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By R. A. L. Black

13.8-1. Introduction. Table 13.8-1 shows that production from the African continent is an important part of total world mineral production. In three of the major particular resources listed, diamonds, gold, and cobalt, African production accounts for considerably more than half the world output. Overall, South Africa including South West Africa plays a dominant role in the mineral economy of Africa, other than in petroleum production. Table 13.81 also shows that much of the production is won by surface mining methods. In addition to the minerals listed in Table 13.8-1, Africa is a main world source for the following minerals: [Beryl 33% of total world production Columbium-tantalum 50%" " 1' Platinum group metals 20% l' " 11 Corundum 55%" " " 11 Vermiculite 30% (' " (6 Uranium oxide 15 0/, of free world production] South Africa and Rhodesia together account for nearly all of this production, except for columbium (niobium) of which Nigeria is the main producer. Thus the importance of southern Africa as a major mineral province can readily be appreciated. The consequences of serious political or military conflict between white-dominated southern Africa and the rest of the continent would be grave indeed, particularly for the West whose financial and economic interest in Africa as a whole is very large. The development of mineral resources in Africa involves the same basic elements as are involved anywhere else in the world: exploration, drilling and sampling, metallurgical assessment, and economic evaluation before, if it is justified, a prospect is brought to the productive stage. The same range of factors controls the economic viability of a project in Africa as elsewhere, of which the most important are:

Jan 1, 1968

New York Meets first Wednesday after first Tuesday of each month. Chairman. PERCY E. BARBOUR, Vice-Chairman. A. D. BEERS, Secretary, 55 Wall St., New York, N. Y. C. A. BOHN,.Treasurer. JOHN V. N. DORR, LEWIS W. FRANCIS. Boston Meets first Monday of each winter month. W.. E. C. EUSTIS. Chairman. R. L. AGASSIZ. Vice-Chairman. E. E. BUGBEE, Secretary-Treasurer, Mass. Inst. of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. ALBERT SAUVEUR, H. L. SMYTH. Columbia Holds four sessions during year. Annual meeting n September or October. W. H. LINNEY, Chairman. OSCAR LACHMUND, Vice-Chairman. LYNDON K. ARMSTRONG, Secretary-Treasurer, P. O. Drawer 2154, Spokane, Wash. STANLY A. EASTON. S. SHEDD. Puget Sound Meets second Saturday of each month SIMON H. ASH, Chairman. I. F. LAUCKS, Vice-Chairman. CHARLES SIMENSTAD, Secretary-Treasurer, 425 Lyon Bldg., Seattle, Wash. GLENVILLE A. COLLINS, JOHN N. POTT

Jan 5, 1917

By G. C. Fryburg, H. M. Murphy

ThE rates of oxidation of metals are usually obtained by heating the metal specimens in furnaces. Such a procedure is satisfactory for most metals. However, there are several metals that oxidize according to the reaction.

Jan 1, 1959

By John F. Lundeberg

CLAUSS1 observed that if isothermal creep data could be approximated as straight lines on a log stress-log time plot, a relationship existed that could be expressed as log t = m log s + b [ l] where t = time,

Jan 1, 1965

By George F. Comstock

It has been known for many years that the alloy containing 90 per cent. copper and 10 per cent. aluminum can be hardened, like steel, by quenching from a suitable temperature, and that the hardened alloy can be softened again by annealing or drawing the temper. It does not seem to be generally appreciated, however, that the effect of the first slight reheating after quenching is actually increased hardness, the softening effect not taking place until a certain temperature of "drawing" has been exceeded. This paper gives the results of a few experiments on various specimens of cast 10 per cent. aluminum bronze, quenched for maximum hardness, and subsequcntly annealed at different temperatures. The hardness measurements were made with both a scleroscope and a standard Swedish Brinell machine; some peculiarities of the scleroscope test on this material are described. The author is not aware of many previous investigations of the hardness of this alloy when quenched and drawn, but two important papers on the subject should be mentioned. The earliest was by Portevin and Arnou,1 in which it was stated that tempering quenched 10 per cent. aluminum bronze at 400" C. increased the hardness as compared with the quenched untempered alloy and that reheating above that temperature ' was necessary to obtain any softening effect. A later paper was by Seidell and Horvitz,2 who mentioned Portevin and Arnou's work, but did not report any increase in hardness obtained

Jan 1, 1925

By Norman Pilling

The deleterious effect on the mechanical properties of copper, resulting from heating in contact with reducing gases, is well known, but the mechanism of the action does not appear to have been definitely established. The purpose of the present investigation was not to determine the exact variations in physical quality of commercial copper, with its various impurities, as dependent upon the composition of the gas, temperature of exposure, etc., but rather to study the nature of the action and the conditions under which it occurs. The physical result of the so-called "gassing." of copper has been generally described as the development of "brittleness." There appears to be a striking decrease in tensile strength, associated with a considerable loss of ductility, and a small copper strip or wire affected in this way can he snapped in two when bent. Larger articles may have an outer layer alone affected, which can be detached from the core by hammering or bending. Perhaps the earliest reference to this subject is that of Heyn1 in 1900, and among the later observers may be mentioned Archbutt,2 Bengough and Hill,3 Johnson,4 Mathewson and Thalheimer,5 and Ruder .6 Bengough and Hill, while working with arsenical copper, were the first to suggest the possibility of the formation of gases within the copper itself, while Ruder endeavored to explain the action by the reduction of the

Jan 10, 1918

By J. C. Williams, M. J. Blackburn

MANY aspects of the formation of the metastable w phase in titanium-transition metal alloys have been described in several recent papers.1-4 These papers have reviewed earlier work on the w phase and have further defined most of the important features related to the formation of this phase, e.g-., its crystal structure, composition, and morphology. There are, however, several important points regarding formation of the w phase in titanium alloys which have been described in less detail. Two of these are the relationship between lattice misfit and w phase morphology and the influence of lattice misfit on the mode of formation of the equilibrium a phase. In this communi- cation we will present transmission electron microscopy results relevant to these two points. The alloys used in this study were prepared by non-consumable electrode arc melting, each 30-g button being remelted a minimum of twelve times. The alloy compositions we have studied are listed in Table I. Thin foils were prepared using standard techniques described elsewhere. Two distinct c' phase morphologies have been reported in earlier papers. The phase is ellipsoidal in the Ti-Mo3 and Ti-Nbl system and cubical in the Ti-V3 system. Results of the present study show that the w phase is also cubical in Ti-Mn, Ti-Fe, and Ti-Cr alloys as illustrated in Fig. l(b) to (d). Fig. l(a) shows the ellipsoidal morphology in Ti-MO3 for comparison purposes. It was suggested in an earlier paper3 that the w phase morphology may be controlled by the lat-

Jan 1, 1970

By R. H. Doremus

From measurements of carbide precipitation rates in a iron it was concluded that the carbides nucleated on dislocations in both strained and unstrained samples, except for the latter at lower temperatures and higher carbon concentrations, where there were more muclei than could form on the dislocations. The equation of Cottrell and Bilby for the segregation of atoms to dislocations was found to be inapplicable to this system. No satisfactory theory for the growth process is available. A study of the rate at which a second phase separates from solid solution can frequently reveal much about the mechanism of separation. There are still many features of the precipitation of carbon from a iron that are not understood, although this system has been examined extensively. To provide more insight into the mechanism of carbide precipitation in a iron, rates of this process were measured at different temperatures, carbon concentrations, and densities of dislocations in the iron. The concentra- tion of carbon in solution was followed from the height of the internal-friction peak; this height is directly proportional to the amount of carbon in solution and is not affected by the growing carbide particles. In this paper these rates are compared with those found by earlier investigators, and the mechanism of precipitation is discussed in light of these results as well as two earlier studies1, 2 and the electron microscopic work reported in the preceding paper. EXPERIMENTAL The amount of carbon in solution was followed by

Jan 1, 1961

By Robert Mehl

RELATIVELY few data have been collected on the rates of diffusion in ternary solid solution systems. In general it does not seem worth while to gather extensive data for such systems until the factors that determine the rates of diffusion in binary systems are better understood. But the rates of diffusion in a ternary system of limited solid solubility, in which the terminal solid solution is in equilibrium with an intermediate phase and may thus be represented as a quasibinary system, represents a case of special interest. In this case, where by reason of the association of the two solute metals in an intermediate phase a special attraction of the two solute atoms may be safely assumed, some interaction of these atoms during simultaneous diffusion in the solvent lattice might be expected. It has frequently been proposed that molecular solid solutions exist in quasibinary and in other ternary (and binary) solid solutions. There is no direct evidence for such solid solutions; arguments based upon the supposed anomaly in certain physical properties1 are hardly important; unexpected density relationships have proved deceptive ;2 suggestions of molecular solid solutions have been made on the basis of solution laws in their application to certain systems, but without result;3 attempts to find lattice parameters in the solid solution Al-MgZn2, which cannot be calculated from the separate effects of magnesium and zinc and might therefore be taken as evidence for a molecular aggregation, have given negative results.4 Fundamentally, methods for the determination of the state of molecu¬lar aggregation in solution depend upon the kinetic behavior of the par-ticles constituting the system. If it could be shown that the two solutes in a quasibinary ternary system diffuse in molecular proportions, despite a radical difference in the separate rates of diffusion of each solute when diffusing alone in the solvent lattice, some basis for the concept of molecu-lar solid solution would be afforded. Freche5 examined the rates of independent and simultaneous diffusion of magnesium and silicon in

Jan 1, 1939

By Rixford A. Beals

It has been observed with considerable accuracy that if the major U. S. mines were moved to Mexico tomorrow, many of them would be losing money. But the companies would continue to operate, losses or not, because they would have to. And some of the newest and most promising low grade ore projects in the U. S. would never have "gotten off the ground" had they faced the equivalent of the mining taxes now in effect in Mexico. No one of the various mining taxes in Mexico seems prohibitive by itself. Taken together, on the balance sheet, however, the picture changes. Production and export taxes alone take from 20 to 40 pct of the gross product value for base and precious metals.

Jan 2, 1955

By Arno C. Fieldner

PROBABLY no large industry in the United States is in greater need of technologic research leading to economic improvement than the coal industry. It has suffered severely from increasing substitution of petroleum and natural gas for coal and its products in the fuel markets. Part of this substitution is due to the greater convenience and suitability of liquid and gaseous fuels for special purposes, and part of it has been due to the extensive research programs conducted or sponsored by the petroleum and allied industries in the past 2 decades. A recent estimate1 places these expenditures at $100,000,000 a year.

Jan 7, 1951

By Roshan B. Bhappu, Raul A. Deju

A method is proposed by which the chemical reactions between water and a silicate bed can be related to equations of flow. First the reaction mechanism is studied both theoretically and experimentally. Once the reaction mechanism is established, the equations of flow are solved, and a solution (under physically reasonable side conditions) is obtained. Experiments to substantiate the solution are also presented. The knowledge of surface reactions at the water-solid interface is of critical importance in extractive metallurgy. This is especially true in regard to the froth-flotation process of mineral concentration and all phases of hydro metallurgical recovery of metals. Similarly, the problem of ground-water contamination is one of growing concern, not only because of the increasing demands on our sources of supply but also because of the increasing necessity to find vehicles of waste disposal. The hydrochemistry of waste waters must be understood to exploit and develop such resources properly. To understand these problems, it is necessary to obtain a better insight into the reactions that take place between water and a solid packed bed. To do this, we will develop here in a theoretical model that predicts the fate of a chemical species in solution as it reacts with a silicate bed through which the liquid percolates. The treatment will be one-dimensional in nature and will not include dispersion. Experiments will also be presented to substantiate the theoretical model, using the silicate minerals listed in Table 1. This paper is preliminary in nature and is part of a larger study of the surface chemistry of the silicate-water interface. Mechanism of Surface Reactions In a previous paper,' the authors discussed the properties of various silicate minerals from a mineralogical standpoint. Now efforts will be made to study the reactions that occur when these minerals are put in contact with water. The reactions occur almost entirely in the surface layer of the mineralsa and are termed sorp-tion reactions. In this study sorption denotes the composite of all physical adsorption and chemical adsorption occurring between the silicate surface and the water in contact with it. A model of sorption as seen from a chemical-bond standpoint is presented below. On the basis of this model, the surface reactions between deionized water and a silicate mineral can be studied. Sorption Model: It is known that as the oxygen-silicon ratio increases from quartz to the olivines, a greater percentage of the oxygen bonding power is available for bonding to cations other than silicon. Hence, with an increasing oxygen-silicon ratio, the oxygen-to-metal bonding increases. Upon the fracturing of a silicate-mineral crystal, the oxygen-metal bond breaks more easily than the stronger oxygen-silicon bond, resulting in a negatively charged surface. Then, if the mineral is immersed in a liquid containing hydrogen ions, the negatively charged surface should tend to be neutralized by hydrogen ions from solution, resulting in a change of the solution pH. Thus, an increase in the degree of sorption of hydrogen ions must occur as the oxygen-silicon ratio in the crystal structure increases. Also in a previous paper,' the authors found that for a given silicate mineral the change of pH with time is given by

Jan 1, 1971

By Benjamin LeRoy Miller, Joseph T. Singewald

For a number of years Russia, India and Brazil have outranked all other countries as producers of manganese ores. During the 5 years immediately preceding the European war, the average annual production of Russia was 844,000, of India 694,000 and of Brazil 200,000 long tons. Since the outbreak of the war there has been a considerable falling off in the Russian and Indian production, particularly in the former, whereas the production of Brazilian ores has been greatly increased, amounting in 1914 to over 250,000 tons and in 1915 to nearly 350,000, with conditions favorable for a still larger production in 1916. Manganese is one of the few industrially important metals that are not produced in the United States in quantity commensurate with our needs, so that we have been compelled to import annually about 300,000 tons, having a value of over $2,000,000, and these ores have been obtained from the three countries mentioned above. Their rank as contributors to our imports of manganese ores was India, Russia, Brazil; and in 1913, Brazil contributed only one-fifth. During the past 2 years Brazil has furnished rapidly increasing quantities to this country, and, with the falling off of imports from India and Russia, has become our principal foreign source. In 1914, Brazil furnished two-fifths of the imports and more than India or Russia, and in 1915 over nine-tenths. The manganese ores of Brazil are consequently of more than usual interest to us at this time. The Manganese-Ore Distbicts of Brazil , The manganese mining industry of Brazil dates from the year 1894, and since that year the total production has been over 3,000,000 tons. With the exception of a small quantity produced in the State of Bahia from deposits west of the City of Bahia, this output has come from the

Jan 1, 1917

By Robert M. Grogan, Gill Montgomery

Fluorspar, the commercial name for fluorite, is a mineral composed of calcium fluoride, CaF,. Its valuable properties are due to its content of fluorine, and it is the principal commercial source of that element. The name is derived from the Latin word "fluere," to flow, because the mineral has a low melting point and is used in metallurgy as a flux. Cryolite is a sodium aluminum fluoride, Na,AlF,. It is a rare mineral which has been found in commercial quantities in only one place in the world, Greenland. Small amounts of it are shipped from stock in that country, and its place in industry has been taken over almost completely by synthetic cryolite. Because of the relative unimportance of cryolite, discussion of it has been relegated to a short section at the end of this chapter, which is principally concerned with fluorspar. History Fluorspar was used for ornamental purposes by the Greeks and Romans, who fashioned such things as vases, drinking cups, and table tops from it. Various peoples including the Chinese and the American Indians carved ornaments and figurines from large crystals. Its usefulness as a flux was known to Agricola (1564), who wrote about it in 1546. Mining began in England about 1775 and at various places in the United States during the period 1820 to 1840. Production became substantial following the development and widespread adoption of the basic open hearth method of making steel, in which fluorspar is used as a flux. After that, production and usage were stimulated by growth in the steel, aluminum, chemical, and ceramic industries and were accelerated by World Wars I and II. Fluorocarbons entered the picture in 193 1 and the use of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (HF) as a catalyst in the manufacture of alkylate for high octane fuel blends began in 1942. The development of the froth flotation process in the late 1920s, a differential flotation scheme for separating fluorspar from galena, sphalerite, and common gangue minerals in the 1930s, and the application of heavy-media concentrating methods to the treatment of low grade ores in the 1940s were outstanding technological contributions that enabled increased production of fluorspar concentrates. In recent years the development of pelletizing and briquetting processes for making flotation concentrates into gravel-size particles for use in steel furnaces and the development of more efficient and selective flotation schemes for treating crude ores containing abundant dolomite and barite have been major improvements in the industry.

Jan 1, 1975

By C. S. Barrett

THE crystal imperfections known as faults in stacking (stacking disorder) are of importance to both fundamental and applied science and are receiving increasing attention. On the theoretical side there have been recent advances in the analysis of diffraction patterns in terms of stacking faults, and on the experimental side it has been found that certain metals develop a faulted structure on cooling through a phase transformation. Beyond this, little is known of what may be called the physical and mechanical metallurgy of faulting, although there has been no lack of discussion and conjecture as to the presence of faults in metals and the effect of faults on mechanical properties and microstructures. In the close-packed metals the nature of faults can be described very simply. Face-centered cubic (FCC) crystals consist of close-packed layers of atoms, (111) planes, stacked above each other in a definite manner. If one layer is designated as the A layer, the next must be a B or a C layer; that is, every atom of the second layer lies not above the atoms of the A layer, but nestles in the hollows between these, using the hollows designated as the B positions, or the equivalent hollows designated as C. If the sequence of layers is ABCABC...., so that layers three spacings apart are directly over each other, the crystal is FCC; if CBACBA ... it is an FCC crystal that is a twin of the former; if ABAB........or BCBC..it is hexagonal close-packed (HCP). A fault is a break in the sequence, such as ABCABABC .. . which has the effect of inserting an HCP lamella into an FCC crystal. Regularly spaced faults spaced two layers apart would convert an FCC crystal entirely to HCP, or an HCP to FCC. A fault in an FCC crystal is also equivalent to creating an FCC twin of minimum thickness; in fact, the entire crystal would be converted to its twin if faults were introduced regularly. (In HCP crystals, however, twinning does not occur on the basal plane and a fault on this plane is not identical with a thin twin). Faults are one of the possible causes for annealing twins,' for the strain markings that are brought out by etching deformed metal,'," for the altered X ray reflecting power of metal at slip bands that is revealed in X ray reflection micrographs,' for the extinction of Kikuchi lines in electron diffraction patterns, and for the hardening of latent slip planes.' Since other explanations of these effects are also available," there has been no direct proof of faults from deformation; yet it has appeared likely that they would occur. Faults resulting from phase transformations in metals, however, have been clearly revealed by diffraction in cobalt" and lithium. It is to be expected that the faulting tendency is greatest

Jan 1, 1951

By Chester T. Sims

RECENTLY, a new type of superalloy material called TD Nickel* has been marketed.' It is a sim- ple, two-phased alloy, consisting of thoria particles dispersed in nickel of rather high purity (Ni-2 pct Thoz). Its mechanical properties appear relatively superior to previous experimental material attempting to use the oxide nonmetallic dispersion concept (except SAP), and superior to conventional nickel-base alloys at high homologous temperatures. This is derived from an interesting method of creating the dispersion, arising during chemical processing of the nickel and thorium salts in solution while reducing the nickel to metal. An evaluation of the thoria phase was conducted at this laboratory. Material and Procedure. TD Nickel was made available, consisting of several inches of 0.470-in. rod, extruded at a ratio of 64: 1, straightened, and centerless ground. Property determinations on this rod by the supplier at 1800°F showed an ultimate tensile strength of 11,400 psi, yield strength of 9600 psi, and 6 pct elongation. Specimens were removed from the rod for as-extruded metallography, and two 1/2-in. lengths supported on high-purity Al2O9 bricks were placed in a laboratory muffle furnace for exposure at 2000° F. The furnace door was left cracked to allow a slight amount of circulation. One specimen was removed at 200 hr for examination; the other was left for 2000 hr. Metallography. The micro structures obtained for the three conditions of exposure are shown in Fig. 1. Elongation of the grain structure in the extrusion direction is readily evident. The grains appear to be up to 0.001 in. (0.003 cm) long, with a length/width ratio of about 10: 1. Allowing for modest local in-homogeneities in structure, no significant change in thoria particle size or nickel alloy grain size occurred during the 2000°F exposure. However, etching depth varies slightly from one specimen to another, changing the number of particles visible. The thoria dispersion appears to be in the order of 0.01 (min) to 0.5 (max) p diam. The minimum diameter is difficult to estimate at X10,000, and may be less. Interparticle spacing appears to be about 0.1 p. Etching effects can be seen, depending upon grain orientation. A cubic etch-pit pattern appears in certain grains, apparently when etching is started by an anodic particle of thoria, Fig. l(c). The cubic pattern appears related to crystallographic orientation, and is prominent when the [ l00 ] direction is perpendicular to the plane of polish. The grains which present a ridged appearance in the photograph appear to be oriented with the [110} direction perpendicular to the plane of polish. Analysis. The thoria particle size was measured by a line intercept method perpendicular to the extrusion direction. Only particle sizes measuring 0.001 in. at X10,000 or larger could be extimated. Within limits of experimental error, particle size distribution appears to be unaffected by exposure, Fig. 2. To check structural stability further, a grain-growth evaluation was made. The number of grain-boundary intersections was counted at X500 on each of several traces normal to the extrusion direction for each condition. It can be seen from Table I that grain diameter appears unchanged by the 2000°F exposure. The slightly finer grain diameter after 200 hr may be attributed to variations in grain size from area to area in the original extrusion. From the present rather limited study of Ni-2 Th on, it appears that: 1) for time-temperature exposure up to 2000 hr at 2000°F (Larsen-Miller parameter = 57, homologous temperature = 0.8) thoria particles of the size studied are highly thermally stable; they do not significantly react, agglomerate, or diffuse; and

Jan 1, 1963

By J. W. Graham

For many years the author has been cognizant of the difficulty encountered by some in treating with the water influx formulas for unsteady-state fluid flow as pertain to the material balance equation. This has particularly applied in establishing reservoir performance and identifying reservoir pressure, which to the practicing engineer has entailed a trial-and-error procedure, and for others has necessitated resorting to computing devices and reiteration processes. In retrospect this difficulty stems from the fact that reservoir pressure in the material balance formulas, as well as associated with the water influx equations, is an inexplicit term, and the work reported in the past is irrefutable. However, what will be presented in this paper is another approach to the problem, whereby the entire material balance equation will be treated by the Laplace transformation, and reservoir pressure which hereto has been inexplicit, can now be isolated by mathematical procedure to relate that parameter with all the factors contributing to its change. This is the simplification entailed, that treats first with an undersaturated oil reservoir as an integrated effect from the inception of production. The second phase pertains to saturated oil reservoirs that encompass a survey traverse. Although both methods of approach are necessarily different in aspect, the most interesting fact is that the mathematics so deduced are identical. Both the linear and radial water-drive systems are incorporated. for which an illustrated factual example is offered for the latter, treating with a saturated oil reservoir. INTRODUCTIO N What is performed in this work is the simplification of an involved computation by advanced analysis. Although such may be construed as a contradiction when one treats with higher mathematics; nevertheless, when direction is given to such an undertaking the results car. be most revealing. Likewise, it is to be mentioned that the bases for these mathematics have been developed on the expediency of the occasion. This is not to be inferred as a qualification of this work, but rather the demands frequently placed upon the author in his private prac- tice in meeting a time limit. A situation, instead of being fraught with hazards, often has given emphasis to creative thought. What will be entailed in this work is the simplification of the material balance formulas by the Laplace Transformation., Although this reveals entirely new horizons that will be given expression in a forthcoming tract, it suffices in the present instance to limit our attention to this phase of the development that treats both with an undersaturated and saturated oil reservoir. To orient the reader's thoughts as to what is involved in this simplification is the recognition that reservoir pressure, as such, is an inexplicit term in the material balance equation. This is the independent parameter that defines the total history of performance in the author's' unsteady-state water influx formulas, as well as the basis for the physical dependency of fluid behavior within the formation as prescribed in the Schil-thuis' material balance equation. Therefore, to isolate reservoir pressure, which is the most essential factor in any reservoir study, is rather a cumbersome procedure entailing either a trial-and-error calculation for the engineer; or as some prefer, a reiteration process performed on a computing device. However, once such an equation can be transcribed as a Laplace transformation, this inexplicitness so expressed can be alleviated to identify reservoir pressure as an explicit function of all the factors contributing to its change. This is the simplification encompassed, that will treat first with an undersaturated oil reservoir as an integrated effect from the inception of production, and secondly, with a saturated oil reservoir as a survey traverse. Although the two approaches are necessarily different because of the uhvsics involved. it is an interesting commentary that the mathematics are identical, showing the interdependency of the two methods. In order to acquaint the reader with this development, the simplest case will be treated first; namely, an under-saturated oil reservoir subject to a linear water drive. However, what may be construed for this example as an idealistic case is actually a most practical application in certain parts of the world, where the size of the fields are so large that radial water-drive approaches the configuration of a linear drive. Further, to avoid the repetition of much symbolism, frequent references will be made to the work of the author and an associate on Laplace Transformations3,

By J. Paone, S. Tandanand

This paper studies the behavior of rock at the initial state of crater formation resulting from stresses created under a drill bit. The purpose of this study is to determine which mechanical properties of rock are important in rock fragmentation by drilling. Although a definite relation between the drilling strength and relevant mechanical properties has not been established, maximum yield strength or hardness of rock is apparently a parameter of drillability of rock. The strengths of rock were considered from the Mohr-Coulomb criterion from which the surface of failure was constructed. The results from previous triaxial tests on Solenhofen limestone were adopted in establishing a limit of failure. Inelastic behavior of Solenhofen limestone was observed under a low velocity impact of a hemispherical bit and under static indentation with a similar bit. Permanent set at low applied loads in the indented area was measured with an interferometric technique. A quantitative determination of strengths of the rock was made under static indentation. The maximum yield strength estimated from the average stress over the contact area for plastic deformation was used as the crushing strength of rock under a drill bit. Much research has been done on energy requirements and mechanisms of energy dissipation to perfect rock fragmentation by a drilling process. But more needs to be done. More needs to be known about the mechanisms of energy dissipation or failure criteria of rocks in the drilling process in order to evaluate the efficiency of energy requirements in specific rock fragmentation. This paper examines some published studies on rock failure and energy dissipation and presents some findings in that phase of research concerned with rock fragmentation by drilling. This work is specifically concerned with rock behavior at an early stage of failure induced by a concentrated load. Consideration is limited to the primary phase of the crater formation under drill bit, i.e., before chipping takes place. Failure Phenomena of Rocks: Failure of rocks can be classified into two types, fracture and plastic flow. Both involve separation of material to form new surfaces with complete or partial loss of cohesion. Fracture is further classified as extension (or cleavage) fracture and shear fracture. Extension fracture involves separation in a plane without shear stress component, while shear fracture involves slippage along a plane as a result of combined stresses. Then, shear fracture inclines to the axes of the principal stresses. Plastic flow occurs under combined stresses, especially at high confining pressure and temperature, and denotes macroscopically irrecoverable deformation of rocks. Flow mechanisms have been classified as in-tergranular failure, intragranular gliding, and re-crystallization of mineral constituents.6 Failure phenomena in rocks are complicated because they include fractures and plastic flow as well as a friction process developed intrinsically as the internal stresses increase. All can occur in one rupture process, depending on the varying stress conditions. Both fracture and plastic flow are encountered in rock drilling. Rock failure under a drill bit as observed in drop tests simulating a single blow of a percussion drill, consists of two types, crushing and chipping. Crushing is considered as a separation of material particles by many fractures resulting from the application of high compressive stresses exceeding the strength of rock at the contact area. Chipping results from subsurface fractures extended to the face surface; this phase is preceded by crushing or surface deformation. The state of stress under the drill bit and the strength of rock create and control these two types of failure. The state of stress under the bit and in the vicinity of the contact area depend on the bit configuration and the magnitude of applied force. The strength of rock, characterized by its ability to resist penetration, depends on its composition and structure. However, the term "strength" quantitatively defined, is still ambiguous and may or may not correspond to the tensile, compressive and shear strength obtained from simple tests. Rock Failure Criterion: Rocks are weak in tension, their tensile strength being many times less than their compressive strength. This characteristic excludes

Jan 1, 1967

By R. J. Wagner, F. F. Craig, H. G. Riley, J. D. Griffith

Peripheral water injection has been underway in the Sholem Alechem Fault Block "A" Unit, Stephens County, Okla., since 1955. In the engineering planning of the flood, it was recognized that maintenance of pressure in the large, dry gas caps was vitally necessary to prevent the loss of an estimated 27 million bbl of oil through saturation of the gas caps by the oil banks moving updip on the peripheral flood pattern. The development of an abundant, low-cost water supply and the rising cost of makeup-gas purchases indicated that gas-cap control by water injection was desirable from an economic standpoint, provided an eflective water barrier could be placed without premature water breakthrough into downdip oil producers. A laboratory model scaled to the existing reservoir conditions was comtructed to evaluate the feasibility of gas-cap water injection. Model studies indicated that (I) water injected at the edge of the gar-oil contact would form a continuous barrier between the oil and gas zones, and (2) water would advance uniformly downdip without segregation due to gravity effects provided a specified, minimum water-injection rate was maintained. The model test results also indicated that it was not necessary to fill the gas cap completely with water. Water injection at the edge of one of the gas caps was initiated in March, 1958, to field test gas-cap water injection. Water breakthrough occurred at a downstruc-ture producing well in April, 1959, after approximately 2.5 million bbl of water had been injected into the gas cap. This was the volume calculated to be required to form the barrier between the oil zone and gas cap. This performance indicates that prevention of oil encroachment into dry gas caps in a peripheral water flood by water injection at the gas-oil contact appears practical and that the model studies provided a valid prediction of field performance. INTRODUCTION The Sholem Alechem Fault Block "A" Sims Sand Unit was one of the fist major waterflood projects in Oklahoma to utilize a peripheral injection pattern. Design of control measures to minimize oil encroachment into the large crestal gas caps was one of the greatest single problems during engineering planning of this flood. Engineering studies indicated that saturation of the gas caps with oil displaced by the peripheral water flood could result in a loss of about 27 million bbl of oil, or over one-half the estimated waterflood recovery. This estimate was based on a residual oil saturation after water flooding of 35 per cent pore volume, compared to the negligible oil saturation initially in the gas caps. The Sholem Alechem Springer field, located in Stephens County, Okla., is an elongated anticline with structural dips varying from 400 to 1,000 ft/mile. The structure contains numerous faults, some of which are sealing. The portion of the field considered in this paper is Fault Block "A", which is the largest of the five major fault segments in the field. A map of the unit is shown on Fig. 1. The unit is bounded on the east and west by major sealing faults, on the north by a water-oil contact and to the south by a deterioration of sand development. Two domes, each having gas caps, exist in the unit and are separated by a north-south fault as shown in Fig. 1. The sands being flooded are the Sims sand members of the Springer series of early Pennsylvanian age. The Sims sands average over 100 ft in thickness in Fault Block "A" and have a porosity of approximately 19 per cent. Core permeabilities average 160 md, with interstitial water saturation of about 23 per cent pore volume. Three different zones can be correlated over most of the area. However, they are commingled in most of the producing wells. The two upper zones, designated as First and Second Sims, are the most important. Both the First and Second Sims have gas caps in the east dome, while only the First Sims has a gas cap in the west dome. These gas caps, whose limits are also shown on Fig. 1, initially occupied nearly 11 per cent of the total reservoir volume. The major concern of this paper is the control of the two gas caps in the First Sims sand. Fig. 2 is a cross section, to scale, across the east dome of this formation. Notable features are the relatively shallow dip, the deterioration of the First Sims sand on the south side of the gas cap and the water-oil contact on the northern edge. The formation dip at the gas-oil contact in this cross section is approximately 5".

By J. C. Bradbury

The year of the Centennial is upon us. Not only is AIME marking its 100th birthday, but the cement industry is also celebrating 100 years of activity (see article by Roy Grancher, page 48). Fort Dodge, Iowa, and gypsum also tried to get into the act but missed by one year. Frank Apple-yard's gypsum article (page 53) informs us that the Fort Dodge area has been producing gypsum continuously for 99 years. That would seem to make AIME and the industrial minerals doddering oldsters. Not so-our Institute shows more energy than ever, and the word for industrial minerals is growth. These are the mineral resources of the future, the raw materials for the abundant life to come

Jan 1, 1971