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By T. R. Wright

IN few mining regions in the world are the ores so varied and complex as in the Andes of central Peru. Consequently, in few localities is one company engaged in so many and such diverse metallurgical operations as the Cerro de Pasco Copper Corp. Concurrent with the mining of complex lead-zinc ores in Peru, and the consequent expansion of the Corporation's metallurgical activities, a department of metallurgical research was established in 1927 at La Orova. Facilities were provided for research in ore dressing, hydronivtallurgy pyrometallurgy, electrometallurgy, and analytical chemistry. In addition to laboratories. various pilot plants were built, including a concentrator, leaching plant, "by-product" smelter, and electrolytic refineries. These pilot plants are not diminutive units; they are designed and equipped as semicommercial plants for operation on a continuous 24-hour basis thus assuring the duplication of pilot plant results in actual practice. In general, the sequence in the development of metallurgical operations hasbeen as follows: (1) investigations in the laboratory to determine the most effective and economical method of treatment; (2) continuation of the research project on a pilot-plant scale when the evaluation of the laboratory

Jan 1, 1945

By Joseph A. Holmes

I. INTRODUCTORY. THE plans for the investigation of fuels and structural materials now being conducted by the Technologic Branch of the United States Geological Survey were, before being decided upon by the Director of the Survey, submitted for consideration to the National Advisory Board, upon which there are nine representatives from the membership of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, viz.: Messrs. John Hays Hammond, Robert W. Hunt, B. F. Bush, and E. V. d'Invilliers (representing the Institute); Messrs. Julian Kennedy and C. S. Robinson (representing the Iron and Steel Institute); Dr. Charles B. Dudley (representing the American Society for Testing Materials); Mr. F. H. Newell (representing the U. S. Reclamation Service); and Dr. Richard Moldenke (representing the American Foundrymen's Association). It seems fitting, therefore, that a report of these investigations of the past three years should be submitted to the Institute for publication in its Transactions. The above, together with other representatives of the national engineering societies and allied organizations, were invited by President Roosevelt to serve, along with the Chiefs of the several Government Bureaus who have charge of public works and large. fuel purchases, on the National Advisory Board to give advice concerning these investigations. The appointment of this National Board grew out of a wish on the part of the President, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Director of the Geological Survey not only that the appropriations for these investigations be expended in a manner most beneficial to the several branches of the government

Jan 7, 1908

By G. H. Cutter

SAFETY in mining depends on wire rope to as great, if not greater, extent than in any other industry. Sudden failure of a shaft-hoist rope might easily result in death or serious injury to the operators and workmen, extensive damage to expensive equipment, and a loss in production while repairs are being made. A wire rope is only as good as its component parts. It must be made from wire properly drawn and treated. It must be fabricated on machines large enough and capable of imparting the necessary qualities to meet the stringent service conditions. However, unless the fundamental requirement of good ropemaking is recognized, all other operations, no matter how carefully performed, will not impart reliability and quality to the product. This fundamental requirement is steel that is homogeneous, of high resistance to fatigue, and of a type suitable for rope wire. Most wire-rope manufacturers agree that rope wire should be made from acid-open-hearth steel. It is comparatively easy to meet the same physical properties with basic steel, but such properties are only part of the requirements for good wire. It is absolutely necessary, particularly for rope service such as mining, where reliability is essential, that the wire be uniform throughout its entire length. Most manufacturers feel that this highly important requirement is better met by acid-open-hearth steel.

Jan 1, 1936

By J. F. Myers, F. M. Lewis

C. G. McLACHLAN*-I have read this paper with considerable interest and wish to congratulate the authors on the care with which they carried out their experiments and for the detailed sizing data they have presented. 011 the other hand I do not feel that these data establish their contention that "with other factors the same, the work accomplished in a fine crushing rod mill is directly proportional to the rotating speed." My reason for making this statement is that their conclusion is based on the percentage of minus 65 mesh material produced at each of the speeds at which their tests were run. The rod mill is, however, not a fine grinding machine and therefore figures based on minus 65 mesh production are figures outside the range at which it operates to best advantage. Further, if rod mill performance is to be judged on the production of such material it should have been established that a rod mill will produce it as effectively as a ball mill. To check this last point I have gone over some of the rod and ball mill grind-ing figures for our Waite-Atnulet operation and find that the ball mill at that property produces more minus 65 mesh material per horsepower than the rod mill. Moreover, this comparison is even more favorable to the ball mill if it is limited to minus 100 mesh production. It therefore seems to me that the most satisfactory basis on which to try to com-pare the performance of the rod mill in the present case is by taking a weighted average of all the new surface produced per horsepower. W. H. Coghill3 has published data which can be applied to the sizing figures presented by the authors, and if this is done the units of new surface per horsepower produced in the Tennessee tests are as follows: Admittedly the increment of increase in new surface per horsepower shown in the foregoing figures is not great, but its trend is nevertheless definitely in favor of slower speed operation, for the conditions under which these particular tests were run. I also feel that some information regarding liner contour should have been given as I think it will be found that a mill which is equipped with liners which lift the rod load can be run at a slower speed than a mill in which the liners are comparatively smooth. J. F. MYERS and F. M. LEWIS (authors' reply)—The position taken by Mr. McLachlan is to be respected even though we are all aware of the faults of surface considerations. As he points out. the increment of increase is very small. It is so small in fact that for all practical purposes it does not conflict with the conclusions of the paper. The authors appreciate Mr. McLachlan's comprehensive study of the data.

Jan 1, 1950

EXPLORATION U.S. 4,065,972 - Exploration for subsurface ore bodies of uranium. mercury or other inorganic or organic minerals having specific gases associated thereto Small gas sample containers are planted in a plurality of shallow holes in the surface of the earth in a predetermined pattern and left in place for a period of time sufficient to collect migrating gases. Each container includes a gas collection chamber and means for admitting gases at a predetermined flow rate. Strips of detector material which is sensitive to specific gases are mounted in the collection chamber. Recovered containers are subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis. F. W Holub and H. W. Alter, assigned to Terradex Corp Jan. 3, 1978. 9 pp (73-421 5R) Filed 5-24-76 (689,710) Same. British 1,498,737, dated Jan. 25, 1978

Jan 1, 1979

By P. T. Gallagher, W. A. Oates

THE partial excess entropy of interstitial solutes in metals, SXS , has usually been interpreted as being principally vibrational ever since the initial statistical treatment of hydrogen in metals by Fowler and Smith-ells. The vibrational entropy is considered being due to the optical modes of the light interstitial atom. Little attention has been given to the magnitudes of the values of SXS'. Leiser and Witte2 and Ebisuzaki and O'Keeffe3 have noted that for hydrogen in metals Si is approximately constant for different metals. On the other hand if it is assumed that the interstitial solute is an isotopic defect then, as shown by McLellan, SXS should vary from metal to metal as follows: where S is the standard entropy of the solvent and Mi, M, are the masses of the interstitial and solvent atoms. respectively. Fair agreement with this equation was found for oxygen in silver and nitrogen in iron4 and for carbon in iron.= Ln a subsequent analysis of metal- hdrogen systems McLellan' found a variation of $' from metal to metal but not in a manner expected from the isotopic impurity equation. However, a possible correlation between the energy of solution, Ei, and sf was noted. Similar correlations have been noted for certain dilute substitutional solid Solutions 7, 8 and recently Kubaschewski 9 has demonstrated a correlation between integral heats and ex-

Jan 1, 1970

By Charles Y. Clayton

THE general public does not know that there is such a thing as metallurgy and it is very seldom that you see the word metallurgy in print except in technical magazines. Perhaps it is more to the front now than in former years; the Dee. 30, 1929, issue of Time mentioned under the heading of "Science7' certain new achievements in metallurgy, which may be cited as a rare instance of the use of the word in anything but the technical press. Too often the part the metallurgist plays in the advancement of the different branches of engineering is overlooked. To say that the public does not know there is such a profession as metallurgical engineering seems to be a bold statement, but had there beep time a questionnaire could have proved this beyond doubt. Suppose a carefully-planned questionnaire had been sent to all high school students asking them, among other questions, to list the different branches of engineering, I believe that the several professions would have been listed in this manner: (1) Electrical engineering; (2) mechanical; (3) civil, and (4)' mining. One in each hundred might have listed metallurgy as an engineering profession. Even the Society for the Promotion of Engineering Education in its Bulletin No. 10-"Investigation of Engineering Education" lists Civil, Mining, Mechanical, Electrical, and Chemical, leaving out Metallurgical Engineering.

Jan 1, 1930

By J. E. Lawver, J. D. Raulerson, Charles C. Cook

The agriculture industry has made great strides during the past decade to increase agriculture yields through increased use of fertilizers. Increased use of fertilizers may prevent, or at least delay, mass starvation due to the alarming increase in world population. Phosphate was added to soil as a plant nutrient in the form of calcined bones at least 2000 years ago (Anon., 1964), and man has used phosphate minerals as a source of fertilization in one form or another for at least 100 years. During 1977 the world produced about 116 Mt of phosphate rock, with about 86% used for fertilizers and another 4% for animal feed supplements. More than three-fourths of the total production comes from the United States, Morocco, and the Soviet Union. From a mineral beneficiation point of view, the major sources of phosphate rock and the methods of beneficiation can be classified as follows: marine deposits not containing appreciable carbonate minerals, marine deposits requiring a francolite carbonate mineral separation, igneous deposits not containing appreciable carbonate minerals, and igneous deposits requiring apatite carbonate mineral separation. [ ] Guano, mostly from Chile and Peru, accounts for 0.1% of the total world production, and the calcium phosphates from Ocean, Nauru, and Christmas Islands and the aluminum and iron phosphates from Brazil and Aruba account for less than 4% of the world production and are thus not considered in this classification (Lawver, et al.). At present, marine phosphorite deposits account for about 75% of the world's production; the igneous deposits account for 20%. The igneous deposits low in carbonate minerals are easily concentrated by crushing, grinding, and apatite flotation. The most important igneous deposits are those of the Kola Peninsula, USSR (Woodrooffe, 1972). The igneous deposits high in carbonate materials are of corn appreciably more difficult to beneficiate, but they have been concentrated by froth flotation for a number of years. An interesting but rather complicated flowsheet of this type is at Phalabonva, in the Republic of South Africa (Lovell, 1976). The Phalaborwa deposit is an igneous complex of pyroxenite with a central core of carbonatite surrounded by a serpentine- magnetite-apatite rock called phoscorite. The phoscorite containing about 10% P2O5, 35% magnetite, and 35% calcium magnesium carbonate is currently being processed. The process involves comminuting the material for fiberation and subjecting it to a copper float using a potassium amyl xanthate as collector and triethoxybutane as a frother followed by a magnetic separation of the tailings to produce a feed for phosphate flotation. This process produces a phosphate concentrate containing greater than 36% P2O5 at a P2O5 recovery ranging from 75 to 80%. Considerable success has been claimed for recovering apatite from carbonate-bearing ores at the Jacupiranga Mine of Serrana S/A (Silva and Andery, 1972). The carbonatite currently being mined contains an average of only 5% P205 and is concentrated using a unique flotation process (Andery, 1968) to yield 96% P205 concentrates. The ore contains about 12% apatite, 5% magnetite, 80% calcite plus dolomite, and minor amounts of phlogopite, olivine, zircon, ilmenite, and pyrochlore. Feed preparation consists of crushing to -31.75 mm (-1 M in.), rod milling in closed circuit with hydrocyclones to about 92% (-50 mesh), and two-stage cyclone desliming of the -50 mesh sands at 20 m. Weight recovery in the deslimed feed is normally 85 to 88% and the corresponding P2O5 recovery is usually about 90%. The deslimed feed is conditioned at 60 to 70% solids for 15 min at pH = 8-10 with 0.6 kg/t of causticized starch for iron oxide and calcite-dolomite depression. The conditioned slurry is diluted to 20 to 30% solids, about 0.2 kg/t of fatty acid or soap collector is added to the conditioner discharge, and the reagentized ore is subjected to rougher-scavenger flotation with additional fatty acid added to the scavenger float. The scavenger concentrate is returned to rougher circuit distributor, and the rougher concentrate froth is subjected to two stages of cleaner flotation to yield a final apatite concentrate analyzing 36 to 38% P205. Flotation recovery of P205 is, in general, above 90% when treating fresh carbonatite. The high-carbonate flotation tails normally analyze 1 % P2O5 or less and are suitable for portland cement production. The marine deposits. Types 1 and 2 of central Florida are representative of enormous reserves of phosphate rock that will undoubtedly account for much of the world's production in the near future. Until very recently the sedimentary deposits high in carbonate minerals (Type 2) have not been considered reserves due to the difficulty in making a francolite-carbonate separation. Although no commercial plant has yet been built to beneficiate Type 2 ore, laboratory and pilot plant data indicate the process is viable. If so, the reserves of Florida and similar deposits throughout the world will be substantially increased. A discussion of the beneficiation of these two types of sedimentary deposits and the relation of the resulting concentrates to the fertilizer industry of the United States is the subject of this paper.

Jan 1, 1981

By AIME AIME

MOTHER example of the broad field that is covered by the mining industry is the recent erection by the Phelps Dodge Corp. of a modern hospital building at Douglas, Ariz., and an identical one at the rejuvenated mining town of Morenci. Managers of even small mining properties are often called upon to build schools, houses, stores, maybe a jail, and provide sanitary arrangements, possibly the while acting as mayor of the town. Those who direct larger properties may have to build hospitals, as in the present instance, construct sewage disposal plants, and sometimes even build and manage railroads. A mining camp achieves its reputation among mining men not entirely by the grade or amount of its ore, or the skill of the operating staff in mining and milling it at a profit-the operation soon acquires a reputation as either a desirable or an undesirable place to live, regardless of its remoteness from what is euphemistically termed civilization. Such a community is indeed fortunate if it can boast of a good hospital.

Jan 1, 1940

By S. C. Dhara

A process of solvent extraction and separation of platinum group metals (PGM) and gold using primary, secondary, tertiary, and quarternary organic amines has been briefly described. The effects of amine structures; the use of diluents; the principle of synergism and antisynergism in the mixed extractants; the oxidation states of metal ions are explained in the amine extraction process of precious metals.

Jan 1, 1984

By AIME AIME

THE Tuesday afternoon session", H. A. Bedworth chairman and T. S. Fuller, vice-chairman, was opened with D. J. McAdam, Jr.'s paper entitled "The Influence of Cyclic Stress on Corrosion." This paper dealt with the influence of cyclic stress on corrosion of alloy steels, corrosion-resisting steels, monel metal and aluminum alloys. The paper was discussed by T. S. Fuller, who pointed out that steels under stress corroded more than unstressed steels when subjected to steam.

Jan 1, 1930

By Gray L. L., Max Littlefield, Godbold A. C.

The West Edmond pool of Central Oklahoma, a limestone reservoir, has an area in excess of 29,000 acres and as of Sept. 15, 1946, had produced 53 million barrels of oil from 731 wells at an average depth of 6900 ft. Water has encroached into the reservoir along the west side of the pool and although the area of water invasion is large the net volume of water influx is small, because encroachment has been primarily into a fracture system. The most significant part of this study concerns the character of the Hunton reservoir. Geological study of cores of the producing section was made to supplement core-analysis data. It was determined that approximately 90 pct of the pore volume was contained in intergranular or sand-like porosity and 10 pct in fractures (intermediate porosity). The porous limestone is divided into blocks by the fractures, although in the strongly dolomitic parts of the producing section, fractures are less well developed. The low-permeability intergranular porosity, largely subsidiary to the high-permeability fractures, will produce oil into the fractures by evolution of solution gas. The fractures in effect serve as drainage channels for production of oil from the inter-granular porosity. Because of such a large difference in permeabilities of the two com-ponents, a high degree of by-passing will occur, and, accordingly, the economics involved in undertaking full-scale high pressure gas injection operations have been seriously questioned. Introduction The West Edmond Hunton pool, which covers portions of Canadian, Logan, Oklahoma, and Kingfisher Counties in Central Oklahoma, is the largest reservoir producing oil from a limestone in the state. The total area of the pool comprises about 29,240 acres and development is considered to be essentially complete. In all, 731 producing wells have been completed in the Hunton reservoir at an average depth of approximately 6900 ft, and have yielded a cumulative oil production in excess of 53 million barrels as of Sept. 15, 1946. In addition to wells completed in the Hunton limestone, 21 wells have been completed in the Bartlesville sand at a depth of approximately 6500 ft, which have produced a total of 730,000 bbl of oil. One small producer has been completed in the Cleveland sand at a depth of 5700 ft. However, a study of only the Hunton limestone reservoir will be presented in this paper. The most significant phase of this study concerns the special type of geological core examination that was made in an effort to ascertain the type and degree of porosity in the rock in accordance with lithologic types. Results of this geological study showed the west Edmond pool to be of such a complex nature as to appreciably affect the behavior normally associated with homogeneous reservoirs. Recognition of this condition in the

Jan 1, 1948

By Max Littlefield, Godbold A. C., Gray L. L.

The West Edmond pool of Central Oklahoma, a limestone reservoir, has an area in excess of 29,000 acres and as of Sept. 15, 1946, had produced 53 million barrels of oil from 731 wells at an average depth of 6900 ft. Water has encroached into the reservoir along the west side of the pool and although the area of water invasion is large the net volume of water influx is small, because encroachment has been primarily into a fracture system. The most significant part of this study concerns the character of the Hunton reservoir. Geological study of cores of the producing section was made to supplement core-analysis data. It was determined that approximately 90 pct of the pore volume was contained in intergranular or sand-like porosity and 10 pct in fractures (intermediate porosity). The porous limestone is divided into blocks by the fractures, although in the strongly dolomitic parts of the producing section, fractures are less well developed. The low-permeability intergranular porosity, largely subsidiary to the high-permeability fractures, will produce oil into the fractures by evolution of solution gas. The fractures in effect serve as drainage channels for production of oil from the inter-granular porosity. Because of such a large difference in permeabilities of the two com-ponents, a high degree of by-passing will occur, and, accordingly, the economics involved in undertaking full-scale high pressure gas injection operations have been seriously questioned. Introduction The West Edmond Hunton pool, which covers portions of Canadian, Logan, Oklahoma, and Kingfisher Counties in Central Oklahoma, is the largest reservoir producing oil from a limestone in the state. The total area of the pool comprises about 29,240 acres and development is considered to be essentially complete. In all, 731 producing wells have been completed in the Hunton reservoir at an average depth of approximately 6900 ft, and have yielded a cumulative oil production in excess of 53 million barrels as of Sept. 15, 1946. In addition to wells completed in the Hunton limestone, 21 wells have been completed in the Bartlesville sand at a depth of approximately 6500 ft, which have produced a total of 730,000 bbl of oil. One small producer has been completed in the Cleveland sand at a depth of 5700 ft. However, a study of only the Hunton limestone reservoir will be presented in this paper. The most significant phase of this study concerns the special type of geological core examination that was made in an effort to ascertain the type and degree of porosity in the rock in accordance with lithologic types. Results of this geological study showed the west Edmond pool to be of such a complex nature as to appreciably affect the behavior normally associated with homogeneous reservoirs. Recognition of this condition in the

Jan 1, 1948

By Michael Hoch, Daniel B. Butrymowicz

The isothermal section of the Ta-Ti-Zr-0 system at 1500°C was investigated using X-ray diffraction and rrzetallographic techniques. Up to 71.4 at, pct 0 the system contains nine four -phase regions. Zsopleths at 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 at. pct 0 were constructed. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the general shape of the quaternary equilibrium phase diagram of tantalum, titanium, zirconium, and oxygen at 1500°C. The system was truncated at 66.7 at. pct 0 on the Ti-0 and Zr-0 binaries and at 71.4 at. pct 0 on the Ta-0 binary. The Ti-Zr-0 system was investigated in this laboratory.' The binary systems of interest have been compiled and discussed by Hansen and Anderk, chmidt, Hayes, Roberson, and asche, and Hoch and athur.' EQUIPMENT The Same equipment as that for the study of the Nb(Cb)-Ti-Zr-0 system was used.' The X-ray dif- fraction patterns were analyzed with the help of the ASTM card set7 and NBS circulars.' MATERIALS The tantalum powder (99 pct pure), the titanium powder (99.6 pct pure), the tantalum pentoxide, and the zirconium dioxide used in this study were purchased from the Fairmont Chemical Co., Newark, N.J. The zirconium powder (99.4 pct pure) was obtained from the Charles Hardy Co., Inc., New York. Reagent-grade titanium dioxide was purchased from the Matheson Co., Inc., Norwood, Ohio. The oxides were dried in air at 700°C for 24 hr before use. Though the materials used were not "hyper-pure", the impurities present do not affect the results (lattice parameters, phase boundaries), within the experimental accuracy. PROCEDURE The samples were heated by induction in a vacuum furnace, and examined metallographically and by X-ray diffraction at room temperature. The procedure was the same as that in the Nb(Cb)-Ti-Zr-O work,' EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF DATA A four-component system can be represented by a tetrahedron at a single temperature and pressure

Jan 1, 1964

J. E. Johnson, Jr., Glen Wilton, Va. (communication to the Secretary*):—Mr. Meissner announces early in his paper that one of its purposes is the discussion of my paper entitled, Notes on the Physical Action of the Blast-Furnace,' with which he disagrees in part; and as the second stage of the discussion of this important subject has centered around his paper, some reply by me may not be amiss. Unfortunately, Mr. Meissner has not indicated a single statement or conclusion in my paper that he wishes to controvert; but as there is evidently a difference of opinion between us I will disregard this fact, and will discuss those conclusions of his that seem to me not to be justified by the facts of general practice, or even by the data which he produces to support them. Let me say, however, that I am a believer in the dry-air

Jan 1, 1908

By Emil-Paul Lorenz

Considered as a whole, the mineral resources of the Turkish Republic (Anatolia) are in their untapped virgin state, and the little development shown is not the result of modern systematic geologic exploration but the continuation of the ancient open-pit mining methods of the Orient. When I came to Turkey in 1924, I found myself confronted by a formidable task because of the lack of preliminary geologic mapping. Today this condition has not essentially changed; less than one per cent of the country is covered by topographic mapping adequate for modern requirements. However, I was able to bring a semblance of order in a presentation of the mineral deposits of this country, by tracing the story of the mineral deposits that showed surface evidence of their existence. At present only the easily discovered mineral deposits of coal, copper, and lead-silver ores are being exploited. In the case of coal, of 3,000,000,000 metric tons available, only 100,000,000 have been mined. The same is also true for copper, lead-silver, and other ores, as shown in Table 1.

Jan 1, 1948

By Oliver Bowles

WAR necessities have spurred inventive genius in many fields. A grinding mill without any moving grinding parts stirs the imagination. Among the new and striking accomplishments in the heterogeneous group of nonmetallic industrial minerals is the use of an electric arc to speed up manyfold the difficult and delicate task of drilling a microscopic hole in a diamond, the hardest of all known substances. Outstanding in the field of optical research is the ability that man has developed to improve upon nature by making in the laboratory optical crystals many times larger than those usually found in rocky crevices. These are merely samples of numerous events and circumstances of noteworthy import, many of which are recorded in this review. Termination of the second World War in 1945 permits an appraisal of the effects of the conflict and the probable effects of the coming restoration of a peacetime economy on the nonmetallic mineral industries. Some industries were stimulated greatly by the war, notably mica, quartz crystal, graphite, spinning asbestos, potash, fluorspar, barite, and refractories. The large-tonnage industries connected with the building trades, however, were forced to curtail their activities, except where their products were needed for wartime construction. Their reconversion to peacetime production will not be difficult.

Jan 1, 1946

By H. A. Guess

AT the outset, said Mr. Guess, I may say that although I believe the present engineering courses in the various colleges and universities could be arranged to give the student within the same time limit a broader general education of un- doubted value, still I do not agree with the view held by many that engineers in comparison with those of other occupations-let us say doctors, lawyers, bankers, and so-called business men-seldom arrive at high executive positions. After all, we must remember that engineers are not very numerous as compared with the occupations just mentioned and therefore a lesser number reaching high executive positions stated numerically might be a larger number stated as a percentage. We all know there must be throughout the United States say three doctors to one engineer, but I don't think that even numerically there are as many doctors in high executive positions as engineers, and it is a fortunate thing for the country that doctors as a class are so busily engaged in alleviating sickness and suffering and in the advancement of medical science that they do not aim particularly for high executive positions.

Jan 1, 1926

By L. N. Cosner, C. F. Austin, J. K. Pringle

Shock wave attenuation studies with three igneous rocks are reported: a spessartite elastic to low intensity stress waves, a diorite which is anelastic, and a porous scoria. The level of shock passing through a given thickness of rock has been determined by donor-receptor methods using high speed streak cameras. Test results include shock propagation velocities adjacent to the explosive, the dependence of test results upon test geometry, and the variation in shock wave attenuation in these three common igneous rock fabrics. The utilization of explosives in rock mediums involves a series of interrelated phenomena. These are the detonation process within the explosive, the transfer of energy from the explosion products to the surrounding rock medium in the form of sound or shock waves, and the transmission of the resulting waves through the rock medium to create damage in the rock mass. The subject of this paper is the investigation of the close-in phenomena that occur in the intensely shocked rock immediately adjacent to a detonating explosive charge. The specific aspects studied include propagation velocities, free surface velocities, pulse attenuations and the determination of the equations of state for the test rocks employed. In addition, a series of tests was conducted to indicate the dependence of the test results on the charge diameter utilized. The equations of state for rock materials have been investigated by a number of authors. Lombard, ',' Grine and Fowles,3,4 Zharkov, 5 Hughes and McQueen,6 Chabai,7,8 and Bass9 have published equation of state data on rock materials similar in structure or composition to those investigated in the study. Rinehart10 has prepared a voluminous tabulation of the available equation of state data from these publications and in addition has included data on many other rock and earth materials in his compilation. The reader is referred to the extensive tabulations and bibliography of Rinehart for classical studies involving the equations of state of metals and other solids and liquids. The problems of sympathetic detonation between drill holes in hard rock environments has received the attention of various authors as have the problems of explosive rock coupling close-in stress wave attenuation and explosive diameter effects. 11 to 18 In particular, the don or-receptor geometry of this report is very similar to the geometry of adjacent drill holes in rock. Most published pulse velocity and attenuation work in rock has been devoted to velocities at much lower amplitudes than those associated with close-in explosives phenomena and most attenuation studies involve transmission and attenuation across large spans of material. Excellent work in these areas has been published by the U. S. Bureau of Mines and by many individuals and groups engaged in geophysical research. SELECTION OF TEST MATERIALS A series of rock materials was desired for this test program that would be meaningful industrially, and that would also yield comparative results from a research viewpoint. Based on the availability of a series of related petro-fabrics, for which there is an abundance of physical and shock response data, three igneous rocks were selected as the test series. The applicability of shock wave studies in igneous rocks to industrial problems is readily demonstrated. Hardrock tunneling, quarrying and mining take place in igneous rocks throughout the world. From a research point of view, igneous rocks exhibit a wide variety of grain sizes and considerable diversity in composition, yet the common igneous rocks have a general similarity in their constituent mineral structures and in their grain-to-grain bonding mechanisms. The latter is based on the concept of rock formation through magma cooling and crystallization, though the degree of liquefaction in granitic plutonic masses is indeed a moot question. Three specific types of igneous rock were chosen for study. A coarse-grained granitic textured rock was desired that would serve as a representative of the widely abundant intrusive rocks of the world and

Jan 1, 1967

By I. H. Silberberg, R. L. Reed, O. K. Kimbler

interfacial films have frequently been observed at interfaces between certain crude oils and water. Several investigators have postulated that the presence of these films should influence the efficiency of oil recovery in water drive or waterflood operations. They may also influence the stability of emulsions which are sometimes a problem in petroleum production, and may be a factor in the fonation of paraffin deposits in oil well tubing and flow lines. This paper presents a technique with which a modified Langmuir film balance may be used to study the compressibility and collapse pressure of these natural interfacial films. Experimental data are presented for several nude oil-water systems. Data developed are used to infer the phase state of the film as a function of such variables as rate of reduction of interfacial area, ionic composition of the subtrate and pH of the subtrate. A film of known physical characteristics is shown to have a sinnificant effect on oil recovery from an unconsolidated sand pack. Possible applications of these results to petroleum production are discussed. INTRODUCTION The use of water to displace petroleum from reservoir rocks is of major importance both as a primary and a secondary recovery process. As water invades the rock, oil is completely displaced from some pores and left as a discontinuous phase in other pores. The manner in which water moves from pore to pore is strongly influenced by capillary forces. In view of the complexity of reservoir fluid systems, there can be little doubt that complicated interactions take place at both the liquid-solid and oil-water interfaces. One of the more interesting, and least understood, of the phenomena which take place at the oil-water interface is the formation of interfacial films. These films are believed to result from the adsorption of high molecular weight polar molecules at the interface.l.2 Presence of such molecules may cause a striking alteration in interfacial tension. When the oil-water interfacial area of certain crudes is rapidly reduced, a thin region (film) about the interface assumes the appearance of a solid membrane, and striations, wrinkles and gross distortions may occur. If such a film is solid, it should greatly alter the interfacial tension normally assumed to exist between the oil and water phases. If the membrane is continuous, a solid phase would separate the oil and water. Interfacial films between crude oil and water were observed in 1949 by Bartell and Niederhausers who commented upon the apparent rigidity of the films and their possible importance in the petroleum industry. Morrell and Egloff4 had earlier attributed the extreme stability of emulsions of sea water in fuel oil to very stable asphaltic films. Numerous investigators have observed rigid films in the course of crude oil-water interfacial tension determinations by the pendent drop method. Several investigators5,6,2 have separated inter-facially active materials from crudes and attempted to characterize them chemically. Reisberg and Doscher,2 using Ventura crude, showed the interfacial tension against water (as measured by the pendent drop method) to be affected by aging, contraction and expansion of the interface, and the pH of the water. These investigators attributed the adhesion of oil to a water-wetted surface and the distortions of flow paths in glass capillaries to the presence of rigid films. Dodd7 has studied the interfacial viscosity of adsorbed films and found them to be non-Newtonian in behavior. Craighead and Harvey8 reported a series of displacements in tubes packed with 60 mesh glass beads. They interpreted the results as indicating an effect of stearic acid films on waterflood recovery and imply that natural films may produce similar results.

Jan 1, 1967