditions this can lead to serious errors in predicting pressure traverses. Examples of traverses calculated both with and without the kinetic energy term are included here. The Chew and Connully correlation for calculating changes in viscosity with changing pressure and temperature has been extended so that the effect of a changing viscosity with depth on pressure gradients can also be predicted. Examples illustrating the effect of tubing size show the importance of this correlation in determining pipe sizes for initial well completions. Limitations on production rates in small pipe sizes from excessive friction losses can be predicted with greater accuracy. The combined use of a vertical-flow correlation with a horizontal-flow correlation provides a method for determining the maximum flow rate possible from both flowing and gas-lift wells. Examples are included to illustrate application of the combined use of vertical and horizontal-flow correlations in optimizing production rates and minimizing excessive costs from over injection of gas in gas-lift wells. INTRODUCTION The problems of multiphase vertical and horizontal flow are immediately encountered in any producing well. Fig. 1' shows three stages of production: flow in porous medium, vertical flow and horizontal flow. All three stages affect the production rate from a well. If we are confronted with a particular well and consider only the variables involved in the vertical and horizontal stages of Fig. 1, we should be capable of calculating the flowing bottom-hole pressure necessary to produce a particular flow rate. A change in any of the variables results in a new solution to the problem. Recent approaches in developing horizontal and vertical-flow correlations have improved to the extent that the solution can now be obtained with more confidence than previously. VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL FLOW CORRELATIONS Since Poettmann and Carpenter's' original work in multiphase vertical flow, there have been many additional vertical-flow correlations developed which have greatly improved the accuracy of pressure-loss calculations. These

Jan 1, 1967

By L. B. Davidson

The petroleum literature contains many reports on the relative permeability properties of porous media. However, only recently have studies of relative permeability at elevated temperatures been made.1 -5 Each of these studies presents relative permeability data on water-oil systems in linear sandpacks or sandstone cores under isothermal conditions. The results of these investigations are dissimilar. Edmondsonl found that in Berea sandstone a temperature-dependent effect was present, while Shilobod,2 using the same material, found no temperature dependence after normalizing for initial water saturation. Workers at Texas A&M U.3-5 found that the ratio kw/ko was temperature dependent in an unconsolidated system. The differences in results of these studies are probably a consequence of differences in the material employed, in the experimental procedures followed, and in the properties of the porous systems used. This paper describes an experimental investigation of permeability ratio temperature dependence, conducted to clarify some of the results obtained by previous workers. Each experiment described in this paper involved the isothermal displacement of Chevron No. 15 white oil by either nitrogen, steam, or distilled water and displacement of water by nitrogen. All permeability ratios were calculated using the Welge procedure. Values of the water-oil permeability ratio were obtained over the temperature range 75OF to 540°F. Results indicate the ratio is temperature dependent at low water saturations, probably due to interfacial effects. However, as the saturation is increased, temperature dependence decreases until, above some minimum saturation, the ratio becomes insensitive to temperature. Previously published work indicates that the dependence reappears at very high water saturations, a region of the ratio curve not completely examined in the present study. It appears that water-oil permeability ratios are temperature dependent at the extremes of the ratio curve where changes in interfacial tension with temperature induce variations in residual saturations. Between the extremes, there is a region in which the permeability ratio is insensitive to temperature. The size and location of this region is probably a function of the characteristics of the porous system. Gas-oil permeability ratios calculated from nitrogen-white oil displacement experiments indicate a definite temperature dependence over the range 75OF to 500°F and over the entire gas saturation range studied. Evidence discussed in this report indicates that this dependence is a consequence of molecular slippage in the gas phase. This is an extension of the Klinkenberg effect6 to two-phase systems at high temperatures (the existence of slippage in two-phase systems at room temperature has been demonstrated7). Evidence for a similar source of temperature dependence in superheated steam-white oil experiments

Jan 1, 1970

By E. H. T. Whitten

Fundamental principles of trend surface analysis are briefly reviewed. Recent analyses of several granite masses illustrate the method of estimating the quantitative regional composition and also variation trends. Mineralogi-cal, bulk chemical, and other quantitative variates can be employed. Such results should improve gravimetric surveys (etc.) relying on correction terms based upon estimated rock composition. For the first time realistic estimates of the mean composition of rock bodies can be made with the aid of trend components. Deviation maps hold promise for delimitation of disseminated mineralized areas. Deviations comprise residual "anomalies" after removal of trend components. In petrogenetic work such deviations have been shown to reflect local influences (e.g., contamination of magma by assimilation of xenoliths or country rocks of the envelope). Similarly, mineralization should be reflected as deviations standing out from background trends. Actual examples are given. Present results largely involved projection of data onto a horizontal plane, but if sufficient data are available use of three spatial coordinates increases accuracy for prediction in "unexposed" areas. Regression analysis shows that statistical correlations between variates for regionally distributed specimens are often strong (particularly with percentage data). Hence, in preliminary surveys more easily determined variates may sometimes be employed to gain first estimates of the distribution of components more economically significant. The sampling plan is of paramount importance. Unless a suitable sampling plan is devised and adhered to rigorously during collection of the samples, all subsequent analysis is liable to strong bias and to yield spurious estimates of the truth. For a wide variety of purposes it is becoming necessary to assess the quantitative composition and variability of rock masses and mineralized zones of various types. In petrology and petrography this is something of a break with tradition, because virtually all descriptions heretofore have been qualitative. Although vast amounts of qualitative data have been compiled, little is known about the quantitative behavior of rock components. However, if variability of rocks could be understood and expressed with sufficient accuracy, there would be considerable advantage to both economic and petrogenetic problems. For example, if, on the basis of a limited series of observations, the three-dimensional geometry of a disseminated orebody (or ore-bearing formation) could be predicted accurately, it would be possible to extrapolate with confidence the structure into unexposed areas. The following example based upon the geometry of an igneous cone sheet illustrates the point. The significant rock-unit gives outcrops at a number of points on the exposed surface ABCD (Fig. 1A). Study of n exposures may enable a geologist to predict that the rock-unit is circular in form and thus indicate where the unit can be expected in unexposed terrain. Such observations are made at sites with u, v coordinates, but, if subsurface information is available at sites with uvw coordinates, it will eventually become possible to predict accurately the three-dimensional form of the rock mass. Geologic rock masses or mineral deposits are not generally as regular and symmetrical in geometric form as the body illustrated in Fig. 1A. However, even where the broad limits of a major rock mass are known, a more acute problem arises in attempting to obtain detailed quantitative estimates of its internal variability; it is difficult to predict the variability of a mass from a limited number of observa-

Jan 1, 1961

By M. Prats

Most of the information available on the heat efficiency of hot fluid injection processes, both water and steam, has been obtained from calculated temperature distributions in the pay zone and adjacent formations. The usual approach has been to write the heat balance equations in terms of the temperatures, and then to introduce whatever simplifications are necessary to help obtain an analytical or a numerical solution. In either case, the assumption has often been made that the vertical thermal conductivity in the flooded interval is infinite, so that the temperatures within the flooded interval are then independent of vertical position. Because it was first made by Lauwerier,l and has been used extensively since, this assumption will be referred to as the Lauwerier assumption. Excellent reviews of the literature on the heat efficiency of hot fluid injection processes have been given by Spillette,2 Flock et al.,3 and Ramney.4 Of course, the most significant contributions take into account the effect of a finite vertical thermal conductivity on the vertical temperature profile. The most general analytic expression for the heat efficiency of a hot fluid injection process is that of Antimirov5 who considers injection of a heated incompressible fluid into a reservoir through an arbitrary number of wells. The rate of heat injection into the reservoir, as well as the injection temperature, is an arbitrary function of time. The geometry of the horizontal flow is arbitrary, although the reservoir is considered to be of uniform thickness and properties and to be of infinite areal extent. Heat transfer within the reservoir is by horizontal convection and conduc- tion, and by vertical conduction. In the formations adjacent to the flooded interval, heat transfer is by conduction in any direction. Thus, the available expression for the heat efficiency due to hot water injection has been developed for rather general conditions. This degree of applicability has not been obtained for other thermal recovery processes. By making the Lauwerier assumption we have been able to obtain expressions for the heat efficiency that are essentially independent of the thermal recovery process, be it steam, hot-water, or underground combustion. Clearly, then, the approach followed here is more restrictive than that of Antimirov5 in that it uses the Lauwerier assumption. At the same time less restrictive assumptions are made about the horizontal heat transfer mechanisms, either in the flooded interval or in the formations adjacent to it. The main difference between our approach and that of other investigators is that the heat balance in the pay zone is expressed for the pay zone as a whole rather than for a volume element within it. The Lauwerier assumption is introduced after the problem is developed along these lines as far as possible. The details of the development of the heat efficiency are given in the Appendix, while the main features of the model are discussed in the next section. Results and their implications are discussed later in a separate section. The Model Certain assumptions have been made to determine

Jan 1, 1970

By M. A. Elliott

The technology of gasifying coal to produce synthesis and pipeline gas has advanced significantly in the Past 20 to 30 years. This period has seen the extensive use of oxygen in coal gasification, the development of suspension gasification processes and fluidized-bed gasifiers, the operation of various gasification processes at elevated pressures, and operation of gasifiers under slagging conditions. These developments are discussed, and their application to commercial and pilot plant gasifiers is reviewed. Typical processes for synthesis gas production are described, and operating results are compared. Pipeline or high-Btu gas may be produced from coal either by catalytic conversion of synthesis gas to methane, or by the direct reaction of coal with hydrogen (hydrogasification) to produce a methane-rich gas. Neither of these methods has been applied commercially, but developments pertaining to each of them are reviewed, and general processing schemes are discussed. The use of coal as a raw material for manufacturing gas has a long and distinguished history. In fact, the gas industry began in the early 1800's when William Murdock demonstrated that it was feasible to produce and distribute gas made by retorting coal. Coal was used exclusively for gas manufacture until the middle of the 19th centruy, when Lowe invented the carbureted water gas process. In that process, coke was one of the raw materials used, so coal was still an important factor in gas manufacture. However the availability and relatively low cost of natural gas in the United States, and its widespread distribution by long-distance pipelines in recent years, has virtually eliminated the use of coal as a raw material for gas manufacture in this country. It should not be inferred from the foregoing that the technology of coal gasification has remained static in the United States and abroad. In fact, in the past two decades many new concepts have been developed in both the science and the technology of gasification. This progress has been a result of the considerable expansion in research on the fundamental chemistry and physics of gasification reactions, and in development work on gasification processes. This expansion in effort stems in part from increased interest in the use of gas as a raw material for the synthesis of chemicals and liquid fuels, and in part from the need to develop methods for gasifying coal and other solid fossil fuels to ensure a long-range supply of energy in the form of gaseous fuel. In these uses of gas, synthesis gas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide in various proportions, is the starting material. It may be converted catalytically to gaseous and liquid hydrocarbons and other chemicals, or to hydrogen for use in hydrogenation or reduction reactions. Since coal is our most abundant fossil fuel, it is inevitable that one day it will regain its prominence as a raw material for gas manufacture. It is of interest, therefore, to consider the present status of gasification technology, directing attention particularly to advances made in recent years. Inasmuch as many comprehensive treatises l-3 and review4-7 of gasification technology are available, no attempt will be made in the present review to cover all processes in detail. Instead, the discussion will be concerned chiefly with typical processes embodying the advances that are most likely to be generally applied. ADVANCES IN GASIFICATION TECHNOLOGY For purposes of this discussion the starting point will be the conventional processes that were used for many years for the complete gasification of coal. These were: 1) carbonization in coke ovens followed by gasification of coke with air and steam in cyclic water-gas generators, and 2) fixed-bed air-blown producers. Both of these methods have obvious deficiencies when we consider that the ideal complete gasification process would be a single-stage, continuous

Jan 1, 1961

By J. T. Ryan

FIGURES for the first 11 months of 1935 indicate that the total coal production of the United States for 1935 will be approximately 416,000,000 tons, or almost identical with the production figures for 1934. Bituminous production will show a gain of about six million tons, and anthracite production a loss of about the same tonnage, compared with the previous year. This does not take into account so-called "bootleg" anthracite coal amounting to approximately 5,000,000 tons. Twenty-nine years ago, in 1906, the production of coal was almost identical with this year's production. At that time, 626,000 men were employed in producing this tonnage, which took a toll of 2138 lives from accidents. In 1935, approximately 540,000 men were required to produce the same tonnage with an estimated loss of 1155 lives. This shows definite safety advancement in the industry, but even so accidents are still costing an average of 3c. a ton more than they should.

Jan 1, 1936

By E. H. Herron, J. H. Perry

Mathematical simulation of reservoir behavior may be used to help understand reservoir processes and to predict reservoir behavior, thereby leading to the most economically desirable form of exploitation. In addition, simulation can be used as a tool for reservoir description to learn more about the physical nature of the reservoir and the mode of primary recovery. This use is essential in most reservoir studies and represents one of the more significant applications of simulation. Prediction of reservoir behavior provides information concerning displacement efficiency, optimum well locations, and the comparison of alternative producing processes. Since oil, water and gas all commonly occur in many reservoirs, a simulation that takes into account the simultaneous flow of three immiscible phases is a prerequisite for obtaining such information. Furthermore, a simulation that describes this flow in two dimensions provides the capability of evaluating combination gas- and water-drive reservoirs with either an areal or a cross-sectional description. Many reservoir problems require such a simulation. The objective of the research described here was to develop a mathematical model and associated computer program for accurate, efficient, and economical prediction of the reservoir flow of three phases in two-dimensional geometry. Several authors have discussed multidimensional reservoir simulation of two phases.l-3 Gottfried et al.' presented an analy- sis of three-phase simulation in one dimension. Fagin and Stewart" and Garrett6 have discussed the simulation of three-phase flow in two dimensions, but their solution techniques were different from the method discussed in this paper. In particular, previous models and computer programs have usually involved either fewer capabilities or inefficient and less rigorous descriptions resulting in limited applicability. In the following sections, we present a description of the model, an evaluation of the method, and the application to reservoir problems. Additional and supporting material is presented in the Appendix. The Three-Phase Model General Description The three-phase model consists of the mathematical description of the flow of oil, water and gas in a reservoir. Conceptually this description considers flow in all three space dimensions, but in the subject simulator it is assumed that no flow occurs in the third dimension. The model includes the effects on reservoir behavior of fluid and rock compressibility, viscosity, gravity, capillary pressure, relative permeability and gas solubility. Within the two-dimensional restriction, the reservoir considered may be completely heterogeneous and anisotropic. The differential equations governing multiphase, multidimensional flow in a reservoir are too complex to be solved analytically, so they are approximated by a system of finite difference equations and solved

Jan 1, 1970

By A. V. De Forest

INSPECTION and test methods of great diversity have been used from the most ancient times to select raw material, control its manufacture, and appraise its finished properties and value. The "miller thumb," expert in grading flour, the vintner's sense of taste, the goldsmith's micro-wear test on a touchstone, the enquiring sniff over the doubtful egg -these are all nondestructive inspection methods, accurate and depend- able, but not readily reduced to numbers in the c.g.s. system. A horse trader inspecting a possible purchase is interested in more than age, size, weight, color. heredity, speed, or drawbar pull which can be reduced to figures. Behavior, temperament, stamina, health-past, present and future---are just as important as the numerically determinate constants.

Jan 1, 1940

By James C. M. Li, J. Weertman

James C. M. Li (United States Steel Covp.)—The author has discovered a single analytical relation between the minimum, or the steady-state, creep rate and the applied stress confirming a statement made earlier by orn" that such relation should exist and should reduce to the power law at low-stress levels and to the exponential law at high-stress levels. However, as pointed out by the author, all the available theories of creep are not adequate to explain such a single relation. Inspired by such a statement, I have made a suggestion concerning a possible explanation13 of the new relation. This is based on the concept that the rate-controlling step is the cooperative motion of a short dislocation segment. The nature of and the reason for the cooperation have been discussed13 as well as the reason why the motion of the dislocation could be controlled by the mobility of the short segments. A natural short segment has been proposed13 to be the node formed at the intersection of two dislocations. The reason why the node may contain only a few atoms has not been discussed and the application of the proposed model to all the metals and alloys reported in this paper has not been attempted. It seems appropriate to include these in this discussion. The model was partly inspired by the substructure recently observed in the electron microscope on creep specimens. One such example is shown in Fig. 48 in Darken's Campbell Memorial Lecture. The substructure is a collection of dislocation intersections and irregular networks. No pileups have ever been observed in such specimens. A closer look at the network indicates that one set of dislocations is more straight than the other set sug- gesting that the other set may be mobile in the plane of the net. Since, for the network to survive the creep deformation, some dislocation reaction has to take place at the intersection of the two sets of dislocations, the mobile dislocation, even if it can slip in the plane of the net, will have difficulty in moving at these intersections. To illustrate, an idealized network is shown in Fig. 9. The thin lines represent the set of dislocations which are mobile and can slip in the plane of the net except at the nodes which are formed at the intersection of the two sets of dislocations. The other set of dislocations, represented by the thick lines, may have a Burgers vector which is not parallel to the plane of the net, and therefore may be immobile. Because of this nonparallel Burgers vector, the Burgers vector of the node, which is avectorial sum of the Burgers vectors of the two sets of dislocations, will also be nonparallel to the plane of the net. Therefore, the node cannot slip in the plane of the net and the set of mobile dislocations will have to drag the node along as indicated in Fig. 9. Now the problem is how many atoms could be involved in the nodes. Exact calculation of the length of the node is a difficult task especially since the length should be a steady-state length and not an equilibrium length. An estimate of the equilibrium length can be made by balancing the line tension of all the dislocations. The results would be a small fraction of the length 1 between nodes as shown in Fig. 10. In some instances such a calculation shows that the node will not be formed. But, since the calculation is only approximate, it does not rule out the possibility of the formation of a short node. In other instances the equilibrium length of the node is an appreciable fraction of I. Such a node would

Jan 1, 1963

By H. W. Fleming, R. R. Brooks

The Clearwater Deposit, a small occurrence of massive-sulphide mineralization enclosed in an envelope of disseminated-sulphide mineralization, was discovered as a result of an aeroelectromagnetic survey in New Brunswick in 1955. Subsequently, additional flights were made over the deposit and various ground follow-up methods were employed to ascertain the nature of their response. All methods proved to be capable of indicating the occurrence with varying degrees of precision. This paper is a presentation and a discussion of the magnetic and electromagnetic data, both airborne and ground, and the self-potential data obtained over this deposit. The attention of Canadian mining exploration companies was initially focussed on New Brunswick by the discovery, in 1953, of the Brunswick ore body. Ground electromagnetic surveys were of considerable assistance in locating and developing this deposit. In the following year, 1954, the Heath Steele base-metal deposits were discovered by employing an airborne electromagnetic device and ground electromagnetic surveys to follow-up the airborne indications. These discoveries demonstrated clearly that both airborne and ground electromagnetic techniques were applicable for locating the near-surface deposits of massive sulphides present in this region. Airborne electromagnetic equipment became available on a contract basis through Aeromagnetic Surveys Limited early in 1955 and was used extensively thereafter throughout a large portion of northern New Brunswick. It was as a result of one of these surveys with Aeromagnetic Surveys Limited equipment in the summer of 1955 that the Clearwater Deposit was detected. The airborne anomaly was located on the ground by means of an electromagnetic survey using a Swedish Slingram unit. During 1956, the region was investigated more thoroughly- in the hope that other sulphide bodies might be located. Airborne electromagnetic coverage was extended and the Clearwater Deposit itself was used as a testing ground for the various methods and types of equipment currently in use in New Brunswick. In this paper com prative data are presented for the airborne magnetic, airborne electromagnetic, ground magnetic and ground electromagnetic surveys over this deposit. The ground electromagnetic instruments used were the McPhar vertical-loop unit and the Slingram and Boliden horizontal-loop units. Self-potential surveys were carried out with a McPhar unit. From the geophysical point of view, all ground electrical methods employed indicated the presence and the extent of the massive-sulphide mineralization with a good degree of accuracy. The horizontal-loop methods however, defined the contacts more precisely as is to be expected when dealing with a flatly-dipping

Jan 1, 1961

By Charles H. Fulton

(Cleveland Meeting, October, 1912.) I. INTRODUCTION. THERE are comparatively few accurate data on the melting-or the freezing-point temperature of metallurgical slays, or on related physical phenomena, such as fluidity near the melting-point, specific heat, latent heat, etc. With the exception of the work of H. 0. Hoffman,1 and some older work by R. Akerman, P. Gredt, and H. M. Howe, no information is available that is of direct interest to the metallurgist. Hofman's valuable work is the only one that refers to slags produced in the metallurgy of copper and lead. The classic work of J. H. L. Vogt,2 who views slays from the standpoint of physical mixtures (solutions in which the entities are minerals), has opened up a. new field in the study of slags, and has placed the investigation of such properties as melting-temperatures, etc., on a rational basis. The recent work of A. L. Day, E. T. Allen, and W. P. White, of the Carnegie Institution, at Washington, and of European investigators 3 on certain systems of silicate minerals confirms the value of the investigation of silicate series from this standpoint, and it is my aim to apply this method to metallurgical slaws, in order to gain exact data of value in metallurgy. The work recorded in the present paper is the result of an investigation of reverberatory-furnace slags made for a Western smelting company to determine exactly the influence of change in composition, within comparatively narrow limits, on the melting-point. For a general discussion concerning the mineralogical character of slaws and the principles on which this investigation is based, reference should be made to other work,4 for the subject is too large to be stated in this paper, except very briefly in the following outline 1 Trans., xxix., 682 (1899). 2 Die Silikatschmelzlösungen; I. Ueber die Mineralbildung in Silikatschmelzlösungen; II Ueber die Schmelzpunkt-Erniedrigung der Silikatschmelzlösungen (Christiania, 1903-04). 3 Doelter, Handbuch der Mlineralehevu:e (1911) 4 C. H. Fulton, Principles (of Metallurgy. Chapter viii., on Slags, p. 24.5 (1910).

Dec 1, 1912

By D. R. Parrish, F. F. Craig

In some respects, forward combustion (alias: fie-flooding, underground combustion, in-situ combustion, dry combustion) is an efficient oil recovery method. For example, its displacement efficiency (as much as 95 percent in reservoirs with high porosity and high oil saturation) is good. In its use of heat, however, forward combustion is grossly inefficient. Most of the heat generated during forward combustion is wasted. About one-fifth of the heat is picked up by the incoming air and re-used (regenerated); the remainder is left behind the combustion zone and ultimately is lost. Compressed air is expensive, and heat generated from compressed air via underground combustion is too valuable to be thrown away. Improvement is needed. Since the early 1950's, improvements in forward combustion by addition of water injection have been discussed, particularly in the patent literature, with increasing frequency.'-'' These concepts are based on the fact that relatively inexpensive water can be used to pick up much of the heat that is ordinarily wasted during forward combustion, and transport it forward to a more useful place, thereby reducing the amount of air required to move a heat front through the reservoir. Several approaches have been proposed. Merriam and Squires1 taught that a combustible (fuel) gas should be injected along with the air and water. This, however, would give at least a tendency toward reverse combustion instead of forward combustion, and would reduce the velocity of the heat bank, defeating the primary purpose of the water injection. Pelzer2 described primarily a batchwise method of forward combustion and water flooding. He advocated burning part way through a reservoir with forward combustion, then switching from air to water injection alone to push the heat toward the producing wells. Though possible, this method has serious disadvantages, the major one being that, by the time water injection is started, much of the heat has been irretrievably lost to the overlying and underlying formations. We have described what is considered a practical Combination Of Forward Combustion And Water-flooding (COFCAW).3,4 Air and water are injected simultaneously (or alternately) after a small heat bank has been formed by forward combustion. Some of the injected fluid fills up the region behind the heat bank; the rest enters the heat bank. Upon encountering heated rock, the water is converted into steam, which then flows ahead of the combustion zone and displaces much of the oil in place. Only enough air is injected to provide heat for vaporization of the water and to compensate for reservoir heat losses. Since the size of the heat bank is minimized, heat losses also are minimized. Because of more efficient oil displacement ahead of the combustion zone, fuel consumption is reduced. Too, unlike a forward combustion zone that cannot move until all fuel at a point has been consumed, COFCAW leaves some

Jan 1, 1970

By William Paxton Hewitt

In the Santa Eulalia mining district, Chihuahua, Mexico, the main mineral zone occurs in a gently warped dome with simple associated structures and contains orebodies distributed through a vertical range of over 900 m. The stratigraphy of 1945 m of geologic column is described and an abrupt shrinkage is documented in the volume of limestones immediately associated with large orebodies. Termed collapse, this shrinkage occurred during the course of mineralization. Contacts of limestone with igneous sills, and 366 m of fossiliferous limestone beds, particularly the main fossil bed, have been important localizers of ore-bodies. Up-dip gravitational controls may have been important. Fractures have exerted only local controls and over short distances. Thrust zones have displaced diabase sills and in turn have been intruded by upper members of a group of rhyolite porphyry sills. Mineralizers were related to the rhyolite porphyry, and ore has been introduced to the limestone where certain sills lie between the displaced segments of diabase and have been cut by north-south fissures. Speculations are raised that fields of unreleased strain may have influenced orebody locations; the district's zoning pattern may be a reflection of the filtering effects of large volumes of limestone; and that metal-rich brines mobilized by or incorporated within the invading porphyry might be the source of the mineralizers. PRODUCTION AND LOCATION The Santa Eulalia district has a production record approaching or exceeding 35 million tons of silver-lead-zinc ore from replacement bodies in limestone. In operation since the first years of the 17001s, production has been confined to two intensely mineralized areas separated by 2 km of barren limestone, the West Camp and the East Camp. Probably 50% has been mined since 1908, with over 90% from the West Camp. The West Camp, exploited through a vertical depth of 1945 m and now approaching exhaustion, is the subject of this paper. The district lies in the northern part of the Santa Eulalia Mountains in central Chihuahua in northern Mexico, 400 km south of El Paso, Texas, and 22 km southeast of Chihuahua City. Dominating the northern part of the range is the Cerro de Santa Eulalia, a broad rolling upland which contains the district's West and East Camps. The West Camp, on the west side of the range, centers around the village of Santo Domingo, which is 2 km northeast of the Real de Santa Eulalia (Fig. 1). REGIONAL GEOLOGY Thick-bedded middle Cretaceous limestones, probably Aurora, form the great bulk of the Cerro de Santa Eulalia. These beds, warped into a gentle dome, are severed on the west by a faultline scarp and truncated on the north by the Dolores Pass, a wind gap that

Jan 1, 1969

By J. M. Boutwell

I. Introduction. THE object of this paper is to present a concise statement on the genesis of the copper- and lead-deposits of the Bingham Mining District, Utah. It is essentially a condensation of a chapter in a detailed report on this district, together with so much on geologic features, and on the character and occurrence of the ores as bears on the problems of ore-deposition. The studies upon which the paper is based were undertaken in 1900 under the direction of S. F. Emmons, Geologist-in-Charge of the Section of Metalliferous Deposits, U. S. Geological Survey; and a little additional data was secured in subsequent years. The evidence then obtained as to the genesis of the replacement copper-ores has led, to conclusions which differ somewhat from explanations hitherto current. Accordingly, it seems desirable briefly to present the facts together with the resulting conclusions in a separate paper.

Nov 1, 1905

By Leo F. Reinartz

It was with humility that I accepted the invitation of the Board of Directors of our Institute to deliver the Twentieth Howe Memorial Lecture. Many previous lecturers could speak from personal experience of the great work done by Professor Howe. It was not my privilege to be one of his students but, indirectly, I came under the influence of his work many years ago. My mentor in Metallurgy at Carnegie Institute of Technology, Prof. Fred Crab tree, was an ardent admirer of Professor Howe and his work. Professor Crabtree taught me early to appreciate Professor Howe's love of truth and keen desire to find a scientific reason for every metallurgical phenomenon. In this early search, Professor Howe encountered many unexplainable facts. Nevertheless, in the classic text, "The Metallurgy of Steel," published in 1891, he indicated that he believed Research could light the way. Under the heading of "The Treachery of Steel" he said: "In the early use of Bessemer and Open Hearth Steel, many then unexplained and hence mysterious failures occurred. With our present knowledge, an easy explanation of most of them would probably have been seen. But even today certain unexplained and apparently inexpli- cable failures occur in steel; inexplicable in spite of full and intelligent investigation." Then Professor Howe continued to talk about "the trustworthiness of steel" in the following manner: First, the steel-maker has learned by experience. He knows today far better the effects of a high percentage of carbon or of phosphorus; of cracks, pipes and blow-holes; of segregation and imperfect mixing; of over-heating; of finishing too hot or too cold. Knowing, he guards against them more effectually, and keeps at home much steel that he would formerly have sent into the market. Those who would not, or could not learn and do, have been driven out of the business; the conditions necessary for producing good sound steel by the acid Bessemer and the acid Open Hearth processes have been mastered. By and by, the basic process came along with new conditions, new liabilities to unsoundness, a great hue and cry about mysterious fractures followed, and Lloyd's register provisionally forbade the use of basic steel. Much basic steel was irregular and brittle throughout; too much carbon, too much phosphorus, too cold teemings—imperfect mixing. Still there was little doubt that, with further experience, these difficulties of the basic process would be mastered as those of the acid process had been. This shows that Professor Howe could not take anything for granted. Believing that careful research would find the answer to all mysterious phenomena, he was several generations ahead of the practical acceptance and adoption of this principle.

Jan 1, 1943

By Leo F. Reinartz

It was with humility that I accepted the invitation of the Board of Directors of our Institute to deliver the Twentieth Howe Memorial Lecture. Many previous lecturers could speak from personal experience of the great work done by Professor Howe. It was not my privilege to be one of his students but, indirectly, I came under the influence of his work many years ago. My mentor in Metallurgy at Carnegie Institute of Technology, Prof. Fred Crab tree, was an ardent admirer of Professor Howe and his work. Professor Crabtree taught me early to appreciate Professor Howe's love of truth and keen desire to find a scientific reason for every metallurgical phenomenon. In this early search, Professor Howe encountered many unexplainable facts. Nevertheless, in the classic text, "The Metallurgy of Steel," published in 1891, he indicated that he believed Research could light the way. Under the heading of "The Treachery of Steel" he said: "In the early use of Bessemer and Open Hearth Steel, many then unexplained and hence mysterious failures occurred. With our present knowledge, an easy explanation of most of them would probably have been seen. But even today certain unexplained and apparently inexpli- cable failures occur in steel; inexplicable in spite of full and intelligent investigation." Then Professor Howe continued to talk about "the trustworthiness of steel" in the following manner: First, the steel-maker has learned by experience. He knows today far better the effects of a high percentage of carbon or of phosphorus; of cracks, pipes and blow-holes; of segregation and imperfect mixing; of over-heating; of finishing too hot or too cold. Knowing, he guards against them more effectually, and keeps at home much steel that he would formerly have sent into the market. Those who would not, or could not learn and do, have been driven out of the business; the conditions necessary for producing good sound steel by the acid Bessemer and the acid Open Hearth processes have been mastered. By and by, the basic process came along with new conditions, new liabilities to unsoundness, a great hue and cry about mysterious fractures followed, and Lloyd's register provisionally forbade the use of basic steel. Much basic steel was irregular and brittle throughout; too much carbon, too much phosphorus, too cold teemings—imperfect mixing. Still there was little doubt that, with further experience, these difficulties of the basic process would be mastered as those of the acid process had been. This shows that Professor Howe could not take anything for granted. Believing that careful research would find the answer to all mysterious phenomena, he was several generations ahead of the practical acceptance and adoption of this principle.

Jan 1, 1943