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By L. E. Wilsey, R. A. Morse, P. L. Terwilliger, Howard N. Hall, P. M. Bridges

Theoretical and experimental investigations of a constant pressure gravity drainage system are reported. Experimental data are presented to show that recovery to gas breakthrough by gravity drainage is inversely proportional to rate. The gravity drainage reference rate, which is numerically equal to the so-called "maximum theoretical rate of gravity drainage" is shown to have no particular significance from a recovery standpoint. Before this rate can be used as a basis of comparison for recoveries, it is necessary that the relative permeability and capillary pressure characteristics and displacing fluid viscosities be identical for the systems compared. A method is presented by which accurate prediction of the performance of a gravity drainage system can be made. Close agreement between experimental and calculated drainage performance shows that steady state relative permeability and static capillary pressure data can be used to describe fluid displacement behavior. The very wide range of liquid recoveries before gas breakthrough which result from production rate variation alone demonstrates the importance of this factor in planning depletion of a gravity drainage reservoir. Calculated results are presented which show that little additional recovery can be expected from a high pressure gravity drainage system between the times of gas breakthrough and attainment of such high gas/liquid ratios as to make further pressure maintenance impractical. INTRODUCTION It bas been recognized for some time that gravity forces play an important part in the recovery of oil from some types of reservoirs. Field experience has shown that under certain conditions, gravity drainage can result in very high oil recov- eries. Qualitative reasoning has led most engineers to the general conclusions that: (1) Where gravity drainage is important, the reservoir pressure should be maintained by gas injection at the crest of the structure to prevent shrinkage of the oil in place and to keep a low viscosity so the oil can drain at the fastest possible rate. (2) Recovery by gravity drainage is rate sensitive. A survey of the literature indicates that while considerable work has been done on the effects of gravity in oil production problems, no satisfactory method of calculating the performance of gravity drainage reservoirs has been reported.1,2,3,4,5 In the absence of any proven method of calculating reservoir performance, the level at which pressure should be maintained and the rate of production for most efficient operation has been open to debate. The limits and general character of the recovery us rate relationships are apparent from the following: As rates of production approach zero, oil will drain by virtue of its own weight fast enough that the saturation distribution is always approximately the same as the original static capillary distribution. That is, at the gas-oil contact the liquid saturation goes from 100 per cent to a value of perhaps 10 to 30 per cent in a very short distance, so that as production continues. a relatively sharp gas-oil contact moves down-structure, leaving a very low residual oil saturation in the originally oil saturated zone. At very high rates of production, the oil that drains by virtue of its own weight is negligible and recovery will approach that of a horizontal gas drive, leaving a much higher residual oil saturation. At intermediate rates of production. recovery should be between these extreme*. Despite the lack of quantitative methods, tentative agreement had been reached on the question of optimum producing rate. It has been generally concluded that rather sharp decrease in recovery would occur at rates of production above the "maximum rate of gravity drainage" and hence this rate should not be exceeded. The "maximum rate of gravity drainage" is defined as the rate of production from a 100 per cent

Jan 1, 1951

By Tony B. Szwilski, K. Unrug

INTRODUCTION Since the introduction of longwall coal mining systems, reliable predictions of roof support requirements at the face and the roof caveability in the gob area have been major contributors to the success of the longwall face by means of safety and face productivity. That is, the successful operation of a longwall is well-served by good regular caving of the gob. In recent times, with the advent of increased coal face mechanization and capital investment, the evaluation of the feasibility of longwall mining has become essential. In the United States, where a face unit for a face length of about 150 metres may cost around $6 million, a quantitative system that would assist in selecting the best equipment for the coal would prove extremely beneficial. There have been many such varied investigations in the past few years. A vast -amount of work has been invested principally by West Germany [3, 7, 8, 91 , Poland [I, 101 , United Kingdom [4, 5, lo], France [4], and South Africa [4]. It is the object of this paper to review this previous research work and give an outline that may be used as guidelines for long- wall evaluation. Essentially, for the initial design phase for a longwall system, account must be taken of the geometry of the coal panel, its position relative to the surface (depth), direction of the coal cleat system, faults and in-situ stresses and other neighboring workings in the same coal seam and other seams both above and below. The advance of the coal panel disturbs the stress field and in doing so creates an abutment zone around the face. At this stage the condition of homogeneity of the surrounding rock mass does not apply. The magnitude of the rock strata pressure may exceed the ultimate strength of the rocks and create zones of clastic, plastic and elastic material, the limits of which are difficult to determine. The collapse of the gob and resulting expansion of the displaced waste roof rock, create a statically undefined support complicating an already unclear rock structure. For example, it is often a point of debate whether, indeed, the vertical strata pressure develops to regain the original magnitude of virgin stress. Under these post-failure circumstances an analytical approach based on simplified and idealized assumptions can only be considered a very general approximation. Theoretical concepts, however, may be adequately supplemented by empirical methods that are based on numerous underground observations and surveys [3, 4, 7, 8]. These methods employ the use of rock indices that very handily correspond to the competence of the roof rock mass. Scale model work [3, 41 , using equivalent materials representing the surrounding rock mass within the coal seam zone, have given valuable qualitative and sometimes quantitative data in addressing the behaviour of the rock mass around longwall panels. To characterize the state of art of caveability predictioqthe principal concepts will be reviewed with special emphasis placed on practicality for the planning of longwall operation. It has been the general observation of the authors that many of the literature surveys published in English often neglect reference to other international mining literature. It is with this point in mind that an overall review has been written including mining concepts identified with the principal coal mining countries. THEORETICAL CONCEPTS Arching Theory For the development of this theory, assumption has been made that an extracted height, h, in a coal seam results in an extracted panel of width, w . Also, the coal seam is horizontal and the rock strata of both the roof and floor are homogeneous. The primary (virgin) stress distribution will change in the roof as well as the floor. As a result of lack of support caused by the excavation (in the gob area) an additional load is developed due to the redistribution of the load around the sides of the panel, referred to as the abutment, R, where: [ ]

Jan 1, 1982

By S. W. Zehr, G. S. Murty, W. A. Backofen

AN observation by Squires, Weiner, and phillipsl has stimulated interest in a mechanism of deformation at high temperature (above -0.5 of the absolute melting point) that is not usually thought to be involved in the creep of metals. They found precipitate-free or "denuded" zones along grain boundaries normal to the stress axis in tensile specimens of a hydrided Mg-1/2 wt pct Zr alloy after slow straining at 450° and 500°C. Their suggestion that the zones were a result of directional diffusion of magnesium atoms was supported with calculations from Harris and Jones2 which also tended to identify the process as Nabarro-Herring (N-H) creep3,4—a process that is characterized by Newtonian viscosity, with stress (o) directly proportional to strain rate (C), and one that proceeds by lattice diffusion. Material transport by diffusion along grain boundaries is an alternative basis for Newtonian viscosity, as demonstrated by Coble,5 and is favored over N-H creep for fine grain size and lower temperature.6 In either case, the strain rate sensitivity of flow stress, defined as m = d log o/d log E (which commonly appears in the empirical a = KEW), is unity. The experiments to be described here gave metallo-graphic indications of diffusional creep which were no less clear than those just cited, but the associated m (as measured by the method of Ref. 7) was much more like that of a Bingham material. For true Bingham behavior, (a — ao) E, where oo is an initial yield stress. Therefore, even if flow after yielding should occur by diffusional transport, m must increase from 0 as < is raised to reach unity only in the limit as One result is that the resistance to tensile necking conferred by Newtonian viscosity is lost, which would become increasingly apparent through the formation of more sharply defined necks as 6 is lowered. That trend appeared in these experiments. Most of the work was done on an extremely finegrained alloy of magnesium with -6 wt pct Zn and ½ wt pct Zr (Mg ZK60); the initial mean-intercept grain diameter, L, was 0.55 µ. Shown in Fig. l(a) is a germanium-shadowed carbon replica of the surface of a specimen that was coated with silicone oil,* heated to 270°C under a helium atmosphere, and then stretched locally -200 pct at an initial E = 3.3 x 10-5 sec-1. Under

Jan 1, 1969

By R. J. Reynik, F. R. Meeks

IN the classical paper1 of Mehl and Rhines entitled "The Rates of Diffusion in the Alpha Solid Solutions of Copper", the authors state: "It has been mathematically demonstrated that the treatment of the data as though the diffusion were taking place between two flat plates instead of radially in a cylinder has no appreciable effect upon the results. Were the bars of a much smaller diameter, a modification of the analytical treatment would have been required." Unfortunately, the errors in the reported concentrations are much too large to neglect, as shown in the results below. A planar treatment of diffusion data assumes that the reference planes separated by a nominal distance (AX) have identical areas. An adjustment must be made on the concentration data should the successive diffusion planes differ in area. The Mehl-Rhines&apos; diffusion samples were cylindrical with copper electroplated onto copper-based alloys. Successive surface areas through which diffusion occurs are in the ratio ri/r1, where ri is the radial distance between the center of the sample and the center of the i th shell to which the host (alloy) atoms diffuse, and r1 is the radial distance between the center of the sample and the center of the innermost (i = 1) experimentally reported shell from which the alloy atoms diffuse. Hence, ri/r1 (i = 1, ..., n layers) is a dimensionless correction factor to be multiplied by the reported concentration data before planar-data analysis is attempted. In the forty-seven samples reported, the original interface between the copper alloys and the electroplated copper was located at a mean distance of 8.255 mm from the center of the samples. The successive layers, machined off the samples, were approximately 0.0762 mm thick. The distance (xi) at which concentration (ci) was reported was always a distance measured with respect to the original interface, that is, with respect to the fixed distance of 8.255 mm. Hence, the as yet undiscovered Kirkendall Effect was precompensated. The values of ri and r1 are therefore given by ri = 8.255 + xi and Y, = 8.255 + x,. The illustrative table below lists the position xi (mm), ri (mm), the value of ri/r1, the reported concentration (ci) in weight percent (only valid for radial analysis of data), and the corrected concentration [c&apos;i = (ri/r1)ci] in weight percent (only valid for planar analysis of data). Similar tables can be constructed for the remaining forty-six samples. The corrected data can be used to re-evaluate the diffusion coefficients for the reported systems.

Jan 1, 1965

By G. Cartaud, F. Osmond

WE have already devoted two previous memoirs to this question. In the first we collated and discussed the existing literature on the subject; in the second, we described the crystalline forms obtained by the reduction, at different temperatures, of ferrous chloride by hydrogen or by zinc-vapor. The conclusion from these researches was that the three allotropic states of iron-a, stable below A2; 19, stable between A2 and A3; and 7, stable above A3-all crystallize in the cubic system. The differences observed were such as are customarily encountered in the crystallographic records of many minerals of which allotropic varieties or isomerides are not known, but did not conform to the ordinary definition of polymorphism. It is, however, improbable that allotropic transformations, which are placed beyond doubt by a series of positive facts, do not involve some changes in the intimate structure. As a matter of fact, the crystals we did obtain were too small to allow of a precise examination, and this might introduce an element of uncertainty in the firm establishment of our conclusions. Professor H. Le Chatelier was even led to think from some of our results that iron could very well be a rhombohedron simulating a cube, and not a true cube, and it will be remembered that the crystalline form of bismuth was for a long time incorrectly regarded as cubic. Allotropy does not, however, necessarily involve such a deduction. Without departing from the cubic system at all, a whole

Nov 1, 1906

By M. J. GAVEN

COMING over from the plant on the Denver and Rio Grande yesterday afternoon I was an interested listener to a smoking-room conversation that had to do with the experimental plant near Rifle. The people who were talking didn&apos;t know me and I didn&apos;t know them, but I learned quite a little. I understood that the plant would never operate; that it was not intended to operate; that the "oil trust" would keep it from operating; that our tramway had eaten up all our money and still was not working and would not work; that the plant was run by a bunch of kids, and that the superintendent was probably the biggest kid of the bunch. I plead guilty to the latter. But the people who were talking were misinformed. The plant is producing oil. The first sample of oil that came from our unit at the Bureau of Mines experimental plant at Rifle, Colo., was produced on Sept. 18, the first that came out of the condenser, and it is still coming. This sample of oil may mean to the United States what the first oil produced from the first well meant.

Jan 1, 1926

By Charles E. Glass

A steadily growing body of evidence indicates that earthquake ground motions can cause failure of rock slopes that are otherwise stable under static loading conditions. As a result, the economic optimum working slope angle is reduced when earthquake shaking is considered in surface mine design, especially in regions of high seismicity. When designing surface mine slopes to withstand seismic motion it is as important to consider the probability of experiencing various levels of ground shaking as it is to consider the characteristics of the ground motion. For most slope designs, simple probabilistic techniques such as extreme value or maximum likelihood techniques are appropriate. These techniques, however, should be applied in such a way that a probability value is assigned to characteristic ground motion parameters at the mine rather than to nearby earthquake magnitudes. Several techniques have been developed to analyze rock slopes subjected to dynamic loads. Most of these techniques do not adequately account for the ground motion parameters of concern. The best technique appears to be one that utilizes actual earthquake time histories. A simple technique that calculates block displacement for any input accelerogram, using a linear acceleration approximation between time steps, has been developed that accurately accounts for rock block response. Results using this technique indicate that the following factors are important for assessing rock slope stability in earthquake regions:

Jan 1, 1983

By Peter Nalle

12.3-1. Reporting. NEED. It seems almost unnecessary to comment on the need for reporting research and development results and activities, and yet much of the difficulty and misunderstanding surrounding a Research and Development (R&D) group results from poor or nonexistent reporting. Certainly no evaluation can be made without reports of results or plans. It is as important to report accurately and fully for the department&apos;s own use as it is for external use. Research unreported might as well be considered research undone. This section will discuss, in part, the need for reporting, the general types of reports which may be generated to satisfy the need, and finally, the evaluation of a project as judged by various commonly used standards. PURPOSE. Some specific observations might be appropriate concerning the reporting of R&D results. The requirements and background of the group receiving the report must be considered. A particular report is usually directed towards the background of a particular group, such as ((technical," "operational," "financial," or "marketing." It is essential that the emphasis and coverage be geared to the training of people receiving the report. It should be obvious that the financial department will be less interested in the technical details of the process and more interested in the capital funds and tax implications involved in the project. Operating personnel will be greatly interested in the effects of a new method on mining plans, and so on. This does not mean that the reporting in any way should slight pertinent details, nor should a patronizing attitude be assumed by the writer. However, it is essential that the needs of the reader be recognized. For reports that might have large and varied distribution, it is often feasible to group, either as sections or appendixes, the special details and information of interest only to certain functions within the organization. A

Jan 1, 1968

By C. A. Meissner

THE following is a further discussion of the paper of James Gayley, " The Application of Dry-Air Blast to the Manufacture of Iron " (Trans., xxxv., 746), with special reference to his sup-plementary paper (Bi-Monthly Bulletin, No. 4, July, 1905, pp. 797 to 819), and. to the paper of J. E. Johnson, Jr., "Notes on the Physical Action of the Blast Furnace " (Bi-Monthly Bulletin, No. 5, September, 1905, pp. 1111 to 1146). Mr. Gayley&apos;s paper has been discussed also by E. Windsor Richards, R. W. Raymond, E. H. Saniter, W. J. Foster, H. M. Howe, V. Pendred, B. H. Thwaite, James Gayley and Alexander Pourcel (Trans., xxxv., pp. 1022 to 1042), Joseph W. Richards (Bi-Monthly Bulletin, No. 4, July, 1905, pp. 703 to 718); T. W. Robinson (Bi-Monthly Bulletin, No. 4, July, 1905, pp. 788 to 796) ; C. B. Dudley, R. W. Raymond, J. E. Johnson, Jr., W. F. Mattes, James Gayley, David Baker, John Birkinbine and F. E. Bachman (Bi-Monthly Bulletin, No. 5, September, 1905, pp. 1147 to 1152);.E. de Mille Campbell (Bi-Monthly Bulletin., No. 1, January, 1906, pp. 25 to 50) ; John Birkinbine (Bi-Monthly Bulletin, No. 1, January, 1906, pp. 137, 138). At the Washington meeting of the Institute, May, 1905, a very instructive and interesting paper was presented by Mr. J. E. Johnson, Jr., entitled " Notes on the Physical Action of the Blast Furnace,"&apos; in which reference is made to Mr. Gayley&apos;s dry-blast process. A few of Mr. Johnson&apos;s conclusions, as summarized in the last pages of his paper, do not appear to me to be in complete accordance with the results obtained at the Isabella furnaces; and I therefore present the following notes which may throw further light on this subject: Mr. Gayley has called attention to the fact that the moisture in the air is an extremely variable and uncertain factor; and

May 1, 1906

By GEORGE D. RAMSAY

WHEN the Ironton blast furnace of the Columbia Steel , Co. was first put into operation the iron ore was mined frol11 the deposit near Iron Springs, Utah. This is principally a hematite with 12 to 20 per cent of magnetite finely disseminated throughout the ore. It varies from a fairly soft broken rock structure to that which is hard and compact. In the broken form it will weigh about 150 lb. per cu. ft., and in place the density is approximately 250 lb. per cu. ft. The first ore received for the blast furnace was crushed so as to pass through approximately a 4-in. square opening screen. A typical screen test of this ore is shown in Table 1.

Jan 1, 1935

By David B. Reger

Exploration for new pools of gas in the Oriskany sand and continued exploitation of areas already known to be productive in that sand were the main features of petroleum activity in West Virginia during 1938. To a considerable extent the exploration program resulted in failure, but the extension of former areas was eminently successful. Throughout the state, in general, less drilling was done than in 1937. According to the West Virginia Department of Mines, only 631 permits to drill were issued, as compared to 1034 in 1937. The account of operations, as reported by trade journals and other sources, shows that 766 wells were drilled, resulting in 131 oil wells with 1609 bbl. of daily production; 484 gas wells with 1,232,216,000 cu. ft. of daily open flow; and 151 dry holes. Several discoveries indicate new pools of oil and gas; and several extensions of old gas pools have been made. In spite of a decreased number of total wells, the figures for new gas and oil are both larger than in 1937. The new oil average is 12.3 bbl. per well per day; the gas average is 2,545,900 cu. ft. per well per day, the ratio of dry holes to completions is 19.71 per cent. No general attempt was made to discover new pools of oil. A continued low price, coupled with reduced takings, combined to make drilling unattractive. The principal oil wells completed, by counties are: Boone, 6; Calhoun, 10; Clay, 7; Gilmer, 5; Kanawha, 5; Lincoln, 7; Pleasants, 13; Ritchie, 32; Roane, 6; Tyler, 7; and Wirt, 14. Production for the year, according to the Oil and Gas Journal, was 3,724,750 barrels. The leading counties in gas, with the number of successful wells in each, are: Boone, 16; Braxton, 13; Cabell, 47; Calhoun, 29; Doddridge, 10; Gilmer, 55; Kanawha, 127; Lincoln, 18; Ritchie, 29; Wayne, 19; and Wetzel, 26. Production for the year is estimated as 150,000,000,000 cubic feet. Pipe-line construction, which was extensive in 1937, was insignificant in 1938. Exploration was not as active as in 1937. Field prices of both oil and gas have severely declined.

Jan 1, 1939

By David B. Reger

Exploration for new pools of gas in the Oriskany sand and continued exploitation of areas already known to be productive in that sand were the main features of petroleum activity in West Virginia during 1938. To a considerable extent the exploration program resulted in failure, but the extension of former areas was eminently successful. Throughout the state, in general, less drilling was done than in 1937. According to the West Virginia Department of Mines, only 631 permits to drill were issued, as compared to 1034 in 1937. The account of operations, as reported by trade journals and other sources, shows that 766 wells were drilled, resulting in 131 oil wells with 1609 bbl. of daily production; 484 gas wells with 1,232,216,000 cu. ft. of daily open flow; and 151 dry holes. Several discoveries indicate new pools of oil and gas; and several extensions of old gas pools have been made. In spite of a decreased number of total wells, the figures for new gas and oil are both larger than in 1937. The new oil average is 12.3 bbl. per well per day; the gas average is 2,545,900 cu. ft. per well per day, the ratio of dry holes to completions is 19.71 per cent. No general attempt was made to discover new pools of oil. A continued low price, coupled with reduced takings, combined to make drilling unattractive. The principal oil wells completed, by counties are: Boone, 6; Calhoun, 10; Clay, 7; Gilmer, 5; Kanawha, 5; Lincoln, 7; Pleasants, 13; Ritchie, 32; Roane, 6; Tyler, 7; and Wirt, 14. Production for the year, according to the Oil and Gas Journal, was 3,724,750 barrels. The leading counties in gas, with the number of successful wells in each, are: Boone, 16; Braxton, 13; Cabell, 47; Calhoun, 29; Doddridge, 10; Gilmer, 55; Kanawha, 127; Lincoln, 18; Ritchie, 29; Wayne, 19; and Wetzel, 26. Production for the year is estimated as 150,000,000,000 cubic feet. Pipe-line construction, which was extensive in 1937, was insignificant in 1938. Exploration was not as active as in 1937. Field prices of both oil and gas have severely declined.

Jan 1, 1939

By Walter McKee

WHEN mixed with common cast steel in quantities ranging from 11 to 13 ½ per cent. and properly treated, manganese increases the ductility of the metal and adds greatly to its toughness and resistance to abrasive action, which properties comprise the distinctive characteristics that make manganese steel so valuable for many purposes at the present time. Manganese steel has been manufactured for about 26 years. .It was first made in a small way in England and subsequently produced in the United States in 1892. At present the manganese-steel foundries of this country have an annual capacity of about 60,000 tons and most of the growth has occurred within the past 10 years. In the early days of the industry it was impracticable to make manganese castings weighing over a few thousand pounds, but at present crusher heads, rolling-mill pinions, and similar castings weighing up to 30,000 lb. each are produced, and it does not appear that the limit of weight has been reached by a considerable margin. Manganese steel is similar in analysis to ordinary first-class converter metal except that it is high in carbon and contains from 11 to 13 ½ per cent. of manganese. From one standpoint manganese steel is similar to malleable iron in that the casting as it comes out of the sand is hard and brittle and must be made ductile by a heat-treating process. The heat treatment is an essential part of the process of making manganese-steel castings and must be properly carried out to secure satisfactory results. The necessity for heat treatment limits the thickness of sections which may be made of manganese steel. Originally the annealing depth was comparatively small, but researches carried on during the past few years have resulted in an increase in the thickness of section up to 5 ½ in., which it is possible to treat successfully. Large castings are cored out to a minimum thickness of 5 ½ in., thus not only eliminating some of the internal stresses which are invariably set up in a very thick casting, but also reducing the weight and inertia of the piece, an

Jan 12, 1915

By David B. Reger

Extensive drilling for gas and increased pipe-line building were the major petroleum activities in West Virginia during 1937. According to the West Virginia Department of Mines, 1034 permits to drill were issued. A running account of operations from trade journals and other reports shows that 1041 wells were drilled, resulting in 193 oil wells with 1238 bbl. of daily production; 680 gas wells with 1,048,057,000 cu. ft. of daily open flow; and 168 dry holes. The new oil-well average is 6.4 bbl. per well per day; the gas-well average is 1,541,260 cu. ft. per well per day; the ratio of dry holes to completions is 16.13 per cent. Very little attempt was made to develop new supplies of oil. Because of the continued low price, operators evidently considered it good business to leave oil in the ground rather than to produce it at a loss or on a small profit basis. The principal oil wells completed, by counties, are: Calhoun, 16; Clay, 10; Pleasants, 17; Ritchie, 42; Roane, 16; Tyler, 13; Wetzel, 11; Wirt, 14; Wood, 13. The leading counties in gas, with the number of successful wells in each, are: Boone, 54; Braxton, 31; Cabell, 48; Calhoun, 46; Gilmer, 82; Kanawha, 134; Lincoln, 44; Ritchie, 56; and Wayne, 26. General State of the Industry In Table 1 will be found an approximate summary of oil and gas territory and reserves, oil and gas production and number of oil and gas wells. The amount of land under lease is an approximation, because the exact figures are not available through any public or private agency. The proved land and reserves represent the opinion of the writer. The oil production for 1937 is subject to revision, and the gas production for the same year is only an estimate, based on demand and supply. The number of oil and gas wells now active is also an approximation, based on previous studies, and revised for completions and abandonments. Principal, Areas of Activity In Boone County, 62 wells were drilled in various localities, resulting in 4 oil wells and 54 gas wells with 18,170,000 cu. ft. of new production.

Jan 1, 1938

By Wilson B. Emery

The Hidden Dome gas field, situated in Washakie County, Wyoming, was discovered Sept. 26, 1917. Subsequently five additional gas wells were completed and a large reserve was developed. For a number of years this field completely supplied the domestic market at Basin and Greybull, as well as the refinery at the latter town, and it is still supplying gas in small amounts to this market. Production is obtained from the sands of the Frontier formation at depths ranging from 1000 to 1500 ft. The original rock pressure was 725 Ib. and initial production ranged from 4,000,000 to 28,000,000 cu. ft. per day per well. Porosity of the sand, determined from the size of the productive area and the amount of gas recovered, is over 18 per cent. Area and Management It is estimated that the productive area is about 640 acres. Its outline is indicated on Fig. 5, on which are also shown the locations of holes drilled on the structure and the area of unit operation. The unit area is owned by the Ohio Oil Co. and development and operation have been by this company. No productive well has been completed outside this area. The entire area was Government land filed on under the placer mining law. Results of Unit Operation With six producing wells, or an average of one to each 160 acres, the pool is completely developed. Location of the wells was made with respect to structural conditions plus the requirement that at least one well be drilled on each 160-acre placer claim. Perhaps a somewhat more uniform spacing of the wells might have been accomplished and one well eliminated, but it must be borne in mind that the holes, on account of their shallow depth, were not expensive and that the object was to develop as reliable a reserve as possible. There is no cause to suspect that these holes have not adequately drained the reservoir and there is every reason to think that any additional wells, which might have been drilled under diversified ownership and operation, would have been an economic waste. Unit operation by a competent company has not only resulted in the elimination of loss of gas through careless development and operation

Jan 1, 1930

By E. W. Dewing

The nature of solid solutions of sodium in non-paphitic carbon at temperatures near 1000°C has been investigated by an electrolytic technique. The activity coefficient is found to vary strongly with the heat-treatment temperature of the carbon, and an analysis of the energy terms involved suggests that this is due to variations in the Fermi level. The diffusion coefficient for sodium is in the range implying that the sodium atoms (or ions) are not bound to specific sites on the carbon, in agreement with lack of evidence for specific compounds in the activity -composition curves. In the light of These results phenomena occurring in aluminum reduction cell linings are dis-cussed. It is concluded that sodium migrates by diffusion through the carbon lallice and not the pores, and that A14C9 is formed within the lining hy The excess of NaF invariably found in used linings is formed by this reaction and by air oxidation: There has recently been much interest in the swelling of carbon which occurs when it is made cathodic in an aluminum electrolysis cell, and there is general agreement that the phenomenon is due to the penetration of sodium atoms, derived from the reaction on the carbon lattice. (NaF and AlF3 are constituents of the fused-salt electrolyte.) The low-temperature lamellar compounds of potassium with graphite are well-known, and one compound between sodium and graphite has been reported.4 There is, however, virtually no information on the basic chemistry of the interaction of sodium with nongraphitic carbon at high temperatures, although Dell3 has made some fundamental studies of rates of penetration. At the time the present work was carried out these were not available. Rapoport and samoilenkol had measured rates of physical expansion in a dilatometer, using the fractional increase in length of a carbon specimen after electrolysis in a cryolite bath for 2 hr as an index of susceptibility to cathodic swelling. Work here with a similar apparatus showed that expansion (of a 1.5-in.-diam cylindrical specimen) ceased in less than 20 hr, and that the final expansion was much more reproducible than the value at some intermediate time. This suggested that an equilibrium was being set up, and that a thermodynamic approach was required. The results obtained are not as accurate as had been hoped, but they are the only ones of their type available and have enabled useful conclusions to be drawn. The experimental work was divided into two parts: an investigation of the activity-concentration diagram for sodium in carbon, and a rough determination of the diffusion rate. For the former, most of the experiments were made with petroleum coke even though this is not a form of carbon used in cell linings. It has the advantages, however, that it is a homogeneous material, that it is low in ash, and that its structure is reasonably well understood. Anthracites and coal cokes gave results of the same type as obtained with petroleum coke, but the reprodu-cibility from specimen to specimen was extremely poor. EXPERIMENTAL 1) The Activity-Composition Diagram for Sodium in Carbon. The petroleum coke was ground, pressed at 40,000 psi into plates 19 by 9 by 2 mm without added binder, and heat-treated. The sodium activities were established by an electrolytic technique. The carbon was made anodic in a cryolite bath with an aluminum cathode, and a controlled potential, E, applied so that the sodium activity at the anode was given by ln Na = 1n asa - EF/RT [21 where as, is the sodium activity generated by Reaction [I]. The relative activity is sufficient for many purposes and is simply given by The value of Na not at present known, but when the thermodynamics of the Na-A1 system have been worked out it can be derived from the equilibrium

Jan 1, 1963

By Frank Firmstone

It is proposed to consider here only comparisons made between results obtained when the materials employed are precisely the same, two furnaces at the same works for example, or the same furnace under different conditions as respects temperature of blast, method of charging, etc. With this limitation, the most important point in the comparison is the amount of fuel consumed per ton of iron. This, in fact, is the only item in the prime cost of the iron which can properly be said to vary in consequence of changes in the furnace process; for of the other principal items, the ore used per ton of iron, and also the amount of fluxing material, will depend on its richness, which, under the assumed conditions, will be practically invariable when taken over any considerable period; the labor cost also, from its nature, should be very nearly constant when estimated on the ton of iron. Moreover, as it consists principally in handling and moving material, it is greatly affected by circumstances quite independent of

By Hans Lundberg

IN ORDER to comprehend the help and information that may be expected from electrical prospecting, it is necessary to have at least a general knowledge of the methods and principles involved in preparing and interpreting results obtained in the field. Electrical prospecting is rather complicated, both in theory and practice, and in order to make a brief description clear to the practical mining man it has been necessary to idealize and generalize the problems, at the risk of having such simplification criticized by the theoretical man. This simplification must not be misinterpreted as showing a lack of theoretical knowledge. FIG. 1.-FLOW OF CURRENT IN AND AROUND A CONDUCTING BODY. For its operation, electrical prospecting mainly depends on the fact that most metallic ores conduct an electric current much more readily than barren rocks. If an electric current flows through a block of ground within which a body of chalcopyrite is enclosed in country rock of schist, the current will find less resistance to its passage through the chalcopyrite than through the schist, even though the passage through the latter be much shorter. This is because the longer path through the chalcopyrite offers less resistance, owing to the superior electrical conductivity of the chalcopyrite (Fig. 1).

Jan 1, 1928

By Maurice Grieves

The great majority of shafts constructed today are still excavated by drilling and blasting, a method which changed very little in over 100 years until the introduction of the mechanical lashing unit and cactus grab by the South Africans, which enabled muck to be removed as fast as massive hoisting systems could handle it and resulted in very rapid rates of sinking. Record breaking month&apos;s performances were achieved at -Hartebeestfontein No. 4 shaft, October 1960-337.1 m; Western Reefs No. 4 shaft, October 1961-340.7 m; and Buffelsfontein eastern twin shaft, March 1962-381.2m. The method was very labor-intensive, requiring a crew of over 60 workers at the shaft bottom during the drill cycle. Safety precautions were strict, but in the drive to achieve rapid advance, cases of personal injury were still somewhat high because of the large number of people engaged in this potentially hostile environment. The South African method, as it came to be referred to throughout the rest of the world, was adopted in the United Kingdom in the late 1950s in a modified form with greatly reduced manpower and nonsimultaneous sinking and lining, which was insisted on by the British Mines Inspectorate. In that instance, it was successfully used to sink the 7.3-m-diam concrete-lined shafts at Kellingley to 770 m depth, with rates of advance of over 90 m/month achieved, a British record at that time. During the sinking of the 1.15-km-deep twin shafts at Boulby potash mine in the UK in 1970, the method was again used, but for the first time ever in Britain exemptions from the mining code permitted the use of crash beams, crash doors, jack catches, and semi-simultaneous sinking and lining techniques. New British shaft sinking records of over 120 m/month were achieved in both shafts. Similar equipment and techniques were used in the early 1970s to sink several deep shafts in Canada, notably Creighton #7 and the Con zinc mine at Yellowknife in the NW Territories. Today, this equipment is standard for deep shafts in the US and the rest of the world. However, with the tremendous escalation in mining labor costs, the impact of health and safety legislation, and environmental regulations, coupled with a very real shortage of miners willing to work in this exposed situation it was apparent that an alternative to the labor-intensive conventional method of shaft construction had to be found. Recognizing the trend is inevitable, one or two major German shaft sinking contracting firms began to take a fresh look at full face boring techniques applied to tunnels and raise bored shafts. The results were most encouraging. Tunnel drivage techniques using moles had developed considerably from Colonel Beaumont&apos;s original channel tunnel machine circa 1880 to the superbly engineered Priestley machine selected to cut the British side in 1975 and the double shielded Robbins Grandori borer on the French side of the English Channel. Full face tunnel machines were being successfully used to drive uphill in inclined shafts in Austria and Switzerland. At Mapprag in Switzerland, the Demag mole drove the first (intentional) vertical transition and curve, and then went on to successfully complete the 730-m-long penstock shaft at an inclination of 35°. In Austria, the Wirth mole drove the Kaprun Glacier ski-lift railcar tunnel at record breaking rates of 457 m/MONTH (best 30 m/d) through green schist at an inclination of 29° for a distance of 3.35 km while the Hydro tunnel at Sarrelli in Switzerland was being driven by the Robbin&apos;s mole at an inclination of 35°. Simultaneously, extremely promising results were obtained using large assemblies of cutter discs on raise borer heads, such as the 4.87-m-diam X 460-m-deep shaft raised by Teton for Jim Walter Resources Inc. Bearing in mind that most mine shafts in the future (unless in exceptionally competent rock) will require some form of lining, and the trend will be toward deeper shafts as the more easily accessible mineral deposits become exhausted, it was seen that normal raise boring had definite limitations in vertical accuracy, in the limitation imposed by the drill string on the available torque that could be applied to the cutter head, and in the risk of collapse of the unsupported shaft rock wall in friable or jointed and fissured ground, since it is not possible to apply any form of temporary support until the permanent lining is being installed. A further problem was the economics of installing a subsequent lining, necessitating setting up a headgear and hoisting arrangement approaching in size that required for conventional drill and blast sinking and lining. Because of the economics, German contractors opted for a phased transition from drill and blast to the full face, rodless, out of the solid shaft mole, by starting off with a down-the-hole shaft boring machine -without a drillstring-but using a pilot hole to get rid of the muck.

Jan 1, 1982

By R. E. Hudrlik, G. W. Preckshot

The diffusion coefficients of silver from solid silver in molten lead were measured to within ± 0.8 pet in a columnar type diffusion cell ower, the temperature range of 326° to 530°C. Fick&apos;s law describes the process up to 530°C where the laminar mechanism appareltly breaks down. These is negligible resistance at the interface as shown by mathematical analyses. The diffusion coefficients are found concentration independent. IT would seem that diffusion in liquid metals would be free of such effects as molecular structure, dissociation. polarization. and compound formation. This view was taken by Gorman and preckshot in their study of diffusion of copper from solid copper into molten lead. They reported diffusion coefficients which were independent of the concentration over the range of 478° to 750°C. They found that the Stokes-Einstein equation with constant radius of the diffusing specie represented the diffusion data better than Eyring&apos;s rate theory equation and Sheibel&apos;s correlation. The radius of diffusion was found to be that of the doubly charged copper. There appeared to be no resistance across the solid-liquid boundary. In the present work the diffusion coefficients for silver in liquid lead were measured over a range of temperatures of 350° to 505°C. The solubility of silver in lead over the range of 303° to 630°C was also obtained. These results are compared with calculated or correlated values or with data in the literature. EXPERIMENTAL Procedure—The experimental equipment techniques and procedures were those reported in detail by Gorman and preckshot9 and will not be repeated here. Measured values of WT, Co, A. L were obtained for various diffusion times and the diffusion coefficient was computed for the case of no resistance at the interface9, 11 by: WT/CoAL = 1- 8/p2 n=1 1/(2n - 1)2 exp[-(2n - 1)2p2 Dt/4L2] [1] or where there was resistance at the interface by: WT = 1- ?n=1 2h2/ap2L [sxp [-Dan2t]/[(h2 + an2) L + h] The roots an are those of the transcendental equation3 tan (an L) = Iz/cun. The diffusion coefficient is that defined by Hartley and Crank.7 The total silver in the lead cylinder and equilibrium slug was determined by a cupellation technique&apos; with proper correction for losses. Analysis of known samples showed that this method is surprisingly accurate. The amount of silver in the lead adhering to the silver cylinder was obtained in the same fashion as shown by Gorman and preckshot.9 The small errors involved in this determination are not critical since the silver in this adhering lead layer is only 3 to 15 pet of the total diffused. Materials—Electrolytic silver containing 99.9+ pet Ag obtained from General Refineries of Minneapolis, Minn. was used for all but runs 7 and 8. For the balance of the runs this silver was reduced with hydrogen at 1100°C and its oxygen content was found to be about 0.017 pet. For the runs. 7 and 8, phosphorous-reduced silver of the same purity was obtained from Handy and Harman Co. of Chicago, Ill. The densities of the phosphorus-reduced silver and the hydrogen-reduced electrolytic silver were 10.484 and 10.487 g per cm3, respectively. These values agree with those reported for pure silver. Silver which was reduced at 900 C had an average density of 9.998 g per cm3, indicating porosity. This silver was used for a number of runs which were not tabulated in Table I. These are indicated by crosses on Fig. 2. The 99.999 pet Pb was obtained from the National Lead Co. Research Laboratory of Brooklyn, New York. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS The diffusion and solubility results are reported in Table I for eleven runs using either phosphorus-reduced electrolytic silver or hydrogen-reduced silver at 1100° C. The solubility data shown in Fig. 1 show the excellent agreement with that reported by Heycock and Neville.8 The data of Friedrichs5 apparently are in error. The experimental solubility data of this work are reported to 0.3 pet. The experimental diffusion coefficients computed from Eq. [1] are reported within 1.2 pet of the mean and are plotted in Fig. 2. These are expressed within +0.8 pet of the experimental values over the entire temperature range by: D= 8.26 x 10 -5 e-1925/RT . [3] There appears to be little difference due to the

Jan 1, 1961