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By Frank J. Tolonen, Nicholas H. Manderfield, Paul Jasberg

EARLY in the study of the low grade iron formations of Michigan, wide variations in their structure and texture became evident. Because of these variations no simple method of concentration is possible, and those portions of the formations that can be exploited profitably under a given stage of metallurgical progress and existing economic conditions must be searched for carefully. Both structure and texture of the formations have an important bearing on their amenability to beneficiation. By structure is meant the banding planes of easy fracture, the porosity, and the degree of leaching. Texture, which includes grain sizes, shapes, and degree of interlocking, determines the amount of grinding necessary to liberate the mineral grains. Structure determines the liberation of portions richer in one mineral. Structure and texture may be termed the gross features of the formation

Jan 11, 1957

Total U.S. mineral production reached an estimated $17.8 billion for 1960, 4 pct above 1959 and second only to the record high of $18.1 billion established in 1957. As a group, metals achieved a rise from $1.6 billion in 1959 to $2.0 billion this year, an increase of 28 pct. Similarly the value of nonmetallic production including fuels (i.e., natural gas, petroleum, natural-gas liquids, asphalt and related bitumens, carbon dioxide. anthracite. bituminous and lignite coal, peat, and helium) rose from $15.5 billion in 1959 to approximately $15.8 billion in 1960. However, this 2 pct increase in the total value of non-metallic production was due to an increase in the value of the fuels ($11.8 billion in 1959 to $12.2 billion in 1960) which offset a drop in value of the other nonmetallic minerals ($3.7 billion in 1959 to $3.6 billion in 1960).

Jan 2, 1961

By H. A. Meyerhoff, R. J. Colony

Deposits of iron are widely scattered in the folded Cretaceous rocks and the associated igneous intrusives of Puerto Rico. Most of them are too small for commercial development, but a few have aroused some scientific and economic interest, among them the large body of residual limonite at the west end of the island near Mayagüezl-6 (Fig. 1) and the mixed hematite and magnetite deposit on the southern slopes of the Sierra de Cayey, about four miles north of Arroyo.7"9 Neither of these orebodies has been developed, nor have investigations of the widely distributed deposits of magnetite, which include all the remaining occurrences of iron deserving of economic consideration, proceeded beyond the exploratory stage. With the possible exception of the mixed deposit near Arroyo, the magnetite is directly associated with andesitic and dioritic intrusives, which invade the Cretaceous rock section, and the bulk of it, occurring in calcareous sediments, is clearly of contact-replacement origin. The small deposit on Rio Portugües, north of Ponce, is found in a limestone band near its contact with an andesite dike.10,11 Two deposits of unde-

Jan 1, 1935

By H. A. Meyerhoff, R. J. Colony

Deposits of iron are widely scattered in the folded Cretaceous rocks and the associated igneous intrusives of Puerto Rico. Most of them are too small for commercial development, but a few have aroused some scientific and economic interest, among them the large body of residual limonite at the west end of the island near Mayagüezl-6 (Fig. 1) and the mixed hematite and magnetite deposit on the southern slopes of the Sierra de Cayey, about four miles north of Arroyo.7"9 Neither of these orebodies has been developed, nor have investigations of the widely distributed deposits of magnetite, which include all the remaining occurrences of iron deserving of economic consideration, proceeded beyond the exploratory stage. With the possible exception of the mixed deposit near Arroyo, the magnetite is directly associated with andesitic and dioritic intrusives, which invade the Cretaceous rock section, and the bulk of it, occurring in calcareous sediments, is clearly of contact-replacement origin. The small deposit on Rio Portugües, north of Ponce, is found in a limestone band near its contact with an andesite dike.10,11 Two deposits of unde-

Jan 1, 1935

By Frederic Becket

IN a recent article,1 which described the softening effect of columbium in plain high-chromium steels, the authors stated that their investi-gations had shown columbium to be also a particularly valuable inhibitor of intergranular corrosion in steels of the 18 per cent chromium, 8 per cent nickel type. It is the purpose of the present paper to record some of the results obtained through the introduction of columbium to the austenitic chromium-nickel steels. The damaging effects of this type of corrosion have become so widely known as to restrict considerably the applications of the steels under consideration, and therefore there is little question of the importance of the goal to be attained. Numerous contributions concerning the susceptibility of the aus-tenitic chromium-nickel steels to intergranular corrosion have appeared during the past few years, and among others who have dealt construc-tively with the subject are such well-known authors as Strauss and Houdremont of Germany, Hatfield of England, and Bain in the United States. Different theories have been propounded as to the cause of intergranular corrosion, and various remedial measures have been proposed, the majority of which involve the use of addition agents. Titanium is the addition agent at present most generally employed, as suggested by Houdremont and modified as described by Bain, Aborn and Rutherford.2 Little has been published on the effects of holding these steels for long periods at the relatively lower temperatures in the presence of

Jan 1, 1934

By H. H. Stoek

The fundamental reasons underlying the choicc of a method of mining a coal seam are safety of operation, cheapness of producing the coal and the character of the product as a saleable article. From the standpoint of safety, open or strip coal mining is always preferable, as many of the dangers inherent to underground work are absent, such as explosions of gas and dust, falls of roof and coal, and also to a great extent those due to haulage and the use of explosives, thus eliminating three of the chief causes of accident from which about 75 per cent. of the underground accidents in coal mines occur. The conditions under which coal is stripped also make the work much safer than ordinary quarry work, as the depth of the pit is usually comparatively small. Prom the standpoint of low mining cost, there is much misapprehension and many of the costs given are misleading in that they do not take into account such items as the destruction of the surface for future use, the full cost of the removal of the overburden, depreciation, amortization, coal depletion, loss of time through floods and from bad weather in winter, etc. Coal is no doubt often put on the cars at less cost by stripping than by underground mining, but by no means always so, as is too generally assumed. In some cases coal must be obtained by stripping or not at all, because the small amount of overburden renders underground mining impossible.

Jan 1, 1918

By C. E. Wood, E. P. Barrett, T. L. Joseph

The invention of the Bessemer converter process in 1856 added great impetus to the manufacture of steel and is one of the outstanding contributions to process metallurgy. Although the process of refining pig iron by passing air through the molten metal bears the name of Henry Bessemer, it should be mentioned in passing that William Kelley of Eddysville, Ky., worked on the process as early as 1847. Kelley was granted a patent on the process in 1857, inasmuch as he was able to prove priority in discovery.' After considerable litigation in 1865 the respective interests of Kelley and Bessemer were combined. On Sept. 10, 1856, Robert Mushet of England obtained his first patent on the application of manganese to cast steel. Mushet anticipated trouble in purifying iron by passing currents of air through it: His patent specified that steel made in this way often contained flaws and was red short or cold short. Mushet understood the refining of pig iron into steel well enough to realize the difficulties likely to be cncountered from oxidation of the iron. Mushet was not only an inventor; he was also an investigator. He understood the principle of selective oxidation which takes place in the converter process, and he realized therefore that the remedy for over-oxidation was attainable if a suitable metal could be found at a reasonable cost and in sufficient quantities. His first experiments were made in small crucibles holding a few ounces of metal. Later his work was conducted on a larger scale and with complete success. Manganese had been used in making steel a quarter of a century before the converter

Jan 1, 1927

By Frank Clemes Smith

The study of the so-called refractory gold-ores of the Potsdam sandstone, ores which are probably of wider occurrence and of much greater economic importance in the Black Hills than is generally supposed, has led the writer to formulate in the present paper some of the results obtained in the course of a special examination of these particular ores, conducted at the State School of Mines at Rapid City, So. Dak. Various circumstances have interrupted the work, and it will easily be seen that relatively little has yet been accomplished; but it is hoped that this little may be of sufficient interest to justify a later supplement. Tellurium, discovered by Muller von Reichenstein in 1781, is generally classed as a very rare metal; it is further mentioned by one of our late writers as " of comparatively little importance," and as obtained from its ores by a " complicated process.'' Concerning its rarity, we have some trustworthy evidence below. Its commercial importance, particularly in connection with electrical appliances, has been passed upon by Mr. Edison ; * and it is certain that, in some metallurgical processes for the treatment of gold- and silver-ores, it may be saved as a byproduct at a relatively reasonable expense. The importance of tellurium as a mineralizing agent is emphasized by the remarks of one of our leading metallurgists,jwho, in his own practice and by a wide series of experiments, has found its occurrence to be much more general than has been supposed. Recently the same writer has discussed the occurrence of tellurides and oxidized tellurium compounds in the gold-ores of Cripple Creek, Colo., and in those of the Black

Jan 1, 1897

By D. E. Hartman, J. M. Roberts

A detailed study of the temperature dependence of the critical stress, TB . necessary to cause a damping loss of 1.41 x 10-6 g mm per mm3 in pre-strained magnesium single crystals has been carried out in the temperature range 82" to 320°K. Tb is found to be linearly related to the reciprocal of the ahsol~cte temperature in this temperature range. The temperature dependence of the anelastic limit, TA, defined as the stress necessary to form open unidirectional stress-cycle damping loops has been measured between 82" to 320°K. ta is found to be independent of temperature in this range. It is suggested that TA is determined by the stress necessary to activate Frank-Read dislocation NUMEROUS studies1-9 have been reported concerning the details of yielding and microstrain near and below the generally discussed macroscopic flow stress. The work of Kramer and coworkers10-13 is helpful in determining certain qualitative facts. concerning preyield phenomena. The absence of a stress-dependent delay time in annealed copper and aluminum single crystals between 83" and 298 suggests that the preyield mechanism is temperature-independent in this range. This is not sources. The temperature and stress dependence of the effective activation volume (Veff) has been measured in the damping-loop region in prestrained magnesium single crystals. The data suggests that Veff/kT is approximately constant, equal to 2 4.5 sq mm per g in the temperature range 130°to 298°K, and that Veff is almost independent of stress at stress levels greater than 10 g per sq mm. A restricted model is developed to predict the stress (rb) necessary to cause a small fixed damping loss as a function of temperature, effective activation volume, and dislocation density. Various possible dislocation mechanisms controlling TB are discussed. true for zinc, p brass, and iron crystals in the same temperature range, however, since the existence of a stress-dependent delay time suggests a thermally activated preyield mechanism in these materials.10-13 The work by Vreeland et a1.14 confirms the work by Liu et al.ll on delayed yielding in zinc single crystals. A stress-dependent delay time between 82" and 298°K was found12 in prestrained aluminum and copper crystals. These results suggest that the preyield phenomena may be different between prestrained and unstrained or annealed crystals. The temperature dependence of the yield point at 2 x 10-8 plastic strain found by Rosenfield and Averbach3 in annealed copper and aluminum is not in agreement with the delay-time data, unless possibly the delayed yielding experiment only de-

Jan 1, 1964

By K. M. Kolobova, E. Z. Kurmayev, A. Z. Menshikov, S. A. Nemnonov, V. A. Trapeznikov

The present work represents a review of our intestigations into the X-ray spectra of solids, which have been carried out by us along two lines of upproach: 1) St@ of the electronic structure of high -rnelting compounds of transition metals; 2) stzddy of the interatomic binding forces by the fine structure of absorption spectra under varying temperature and concentration conditions. With this in mind, int>estigations hare been made into the emission and absorption spectra of the K-series of atoms of transition elements in alloys and compounds. In the problem concerned with the electronic structure of high-melting compounds of transition metals, considerable importance is attached to the question of ascertaining the role played by 3d4sp electrons of metal and 2p electrons of metalloid in the formation of chemical bonds and of giving, on the strength of this data, an explanation of the properties which seem to be contradictory at first sight: good conductivity inherent in metals and high brittleness and high-melting characteristics typical of covalent compounds. Over the last few decades this question has attracted the attention of many investigators whose studies were devoted to this type of compound. Many works, both of theoretical1-3 and experimental4- l5 nature , have contributed much to the elucidation of the physical character of the phenomenon referred to. Alongside the investigations in the field of electric resistance, Hall effect, paramagnetic susceptibility, electronic heat capacity, and the temperature of transformation into a superconducting state, we should particularly emphasize the studies on X-ray spectra, which have played a significant role in the development of the zonal theory for high-melting compounds. This fact has become highly evident after the theoretical calculation of the energy spectrum has been made and the density of states curve in Tic, TiN, and Ti0 has been plotted by Ern and Switendick3 who used the method of augmented plane waves. Correlation of the results of the theoretical calculation of the band structure in the compounds listed above with the data obtained by X-ray spectroscopy studies showed that X-ray spectra can be a source of valuable information on the electronic structure of high-melting compounds within a wide range of ener- gies. It is well known that X-ray emission spectra basically give a direct picture of the occupied excited states above the Fermi level of a solid (valence band, conduction band) and that the absorption spectra (region of initial absorption) give a similar picture of states corresponding to the unoccupied levels near the Fermi surface. Full information on the density distribution of electronic states by energies can be obtained by combining the emission and absorption spectra. Such an opportunity arises from investigation

Jan 1, 1970

By Ashok K. Sinha

The quasi-binary systems "VFe3"—VCo,—VNi,— "VCu3"and "TiFe3"—TiCo3,—TiNi3-"TiCu3"have been studied by a combination of microscopic and X-ray methods. Of the Phases encountered, eleven had close-packed ordered layer structures. Within each system, there is an approximately linear variation of the degree of hexagonality of the stacking arrangement with electron concentration, e/a. A study of eighty -four known examples of AB3 structures in transition metal alloys indicates that at e/a = 8.65 the ordered structure of the close -packed layers changes from "triangular" (AuCu3 type) to "rectangular" (SbCu3 type). At e/a < 8.65, the slope of hexagonality us e/a line increases with the group number of the A component. An interesting series of close-packed ordered structures is known to exist at the composition AB3; however, their alloy chemistry has not yet been fully understood. Dwight and Beck1 observed a correlation between position of the components in the periodic table and the type of crystal structure of the binary AB2 structures formed by transition metals. No consistent effect due to atomic size was noted and they proposed that electron concentration* predominates in In the present paper, the AB3 structures are characterized by a symbol describing the stacking and a symbol specifying the ordered layer. The stacking symbol used was introduced by Zhdanov,7 and later used in the International Tables,8 and by Beck9 in his survey of possible layer stacking structures. Alternating positive and negative integers are used to represent the number of positive (e.g., in abcabc...) and negative (e.g., in cbacba...) stacking sequences. T denotes the triangular ordering found in close-packed planes of the AuCu3 structure and R the rectangular ordering found in close-packed planes of the SbCu3 structure, Figs. 3(a) and (b). The present structure symbols are listed in Table I alongside the prototypes, where known, and other structural characteristics of AB3 phases found in the present investigation. EXPERIMENTAL The starting materials were metals of 99.9+ purity. The alloys were prepared by arc melting under argon atmosphere using a nonconsumable tungsten electrode and water-cooled copper hearth. The total weight loss upon melting and subsequent annealing was always less than 0.5 pct and hence the alloys will be referred to by their intended (unanalyzed) compositions. The alloys were homogenized and annealed at suitable temperatures in the range 750" to 1200°C, the annealing periods varying from 3 days at 1200°C to 10 days at 750°C. The heat treatments were carried out in sealed silica capsules under argon atmosphere and with a molybdenum foil cover between the alloy and the walls of the capsule. The quenched alloys were microscopically examined and reduced to powder by crushing or filing. The powders were, whenever necessary, given a stress-relieving anneal at the original annealing temperature. X-ray powder patterns were obtained with an asymmetrical focusing camera, a Guinier-deWolff focusing camera, or a Debye-Scherrer camera. Cr, Co, or Cu radiations were used. In some cases, to ensure the minimum degree of contamination, the deeply etched specimens were mounted in the asymmetrical focusing camera to obtain an X-ray pattern. Internal silicon standards were employed for lattice parameter determinations. The intensity calculations were made by using a Fortran IV program

Jan 1, 1970

By A. Taylor

NICKEL-RICH alloys hardened with small additions of titanium and aluminum and centered around that region of face-centered-cubic primary solid solution, 7, where the atomic ratio of nickel chromium is about 3 to 1, form an important series of high temperature materials because of their resistance to oxidation, high temperature strength, and excellent creep characteristics at elevated temperatures.&apos; With suitable heat treatment it is possible to precipitate a phase based on the ordered face-centered-cubic y&apos; phase, Ni,,Al, from the randomly ordered nickel-rich y face-centered-cubic primary solid solution. By adjusting the ratio of aluminum to titanium the precipitation of needles of the hexagonal intermetallic compound n-NiaTi may be effected. In the present investigation, the main interest was focused on the interrelationships among the y, y, and 7 phases. By using alloying elements of high purity and a suitable melting technique the presence of carbides and nitrides could be completely obviated, although it is realized that their presence is probably essential in alloys of commercial importance. As a preliminary to the study of the Ni-Cr-Ti-A1 system, it was necessary to establish the constitutional diagrams of the three contiguous systems, Ni-Cr-Al, Ni-Ti-Al, and Ni-Cr-Ti, which together form the nickel-rich corner of the Ni-Cr-Ti-A1 quaternary tetrahedron. Accounts of this work on the ternary systems have already been published by the author. A preliminary disclosure of the author&apos;s investigations on the ternary and quaternary systems has been made by Hignett2 and has since stimulated work in the same field by Nordheim and Grant." Before the detailed account of the quaternary system, a brief description will be given of the three contiguous ternary diagrams on which it is ultimately founded. Ni-Cr-Ti System The 750° and 1000°C temperature isothermals of the Ni-Cr-Ti system as determined by Taylor and Floyd&apos; are shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The single phase fields of greatest interest are occupied by the extensive face-centered-cubic y primary solid solution of chromium and titanium in nickel, and the close-packed-hexagonal Daltonide, n-Ni3Ti, from which tie-lines radiate across the very wide y+n two-phase field. The chromium-rich primary solid solution is represented by a. As may be seen from the diagrams, the extent of the y phase field increases quite appreciably as the temperature is raised from 750" to 1000°C. Isoparametric lines for the y phase are shown in Fig. 1. They are interesting in that they are almost parallel to the y/r+n boundary. Thus the determination of the tie-line directions is entirely dependent on the exact stoichiometry of composition of the 7 phase. Ni-Ti-Al System The 750°C isothermal section of the nickel-rich portion of the system Ni-Ti-A1 as determined by Taylor and Floyd is shown in Fig. 3.&apos; The regions of greatest interest are the extensive y primary solid solution of titanium and aluminum in nickel, the y&apos; Berthollide phase field based on the ordered face-centered-cubic structure of Ni3Al, and the hexagonal Daltonide phase, n-Ni3Ti. As may be seen from Figs. 3 and 4 the area occupied by the y phase is substantially the same at 750°C as at 1000°C, but the area of the 7 phase is considerably greater at the higher temperature. The tie-lines radiate from n-Ni3Ti across the y+v and y&apos; + v two-phase fields and are evenly distributed

Jan 1, 1957

By F. W. Jessen, James N. Howell

The accumulation of paraffin deposits in tubular goods has been recognized as a major production problem since the inception of the petroleum industry. This problem is not limited to any particular geographical area nor is it limited to a specific type of crude oil.&apos; Generally speaking, "paraffin" deposition pertains to the deposition of any predominately organic material in flow lines, and possibly even at the sand face, which would hamper the production of oil. In some fields, a continuous effort is required to remove deposits of paraffin and in order to accomplish this, many unique methods have been devised. The best solution to this problem, however, is to prevent the formation of such deposits. One method which has been tried in a number of fields is the use of plastic pipe. The purpose of this investigation is to compare the relative effectiveness of several plastic materials to aid in the reduction or prevention of paraffin accumulations in surface flow lines. COMPOSITlON OF PARAFFIN DEPOSITS By definition, paraffin deposits are those materials which are insoluble in crude oil at the prevailing producing conditions of temperature and pressure. Such deposits1 s usually consist of small particles of petroleum wax intermixed with resins, asphaltic material, and crude oil. They may also contain a variety of foreign materials such as sand, silt, water, various metal oxides, sulfates and carbonates of iron. barium, and calcium. The petroleum waxes deposited in flow strings usually consist of both a "hard" and a "soft" wax fraction. These waxes are largely aliphatic hydrocarbons with smaller amounts of aromatic and naphthenic compounds. Nathan&apos; has classified the hard and soft wax fractions. The aliphatic hydrocarbons present are those of high molecular weight with high melting points. Reistle3 pointed out that these high molecular weight compounds first separate from the oil due to a sharp decrease in solubility as the melting point increases. The identification of the resins and asphaltic materials rests, at present, on an arbitrary solubility procedure. Under certain conditions, materials which are insoluble in pentane (ASTM D-893) are defined as resins and asphalts. Subgrouping of these materials is made on decreasing solubility in benzene and carbon disul-fide. Shock&apos; found some correlation be-tween the solvent response and the pentane insoluble content of paraftins: higher pentane insoluble fractions are less soluble in any of the commonly used commercial solvents. PARAFFIN CONTROL METHODS The methods used in oil fields to prevent and remove paraffin accumulations can be grouped into four general classes: (1) operative methods, (2) physical methods, (3) chemical methods, and (4) combination of any of these. Operative methods attempt to prevent the formation of paraffin deposits while the other methods are concerned primarily with the removal of these deposits. Plastic coated pipe has been used for a number of years to prevent cor- rosion in wells, and in manv instances paraffin deposits have -been greatly reduced. Field observations have indicated that plastic coated pipe not only reduced paraffin accumulation but in some cases eliminated deposition completely; however, data are needed to demonstrate the relative effectiveness of plastic materials. Deposition Apparatus The pipe used to determine the effect of velocity on rates of deposition was %- and 2-in. nominal diameter, and 5 ft in length. Steel, butyrate, rigid PVC, kralastic resin-type plastic pipes, epoxy coated pipe, PVC lined glass fiber pipe, and aluminum pipe were tested. Steel pipe was used as a control. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the apparatus showing the relative position of the separate units making up the equipment. In order to facilitate the installation and removal of the test pipes in the apparatus, O-ring seals capable of sustaining pressures of 50 psi were provided at each end. Test pipes were submerged in a cold water bath maintained at or below room temperature by circulating water through copper cooling coils packed in ice. A hot water bath equipped with immersion-type heaters, stirrers, and a thermoregulator was used to maintain the temperature of the oil prior to introduction into the piping manifold. The capacity of the oil reservoir was 30 gal. A 33-gal/min centrifugal pump, capable of producing turbulent flow velocities in the test pipes, was used to circulate the oil through the system when using %-in. pipe; and a 70-galjmin centrifugal pump was used in later tests using 2-in. pipe. A by-pass arrangement made it pos-

By M. L. Samuels

DURING the period from 1910 to 1920, there was a lively interest in the subject of grain growth and many papers were published, followed by interesting discussions. Questions dealing with the fundamentals of grain growth-why and how it occurs-were treated in papers by Howe,1 Jeffries,2 Sauveur,3 Chappell,4 Beilby,5 Mathewson and Phillips,6 McAdam,7 Carpenter and Elam,8 Stead and Carpenter,9 Ruder,10 as well as others. Since that decade, much indeed has been done regarding the practical control of grain size, and it is now possible to order material having a size specified in the American Society for Testing Materials classification. Also, one hears the term "spliced boundaries" used in connection with certain tungsten lamp filaments" wherein it is important to prevent "sagging" between consecutive turns of the helix." This practical use of a certain knowledge as to the things that influence or even control grain growth should not be taken as an indication that the subject has been thoroughly explored and that nothing more can be learned from fundamental studies. It is with this thought in mind that a report of some observations and experiments on abnormal grain growth is believed justified. Abnormal grain growth is met with in heat-treating high-carbon steels in the austenitic range,13 in the hardening treatments of high-speed steels, 14.11 and in the low-temperature annealing of strained low-carbon steels as in sheet and wire material. Entirely aside from these instances of exaggerated grain growth, which some might consider as freakish, it is thought that abnormal growth is simply a case where the growth forces and the forces tending to prevent growth are almost, but not quite, evenly balanced. Information relative to grain-growth characteristics in general may be obtained from a study of abnormal growth conditions, which may be looked upon as vantage points. Reflection will show at once that if growth forces are great in comparison to inertia or resistance to growth, many crystals start to grow and, for that reason, none becomes very large, whereas if inertia is predominant no growth at all takes place. Under conditions in which

Jan 1, 1938

By J. J. Van Nouhuys

THE economics of aerial survey and the technical processes by the aid of which vertical and oblique aerial photographs are turned into line maps showing the most profuse topographical detail such as contours, rivers, roads, plantations, habitations and cultivated lands do not concern us here. They have been ably and exhaustively described in the publications of the British War Office, handbooks on surveying methods and on photogrammetry and in the South African mining, engineering and geological press. Suffice it to mention that for geological interpretation vertical photographs are used on such scales as 1/5000 to 1/10,000, overlapping each other by 55 to 60 per cent in the direction of flight and some 10 to 20 per cent sideways on to the next sequence or strip. Through this duplication in the overlap the stereoscopic examination becomes possible. The standards by which monochrome aerial photographs are interpreted can be grouped under the following headings: 1. Continuity.-The continuity of topographic relief not obtainable on the ground owing to the smallness of man relative to that relief. Here lies the greatest value of aerial survey with relation to geology. An immediate alignment can often be made of drainages running in different directions on each side of a hill; saddles and gorges in the mountainsides; abrupt termination of outcrop or indubitable signs of faulting. Most conclusive evidence is thus often obtained about faults which may be perfectly visible at one place on the ground but cannot elsewhere be identified because of decreased throw. Similarly, dikes can often be followed notwithstanding frequent interruption and disappearance under the soil. Scattered outcrop in scrub-covered or bush-covered country can be compared with field work. The same applies to geological contacts. Once these have been 3stablished at a few points on the ground, the intervening stretches can be drawn in.

Jan 1, 1937

By Albert Sauveur

IT WAS in June, 1889, that I was first admitted to the society of educated men. The admission ticket had been signed, on the recommendation of my old and beloved teacher, Bobby Richards, by General Francis A. Walker at the time President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an institution familiarly known as M. I. T. I immediately proceeded to take advantage of that privilege by departing for Steelton, Pennsylvania, where I understood I was eagerly awaited by the educated officials of the Pennsylvania Steel Company. I was some. what disappointed at the casualness of my reception and at being tucked away in that preserve closet of steel works known as the chemical laboratory. At Steelton I met Major Bent who was president of the company. When I say "met," that is a figure of speech as my acquaintance with him was confined to my being shown

Jan 1, 1937

By Gerald F. G. Sherman

The ore deposits of the Warren district, in which the mines of the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Co. are situated, have been described in a number of technical publications, and will not be discussed here in detail. Certain of their characteristics, however, control methods of underground transportation and hoisting of ore. In the Copper Queen mine, the majority of the ore has occurred in a zone encircling the west boundary of the porphyry intrusion of Sacramento Hill. It has a width varying from 800 to 1,200 ft., and a thickness of about 400 ft. It reaches the surface in the older part of the mine to the northwest, but dips to the southeast, where it is reached at 1,400 ft. below the Czar collar, in its farthest extension at present developed on Copper Queen ground. There is one major extension from the northwest end of the zone toward the west along the Czar fault, and others of minor importance. Individual orebodies are scattercd through the zone in an eccentric manner, only matched by their own irregularities of form and size. Their most gencral characteristics are the softness of the ore and their grcat horizontal rather than vertical extent. It has been estimated that the average vertical thickness of ore in the Czar and Lowell divisions is between 30 and 35 ft. It is calculated by assuming it to be uniformly distributed over its horizontally projected area. In this zone, and for some distance above it, the ground has been subjected to intense alteration and intense but irregular oxidation. It has resulted in an enormous quantity of earthy or clayey material, which may be either ore or waste, which when wet is both heavy and tenacious. Below alteration, the ground is fairly hard, and the limestones contain primary ores differing from those heretofore considered typical of the camp, and which have not yet been thoroughly exploited. The mine production has been drawn from many orebodies spread over a great area.l A diagram map (Fig. I), of haulage drifts and loading stations, illustrates the situation in 1914.

Jan 1, 1916

By M. Sheffield

This paper presents a technique lor predicting the flow of oil, gas and water through a petroleum reservoir. Gravitational, viscous arid capillary lorces are considered, and all fluids are considered to be slightly compressible. Some theoretical work concerning the fluid flow in one-, two- and three-space dimensions is given along with example performance predictions in one- and two-space dimensions. INTRODUCTION Since the introduction of high speed computing equipment, one of the goals of reservoir engineering research has been to develop more accurate methods of describing fluid movement through underground reservoirs. Various mathematical methods have been developed or used by reservoir engineers to predict reservoir performance, 193-5,7,8 The work reported in this paper extends previously published work on three-phase fluid flow (1) by including a rigorous treatment of capillary forces and (2) by showing certain theoretical mathematical results proving that these equations can be approximated by certain numerical techniques and that a unique solution exists. DISCUSSION The method of predicting three-phase compressible fluid flow. in a reservoir can be summarized briefly by the following steps. 1. The reservoir, or a section of a reservoir, is characterized by a series of mesh points with varying rock and fluid properties simulated at each mesh point. 2. Three partial differential equations are written to describe the movement at any point in the reservoir of each of the three compressible fluids. All forces influencing movement are considered in the equations. 3. At each mesh point, the partial differential equations are replaced by a system of analogous difference equations. 4. A numerical technique is used to solve the resulting system of difference equations. Capillary forces have been included in two-phase flow calculations.1,4,8 The literature, however, does not contain examples of prediction techniques for three-phase flow that include capillary forces. Where capillary forces are considered, each of the three partial differential equations previously discussed has a different dependent variable, namely pressure in one of the three fluid phases. Therefore, three difference equations must be solved at each point in the reservoir. Where large systems of equations must be solved simultaneously, an engineer might question whether a unique solution to this system of equations actually exists and, if so, what numerical techniques may be used to obtain a good approximation to the solution. It is shown in the Appendix that a unique solution to the three-phase flow problem, as formulated, always exists. It is also shown that several methods may be used to obtain a good approximation to the solution. The partial differential equations and differenceequations used are shown in the Appendix. Matrix notation has been used in developing the mathematical results. Two sample problems were solved on a CDC 1604. They illustrate the type of problems that can be solved using a three-phase prediction technique. SAMPLE ONE-DIMENSIONAL RESERVOIR PERFORMANCE PREDICTION A hypothetical reservoir was studied to provide an example of a one-dimensional problem that can be solved. Of the several techniques available, the direct method of solution as shown in the Appendix was used. The reservoir section studied was a truncated, wedge-shaped section, 2,400 ft long, with a 6&apos; dip. (A schematic is shown in Fig. 1.) This section was represented by 49 mesh points, uniformly spaced at 50-ft intervals. The upper end of the wedge was 2 ft wide, and the lower end was 6 ft wide. The section

Jan 1, 1970

By W. A. Klikoff, I. Fatt

The concept of fractional wet wattability is examined. Fractional water wettability of a reservoir rock is defined as the fraction of the internal surface urea that is in contact with water. Capillary pressure and relalive permeability of unconsolidated sand are shown to be functions of fractional wettability. INTRODUCTION The petroleum industry has long recognized that wettability of reservoir rock has an important effect on multiphase flow of oil, water and gas through reservoirs. As early as 1928 the American Petroleum Institute sponsored a study of wettability as part of API Project 27 at the U. of Michigan.&apos; Despite 30 years of research, there is still little exact knowledge of the wettability of reservoir rocks. There are two parts to the wettability problem. After agreeing to a uniform nomenclature in regard to wettability,&apos; the first question to be answered is, "What is the in situ wettability of a given reservoir rock?" If this can he answered the next question is, "What part does wettability play in determining the characteristics of multiphase fluid flow through the rock?" This paper represents an oblique attack on the problem of wettability. No attempt is made here to answer the basic question of wettability in situ. instead the consequences of the concept of fractional wettability are examined. Multiphase flow in sandpacks is shown to he highly influenced by fractional wettability. Jennings&apos; has given 3 definition of wettability and the other terms used in discussing wettability. These terms must be applied to the physical situation existing In reservoir rock. A survey of the pertinent literature from 1928 to 1956 indicates that the concept of a contact angle was applied to reservoir rock in the same way it would be applied to a flat, homogeneous surface. Attempts were made to state quantitatively the wettability of a reservoir rock in terms of a contact angle which was presumably constant at all points on the very rough and heterogeneous interior surface of a porous rock. Calhoun, et al,3-6 prepared synthetic consolidated and un-consolidated porous media in which they claimed there was a known uniform contact angle. They then showed the effects on the capillary pressure and relative permeability characteristics of varying this angle. The API Project 47 at the U. of Texas&apos; and others&apos; have made extensive studies of an indirect approach to the contact angle through the use of heat of wetting data. Even if successful. however, this approach also states the wettability of porous rock in terms of a contact angle which is uniform over the entirc surface. If the angle varies from one part to another on the internal surface, there is no way of determining from the measurements the area distribution of contact angles. In 1956 Brown and Fatt5 suggested that the concept of a contact angle, as applied to reservoir rock, be abandoned. This suggestion was made because it is known that the internal surface of most reservoir rocks is composed of many different minerals, cach with a different surface chemistry and a different capacity to adsorh surface active materials from reservoir fluids. Furthermore, the operation of a contact angle in determining the form of a fluid-fluid interface is difficult to picture in the very complex geometry of a pore. Brown and Fatt proposed that the wettability of reservoir rock be stated in terms of the fractional internal surface area that is in contact with water or oil. All surfaces on which there is water are called water-wet; surfaces on which there is oil are called oil-wet. The fractional water wettability is then stated as a number which represents the fraction of the internal surface that is in contact with water. A symmetrical statement can be made for the fractional oil wettability. The concept of a fractional wettability as previously stated has in its favor the recognition of the heterogeneous mineral composition of most reservoir rocks. Another point in its favor is that fractional wettability can be measured quantitatively with relative ease. Hol-brook and Bernard10 se a simple dye adsorption test to obtain fractional wettability of reservoir rocks. Amott11 uses a combination of imbibition and displacement to arrive at a wettability index of reservoir rocks which seems related to fractional wettability in the range 0.25 to 0.75 fractional water wettability. Jennings" has shown the changes in relative permeability that take place when a porous material is changed from unity to zero fractional water wettability. He also shows that reservoir rocks in their natural state, but at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, have relative permeability characteristics which would indi-

By Arthur Philips

THE purpose of this paper is to present certain data and observations resulting from a series of experiments dealing with the heat treatment and microstructure of commercial white cast iron and its derivative, malleable iron. In planning the experimental work, particular pains were taken to secure for the tests white cast iron of "normal" composition; i.e., within the composition limits commonly prescribed by manufacturers of malleable castings. A review of the literature leads us to believe that much data of a fragmentary character treating of the graphitization of white cast iron have been of little value, mainly because of the diversity in chemical composition of the materials employed in the tests. Moreover, when feasible, annealing periods at least comparable to those of current practice have been adopted. We wish to acknowledge our indebtedness to the members of the research department of the Eastern Malleable Iron Co. for the white cast iron used in the tests and, particularly, for their active cooperation during the experimental stage of the work. In this paper the following subjects will be discussed in the order indicated: Data on the thermal critical points of white cast iron and malleable iron. Changes produced in tensile properties and microstructure of white cast iron by annealing at different temperatures within the range, 760 to 1100° C. Relation of thickness of wall section of hard iron to microstructure and tensile properties of malleable iron obtained under normal annealing conditions. Notes on mechanics of graphitization of normal white cast iron as observed in specimens quenched after various periods of anneal at approximately 800° C.

Jan 1, 1922