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By R. C. Mahon

THE Homer iron-ore mine is at Iron River, Mich. Because it covers a large area, 400 acres, and because there was a considerable depth of water in the glacial drift above most of the ore bodies, this mine has presented a number of unusual and often difficult operational problems. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a few of the most important problems encountered. SURFACE WATER Mining on this property was started on one 40-acre tract. The ledge in this area was the highest on the property and, although it was a real problem, water could be handled by underground pumping. During the first period of mining, drifts were driven just under the ledge and holes were drilled through to the surface material. In later years these drifts have been extended wherever possible. Although these drifts assisted in the drainage problem, it was evident they would not be sufficient alone. Before mining on a large scale could be started on this property, the water problem had to be solved. A number of test holes were put down to the ledge, and showed that there was an average 150 ft. of water-saturated glacial drift above the ledge over the rest of the mine. The upper 70 ft. was gravel and sand and the lower 80 ft. clay and hard pan, with some narrow seams of sand and gravel. It was evident that the water above the clay seam could not be drained off through openings in the ledge and for that reason it was decided to install surface drainage wells. This method of drainage was entirely new at that time and was pioneered at the Homer mine. The sinking of the first well was started in June 1929. Immediately following the first well a number of wells were sunk, but only to the top of the clay seam. This was done with the idea that a greater capacity could be obtained in a shorter time from gravel seams where the water flowed more freely and that the cost of pumping the water above the clay seam would be considerably less than if the wells had all been sunk to the ledge at once. Before the drainage of surface water was started, 1200 gal. per min. against a head of 800 ft. was being pumped from the mine. By March of 1932, with five surface wells in operation, the mine pumping had been reduced to 150 gal. per min. At this time we were pumping 5000 gal. per min., under an average head of 110 ft. from the surface wells. The total pumping costs were 30 per cent less than in 1929 because the greater capacity was being pumped at a much lower head. From 1932 to 1936 the mine was idle and all surface pumping was stopped. Since 1936, 10 new wells have been added with a total pumping capacity of 8000 gal. per min. at the present time. The water level has been lowered 70 ft. since surface pumping was started in 1929, and it is now approximately at the top of the clay. To remove the water below the clay seam, 11 of the 15 wells were sunk to the ledge.

Jan 1, 1945

Jan 1, 1951

By James H. Bechtold

The yield strength of annealed tungsten was found to have a strain rate exponent 12 times as great as that of low carbon steel. The effects of temperature and strain rate could be correlated through the Zener-Hollomon parameter with a heat of activation associated with yielding of 32,000 cal per g-atom. This heat of activation is independent of strain although both the temperature and strain rate dependence of the yield strength vary with strain. MOST metals have mechanical properties that are relatively insensitive to strain rate, especially at temperatures below that at which creep is important. In iron and molybdenum," however, relatively large strain rate effects are observed in the temperature range where the rapid increase in yield strength occurs which leads to the ductile to brittle transition. In this temperature range Zener and Hollomon' have suggested that the effects of strain rate and temperature T on the yield strength could be correlated through a single parameter, P, in the following manner where Q is a heat of activation characteristic of the metal and associated with some unspecified relaxation process. They also observed that if the temperature is restricted to a relatively narrow range— below room temperature for steel—that the logarithm of the yield strength could be expressed as a linear function of the logarithm of P. From this relation the logarithm of stress should be a linear function of the logarithm of the strain rate at constant temperature: where r will be referred to herein as the strain rate exponent. At a constant strain rate the logarithm of stress should be a linear function of l/T, ay(e = C) ~ eT [4] where q = Qr [5] and is referred to herein as the temperature exponent. These equations have been found to relate the effects of temperature and strain rate on the yield strength of molybdenum in the temperature range wherein the ductile to brittle transition occurs, —75° to +150°C.2 Bechtold and Shewmon3 have shown recently that the ductile to brittle transition in annealed tungsten occurs in the temperature range +150° to +350°C. In this temperature range the yield strength in-

Jan 1, 1957

Jan 1, 1951

By D. M. Wyslouzil

Standard testing methods are described that are presently used for the selection of grinding equipment. Correlation between laboratory batch grinding tests and pilot plant continuous tests are established by means of particle size distributions and flotation results. Conventional and autogenous grinding circuits are discussed showing the relationships of the controllable circuit parameters.

Jan 1, 1982

By S. Singh, R. C. Deshpande

RECENTLY metallographic studies of copper slugs recovered after firing shaped charges in deep containers of water were reported.' The present note describes the metallographic examination of a steel

Jan 1, 1960

By Earl Oliver, J. B. Umpleby

It is believed that in connection with the study of unit operation by the Petroleum Division of the A. I. M. E. a review of the simple principles of unit operation would be helpful. To that end, the following discussion is submitted. It is not to be considered in any sense as the conclusion of the committee, but rather as material submitted for its consideration and represents at this time only the viewpoints of its authors. Growth of the Oil Industry In 70 years the oil industry has grown from a single well on Oil Creek, Venango County, Pennsylvania, producing 25 bbl, per day, to more than 400,000 wells scattered over five continents with a daily output of 4,000,000 bbl. In that time petroleum has expanded from its simple use as a medicine in a few localities to a multitude of diverse uses in homes of every country the world over. During those years the oil fields of the United States have produced two-thirds of the world's output and have shipped their excess production into almost every country. In those years several hundred thousand good wells in the United States declined into small ones and depleted shallow deposits gave way to deep zones; so that the United States crude oil industry gradually changed from one of low cost production to one of higher cost. Throughout its entire life it has labored under two serious economic disadvantages, namely, constantly recurring periods of demoralization through overproduction, and competitive development methods that are wasteful. Development of Foreign Competition During the transition from low to higher cost production in the United States, events even more significant were taking place in foreign lands. Jungles were tamed and deserts conquered. Oil deposits were found and developed until, in the words of Sir John Cadman, "the globe is now drenched with a commodity which, although necessary to life, involves but an irregular and sometimes meager expenditure of life in its

Jan 1, 1930

By H. B. Huntington

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

Jan 1, 1970

By F. C. Dyer, H. E. T. Haultain

There has been much written on ball-mills, but no small amount of the literature is simply the expression of individual opinion without sufficient data. This is no doubt due to the complexity and obscurity of the phenomena involved. The outstanding paper is by E. W. Davis,I superintendent, School of Mines Experiment Station, University of Minnesota, which is based on a large amount of data from careful experiments with full-size apparatus, together with some mathematical philosophy. The entire philosophy is summed up in the equations given; but the present writers question the foundation upon which this philosophy is based. Encouraged by the work of Davis, the authors of this paper continued work they had been doing along this line. At first, photographs were taken of the ends of rods in a small laboratory rod mill. The mill was tilted slightly toward the feed end and the discharge end was removed. The rods remained in the mill long enough to permit good observation and good photography. Later, a mill 24 in. inside the stepped lining was constructed. It consisted of two sheets of plate glass, 1/2 in. apart, set in a cast-iron ring. It was driven by a variable speed motor and was connected to an accurate speedometer (magneto and voltmeter type). In place of balls or rods, cast brass disks were used. These were 3/8 in. thick and varied in diameter from 2 in. down to 3/4 in. Four small projections on each side prevented the disks sticking to the glass when water was used; sometimes steel balls % in. in diameter were added to the load of disks. There was also constructed a 6-in. mill with corrugated linoleum lining and containing a dry load of various sizes of steel balls. The mills were so connected to the motor that the small mill made two revolutions to one of the large mill. Many runs were made with a great variety of materials, including crushed marble, seeds of many kinds, and many mixtures (some wet and

Jan 1, 1923

By F. C. Dyer, H. E. T. Haultain

There has been much written on ball-mills, but no small amount of the literature is simply the expression of individual opinion without sufficient data. This is no doubt due to the complexity and obscurity of the phenomena involved. The outstanding paper is by E. W. Davis,I superintendent, School of Mines Experiment Station, University of Minnesota, which is based on a large amount of data from careful experiments with full-size apparatus, together with some mathematical philosophy. The entire philosophy is summed up in the equations given; but the present writers question the foundation upon which this philosophy is based. Encouraged by the work of Davis, the authors of this paper continued work they had been doing along this line. At first, photographs were taken of the ends of rods in a small laboratory rod mill. The mill was tilted slightly toward the feed end and the discharge end was removed. The rods remained in the mill long enough to permit good observation and good photography. Later, a mill 24 in. inside the stepped lining was constructed. It consisted of two sheets of plate glass, 1/2 in. apart, set in a cast-iron ring. It was driven by a variable speed motor and was connected to an accurate speedometer (magneto and voltmeter type). In place of balls or rods, cast brass disks were used. These were 3/8 in. thick and varied in diameter from 2 in. down to 3/4 in. Four small projections on each side prevented the disks sticking to the glass when water was used; sometimes steel balls % in. in diameter were added to the load of disks. There was also constructed a 6-in. mill with corrugated linoleum lining and containing a dry load of various sizes of steel balls. The mills were so connected to the motor that the small mill made two revolutions to one of the large mill. Many runs were made with a great variety of materials, including crushed marble, seeds of many kinds, and many mixtures (some wet and

Jan 1, 1923

By H. D. Hoskold

It was not for the purpose of asserting any superior knowledge or authority, but simply of clearing up, in greater detail, some points casually mentioned in Mr. Scott's able paper, that the writer entered, some two years ago, into the discussion which that paper initiated. In such matters there is always room for differences of judgment, as well as for additional data, which may modify or complete the conclusions even of the best authorities. Those who are immersed in the duties of practical administration or work in the field, and who, being remote from the great scientific national libraries, are obliged to rely on their private collections, and to supplement them by their recollections of earlier studies, labor under special disadvantages in such a discussion; and it must be to the scientific and engineering world a matter for gratitude that Mr. Lyman has been willing to give the benefit of his advantages in this respect. Mr. Lyman would, however, doubtless at once disclaim the conclusion that his masterly summary constitutes " the last word " on this subject, and welcome further evidence, comment and criticism, such as the various contributors may continue to offer. This, therefore, is the motive, and must be the excuse, of the introduction by the writer of the following observations. The Miners' Dial.—Many years since, the writer employed a miners' dial, older in type than Fig. 12,* but without any attached spirit-level, made by Thomas Jones, a pupil of the great Ramsden. Jones was one of the old London makers and opticians, and enjoyed great reputation for accuracy in the con-

Jan 1, 1902

By P. CHARTERIS A.

THE following scanty notes on the Roumanian oil-region may serve as an introduction to more detailed future study and description. The Roumauian oil-belt, follows the outer edge of the sweep of the Carpathian Mountains, and may, in a broad sense, be regarded as a prolongation of the Galician belt. It is distributed over a tract of country from 300 to 400 miles in length, with a width of from 15 to 20 miles, and is believed to cover an area of at least 20,000 hectares (59,420 acres). The Government claims that 16,000 to 17,000 hectares of its land is petroliferous. The primary deposits of petroleum are considered to be in the Padeogene (Oligocene) and the Neogene (the salines of the Miocene) formations. Most of the other repositories, especially those of Muntenie, are only secondary, the petroleum there having been introduced by the orogeneric movements which raised the Carpathian Mountains. The oil-field has been divided by the Roumanian survey into two regions, the Flysch and the Sub-Carpathian, as is shown in the accompanying sketch-map, Fig. 1.(p. 518). So far as is yet, known, practically all the seepages and .productive pits and wells are situated oil anticlinals. Those which outcrop in the Flysch region. (called Paleogene anticlinals), as indicated in the sketch-map, Fig. 1, are : Solontz, Middle Oligocene; Moineshti, Moineshti and Tagu-Ocna-beds of the Eocene.

Jul 1, 1906

Jan 1, 1920

NEW MEMBERS. The following list comprises the names of those persons who became members during the months of July and August, 1913: Members. ALDERSON, VICTOR C., Prest. of Colorado School of Mines :.Golden, Colo. ALLEN, JOSEPH W., Secy. & Treas. International S. & R. Co;, 42 Broadway, New York, N. Y. AMMON, ROBERT, Chief Sampler B. & M. Reduction Wks., Anaconda Copper Min.Co., Great Falls, Mont. BARBER, RAYMOND J., Min. Engr 234 Newbury St., Boston, Mass. BARDWELL, EARL S., Genl. Concen rator Foreman Boston & Mont. Reduction Plant, Great Falls; Mont.

Jan 9, 1913

By Prof. B. Hopkinson

Introduction.-A short time ago Professor Stoughton asked the writer if he would present a paper for the February meeting of our Institute. In reply to this suggestion, some notes have been prepared relating to the subject mentioned in the title. It is to be hoped they may be of interest to our members. The research now described is the joint work of Prof. B. Hopkinson, F. R. S., and the writer. Those interested in the subject will find further data in a paper entitled The Magnetic and Mechanical Properties of Manganese Steel, which will probably be read at this year's May Meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute in London. This paper was submitted to the Institute in October last, and advance copies will shortly be available. The present paper has been drawn up by the writer on this side the water, and he has not had time to communicate with Professor Hopkinson with regard to the statements or opinions expressed herein. While the writer believes that Professor Hopkinson would in the main agree with the statements herein set forth, it should be understood that apart from the actual work described he is not otherwise responsible. The experiments described have been carried out on the material known as manganese steel, which one of the writers of these notes discovered in 1883. A paper by him describing this material was read before this Institute in 1893, entitled Iron Alloys, with Special Reference to Manganese Steel. It is not necessary to describe manganese steel nowa-days; its qualities are so well known, and its use throughout the world is on a very extensive scale.

Jan 3, 1914

By G. R. M. Del Giudice, A. M. Sadler, Arthur F. Taggart, M. Hassialis

FLOTATION of sulphide minerals and native metals is no longer a practical difficulty. The underlying scientific principles of the method, although not explored in anything like complete detail, have been formulated with sufficient breadth so that the direction of attack on any specific case is clearly indicated. It has been known since the earliest days of flotation that certain of the nonsulphide nonmetal minerals-e.g., sulphur and graphite-would respond to flotation by oils as sulphides do; therefore they have been grouped with sulphides in many patents. But since the development of the chemical theory of collection, 1,2,3 this similarity in action has been one of the facts cited in disproof of the theory by opponents of the hypothesis. 4 5-1 Air levitationt of certain oxidized minerals, both metalliferoust and nonmetalliferous, and separation thereby from other oxidized minerals, is a recent development in practice, although the discovery of the method dates back 17 years .7 This paper presents evidence that the principles underlying the air levitation of the nonsulphide nonmetal minerals are the same as those utilized in the flotation of the sulphides and native metals. It will be apparent immediately to anyone with knowledge of mineral concentration that separation of air-levitated minerals in water from minerals not so levitated is a simple matter of water-gravity concentration, the separating device employed depending solely upon the size of the particles treated and the buoyancy differences effected by the levitation. The usual separating means employed are: (1) a flotation machine for fine, slimy and for well aerated granular material; (2) shaking tables for granular less aerated material. By using large quantities of oil, it is possible to form substantially air-free oil-bound masses or granules of nonsiliceous minerals and to

Jan 1, 1937

By H. T. Bowman

FOR more than 80 years the Bessemer process has depended upon the ability, skill, and judgment of the blower, although as early as the 1860's it was recognized that the process would benefit by some type of instrumental control.1 However, instruments with sufficient recording speeds did not exist, so the end-point determination was always dependent upon the blower's eye. This placed an obstacle in the way of precise experimental work, because of the absence of the necessary records and reference points as reported by Work.2 The use of the photocell provided the instantaneous record of the blow that made this experimental work possible and provided more scientific control for the process as discussed by Graham3' A brief description of the progress of the blow will illustrate the recording function of the instrument. The silicon in the iron is being oxidized during the first minutes of the blow, as pointed out by Henning4 in a table showing the order of metalloid elimination. The product of this oxidation is a solid that remains in the converter, so there is virtually no flame during this part of the blow. This low flame luminosity is illustrated by the flame recording shown in Fig. I, where the silicon blow is plainly marked. The dull flame of the silicon blow gradually gives way to the brilliant carbon flame as the increasing quantities of carbon monoxide formed inside the converter burn to dioxide upon contact with the atmosphere above the vessel. When the carbon reaches some low value under 0.20 per cent, there is insufficient monoxide formed to maintain the dioxide flame, so its intensity drops. Throughout the flame drop carbon continues to burn, until at some value around 0.05 per cent an arrest occurs in the recorded drop. This point has been designated as the end point. The period of time from this end point until the vessel is turned upon its side and blowing has stopped has been called the afterblow. This afterblow is used as a measure of the degree of metal oxidation, and uniformity demands that it be controlled within narrow limits. Iron and blowing conditions are likely to change several times during a turn, necessitating corresponding changes in end-point control. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss these changes, the factors that make them necessary, and their bearing upon the quality of steel. CARBON-FEO RELATIONSHIP In the Bessemer process oxidation relationships are precise. Fig. 2 shows a graph of the carbon-FeO relationship. The familiar "bomb-test" method, described by McCutcheon and Rautio,5 was used for obtaining these and all other dissolved FeO values herein reported, all tests being taken from the converter before deoxidation unless otherwise noted. All tests of 0.10 per cent carbon and above were obtained from metal blown for duplexing. McGinley and Woodworth6 reported iron oxide values for blown metal, but their tests were obtained by a different method than were those

Jan 1, 1942

By James W. Halley

' FINE-GRAINED " steels have been standard products for many years. This paper describes an investigation of the effects of some of the more common grain-growth; inhibitors used to produce these steels. The properties, response to heat-treatment, and the deoxidation practice necessary to produce "fine-grained" steels have been the subjects of numerous papers. It has been shown that a substantial quantity of' aluminum is necessary to produce this type of steel, and it has been indicated that titanium and zirconium produce a similar result. For some time there was a lively argument between those who felt that aluminum refined the grain and those who felt that aluminum oxide was the effective agent. This argument subsided with an apparent victory for those promoting aluminum oxide. Most of the work on grain size has divided steels into two broad classifications based upon McQuaid and Ehn's original carburizing test at 1700°F. or some similar test at this temperature. If the steel coarsened at this temperature, it was coarse grained, while if it did not it was fine grained. Quantitative data concerning how much a certain amount of aluminum raised the coarsening temperature and affected the properties, all other factors being constant, are very meager. Similar information regarding titanium and zirconium is practically nonexistent. The published information on aluminum yields some quantitative information. Epstein, Nead and Washburn' gave the first quantitative information on the amount of aluminum necessary to prevent grain growth at 1700°F. They showed that the addition of a pound to a pound and a half of aluminum per ton (0.05 to 0.075 per cent) would assure steel that would not .coarsen during a McQuaid-Ehn test at 1700°F. Herty, McBride and Hough2 reported that a steel containing 0.020 per cent acid-soluble aluminum coarsened between 1742° and 1832°F., while steels containing 0.016 per cent and 0.017 per cent acid-soluble aluminum coarsened between 1652~ and 1742°F. compared with similar aluminum-free steels that started to coarsen at 1580°F. Herty3 also showed a marked improvement in low-temperature notched impact resistance with increasing acid-soluble aluminum up to 0.030 per cent. McQuaid4 compared the coarsening of steels containing 0.011 to 0.204 per cent total aluminum and found a maximum coarsening temperature at 0.098 per cent aluminum. He had no samples between 0.015 and 0.098 per cent aluminum. Houdrement5 found a marked decrease in coarsening temperature with aluminum contents above 0.50 per cent. Kinzel, Crafts and Egan6 found that aluminum and zirconium improved thy low-temperature impact resistance of a low-alloy steel, while titanium was detrimental. Sims7 shows that sulphur increases the coarsening temperature and that the maximum coarsening temperature is between 0.04and 0.06 Per cent added aluminum. The

Jan 1, 1946

By Harry R. Hall

THE proposition to make pig-iron from magnetic concentrates and cobbed ore with charcoal-fuel weighing from 12 to 20 lb. per bushel is, on the face of it, not inviting; but the successful work that has been done under these adverse conditions warrants a permanent record in our Transactions, especially as it furnishes a comparison with, coke blast-furnace practice under similar conditions. The record of the furnace-practice is briefly summarized as follows:-The charcoal was made of hemlock, pine, spruce, balsam, maple, beech and birch woods. All the concentrates containing from 62 to 65 per cent. of iron would pass in. screen, of which about 34 per cent.. would pass an 80-mesh sieve. The cobbed ore, varying in composition from 32 to 47 per cent. metallic iron and from 23 to 32 per cent. of. silica, would pass through a I-in. ring, of which about 25 per cent. would pass a 1/8 in. screen. The furnace was blown in October 20,1903, with charcoal which was supposed to weigh when dry 18 lb. to the bushel. Some charcoal similar to this was stored in the stock-house for about a year and was then found to weigh 12 lb. per bushel. During the first 10 days of the blast, the furnace produced 362 tons of pig-iron, using 200 bushels of charcoal per ton of iron. From November 1st to 12th, the volume of the blast was increased gradually from 2,808 to 5,460 cu. ft. per minute, with practically no increase of output. The silicon-content of the resultant pig-iron averaged 0.75 per cent., with sulphur about 0.035 per cent. A supply of freshly-burned dry charcoal was then used which increased the silicon-content and lowered

Sep 1, 1905

By Howard Hughes

IN drilling for water and oil to reasonable depths through the generally soft yielding clay and sand formation of the Coastal Plain of Texas, . Louisiana, and Mississippi, the rotating method of drilling was adopted, principally on account of the easy and quick penetration, and the low cost of the drilling plant. In favorable ground, free of heavy gravel and rock strata, as much as 1,000 ft. has been drilled in less than 36 hr., although such performances were of course rare. Hydraulic rotary drilling, or, as it is now called, rotary drilling, was used in the above States as early as 1880. The plant consisted of an ordinary derrick, a 25-h.p. boiler, a small hoist, a steam pump, and a water swivel with hose attachment, and an ordinary flat diamond-pointed bit. The successful drilling in of a phenomenal oil well by this process on Spindletop, near Beaumont, Texas, on Jan. 10, 1901, and the ascertained impracticability of drilling subsequent wells in the same locality by other methods (owing principally to heavy quicksand under pressure from below), brought rotary drilling into great prominence, practically to the exclusion of any other process throughout the Coastal Plain, and later on elsewhere. The method, as its name implies, involves the rotation of a pipe by means of machinery placed on the derrick floor. A drill bit attached to the lower end cuts a clearance for the drill pipe, with much the same motion and effect as an auger. Water forced through the drill pipe by means of a pump, and escaping through the bit, removes the cuttings and returns to the surface outside the drill pipe. In this manner the hole is kept open, permitting the drill stem to rotate freely. The pressure of the column of muddy water holds up the walls of the hole until it has been cased. Practically all the wells of the Gulf coast region, numbering nearly 10,000, have been drilled with this system. During the last five years its use has been extended to many other States and countries.

Jan 3, 1915