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By A. J. May

THE Star shaft is near the north boundary of the group of mining claims belonging to the Ground Hog Unit of the American Smelting and Refining Co., near Vanadium, N. Mex. The shaft bins and surface plant are served by a siding from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad, and this factor of railroad transportation influenced the choice of site. This paper describes the shaft sinking only, and does not cover the surface plant or other parts of the mine or its equipment. A. J. MAY is Engineer in Charge of Shaft Sinking, Ground Hog Unit, American Smeling and Refining Co, Vanadium, New Mexico. El Paso Meeting, October 1948. TP 2737 A. Discussion of this paper (2 copies) may be sent to Transactions AIME before Feb. 28, 1950. Manuscript received Nov. 29, 1948; revision received June 22, 1949. Experience with this shaft seems of interest because of the mechanical mucking, good rate of progress, and the costs obtained at the present level of labor and material costs. The shaft has four compartments, as shown in fig. 1. Equipment: Riddell Mucker: The mucking was done by a clamshell bucket and a Riddell mucker, which, as in other shafts sunk with this machine, consisted of a carriage mounted on axles with double flanged wheels that traveled back and forth on a swinging track, parallel to the long axis of the shaft (fig. 2 to 6). Three air motors were mounted on the carriage; one hoisted the clam, one operated the bucket opening and closing device, and the third moved the carriage along the track. The carriage was designed with guide shoes and could be hoisted to the surface in either skip compartment without trouble (fig. 4). During blasting operations the clam was tied on the rails and the carriage was hoisted up a few sets to protect it from flying rock. No attempt was made to hoist the carriage and clam together lest the clam catch in the timbers. The track on which the carriage operated was built of extra heavy 6 in. pipe with 1x2 in. strap welded on top for rails. A Yzx4 in. angle was welded on the bottom of the 6 in. pipe with a 1 in. round rod welded in the angle for a filler and additional strength. The end or cross pieces of the track which kept the track to gauge, were also made of reinforced, heavy 6 in. pipe and were bolted to the long members on which the carriage traveled (fig. 2 and 3). This section of track was used, instead of heavy railroad rails, for two reasons: (1) this section would bend before it snapped and was much safer for the men in the bottom; and (2) it was a better blasting shield, and protected the timbers better, in fact, only five wall plates were broken by blasting in 1926 ft of shaft, although 150 to 225 lb of 40 pct powder was loaded per round, depending on the ground conditions. The swinging track was supported by four % in. hoisting cables anchored to the end plates. There were also four safety cables fastened two to three sets above the carriage, which would catch the carriage if one of the supporting cables should fail for any reason (fig. 7). Clamshell Buckets: Two clams were used, each of % yard capacity, both manufactured by Blaw-Knox, Nos. 662 and 663. The No. 663 clam was 4 in. wider and 5 in. shorter than the No. 662, but seemed to dig and load more satisfactorily. It was easier to hoist and lower when it came up for repair. It did not turn over as easily, had less spill

Jan 1, 1951

By A. J. May

THE Star shaft is near the north boundary of the group of mining claims belonging to the Ground Hog Unit of the American Smelting and Refining Co., near Vanadium, N. Mex. The shaft bins and surface plant are served by a siding from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad, and this factor of railroad transportation influenced the choice of site. This paper describes the shaft sinking only, and does not cover the surface plant or other parts of the mine or its equipment. A. J. MAY is Engineer in Charge of Shaft Sinking, Ground Hog Unit, American Smeling and Refining Co, Vanadium, New Mexico. El Paso Meeting, October 1948. TP 2737 A. Discussion of this paper (2 copies) may be sent to Transactions AIME before Feb. 28, 1950. Manuscript received Nov. 29, 1948; revision received June 22, 1949. Experience with this shaft seems of interest because of the mechanical mucking, good rate of progress, and the costs obtained at the present level of labor and material costs. The shaft has four compartments, as shown in fig. 1. Equipment: Riddell Mucker: The mucking was done by a clamshell bucket and a Riddell mucker, which, as in other shafts sunk with this machine, consisted of a carriage mounted on axles with double flanged wheels that traveled back and forth on a swinging track, parallel to the long axis of the shaft (fig. 2 to 6). Three air motors were mounted on the carriage; one hoisted the clam, one operated the bucket opening and closing device, and the third moved the carriage along the track. The carriage was designed with guide shoes and could be hoisted to the surface in either skip compartment without trouble (fig. 4). During blasting operations the clam was tied on the rails and the carriage was hoisted up a few sets to protect it from flying rock. No attempt was made to hoist the carriage and clam together lest the clam catch in the timbers. The track on which the carriage operated was built of extra heavy 6 in. pipe with 1x2 in. strap welded on top for rails. A Yzx4 in. angle was welded on the bottom of the 6 in. pipe with a 1 in. round rod welded in the angle for a filler and additional strength. The end or cross pieces of the track which kept the track to gauge, were also made of reinforced, heavy 6 in. pipe and were bolted to the long members on which the carriage traveled (fig. 2 and 3). This section of track was used, instead of heavy railroad rails, for two reasons: (1) this section would bend before it snapped and was much safer for the men in the bottom; and (2) it was a better blasting shield, and protected the timbers better, in fact, only five wall plates were broken by blasting in 1926 ft of shaft, although 150 to 225 lb of 40 pct powder was loaded per round, depending on the ground conditions. The swinging track was supported by four % in. hoisting cables anchored to the end plates. There were also four safety cables fastened two to three sets above the carriage, which would catch the carriage if one of the supporting cables should fail for any reason (fig. 7). Clamshell Buckets: Two clams were used, each of % yard capacity, both manufactured by Blaw-Knox, Nos. 662 and 663. The No. 663 clam was 4 in. wider and 5 in. shorter than the No. 662, but seemed to dig and load more satisfactorily. It was easier to hoist and lower when it came up for repair. It did not turn over as easily, had less spill

Jan 1, 1951

By R. T. DeHoff

A general method for determining the geometric properties of structures composed of particles which are all the same shape and size is presented. The application of the method requires a knowledge of' the qualitative shape of the particles in the structure, ad a maximum of three simple counting measurenzents, which are made on a representative plane section taken through the structure. It is also shown that the number of different kinds of measurements necessary JOY the complete description of the structure can be decreased if some independent information about individual particles is available. The geometric properties that can be determined quantitatiz~ely from counting measurements for susch structures are size, shape, number, surface area, vlolume, ad such extensive properties as volume Mction and surface area per unit volume. THE simplest kinds of measurements that may be made on a metallographic section are counting measurements. There are three such simple counting measurements, which are determined by sampling the microstructure with a point, a line, and an area. The first of these, the point count, is probably the most familiar among metallographers. The second count, the number of intersections a test line makes with particle outline, is somewhat more recent in its origin and application. The third counting measurement, the number of particle sections observed in unit area of the plane of polish, has long been used in the estimation of grain sizes. The real utility of these three counting measurements lies in the fact that they are rigorously and unambiguously related to certain extensive geometric properties of the three-dimensional structure of which the metallographic section is a sample. These relationships will be reviewed briefly below. Of somewhat secondary importance to the fundamental relationships is the observation that, if some simplifying assumptions about the geometry of the three-dimensional structure are introduced, manipulation of the counting measurements gives a more complete description of the structure. Specifically, in addition to the extensive properties which these measurements rigorously estimate, the number of particles, their size, and their shape may be determined. The purpose of the present paper is to explore the consequences of introducing the assumption of constant size and shape. A later paper will deal with the estimation of geometric properties of structures which may be characterized by a two-parameter size distribution. It should be mentioned that the introduction of this simplest of assumptions, while clearly not generally justified in metallurgical structures, is not without precedent. For example, many estimates of the number of particles per unit volume of structure, based upon a single counting measurement, are scattered throughout the literature.13 Virtually all of these developments assume a constant particle shape, e.g., spherical or polyhydral, and constant size. That such an assumption is necessary is evident from the fact that, for more general structures, more than a single parameter is required to describe the three-dimensional structure, so that the determination of a single parameter on a section would be insufficient to specify the structure. Similar developments for the estimation of particle size from a single counting measurement, e.g., routine grain-size determinations, make the same very limiting assumption,435 but have nonetheless proven of practical value. The present paper embodies a generalized approach to the development of relationships among the two-dimensional counting measurements and the three-dimensional geometry of the structure, subject to the assumption of constant particle size and shape. It is the hope of the author that by presenting the relationships and the assumptions involved in dealing with this approximation, in a single, unified treatment, the reader may be impressed with the usefulness of the counting measurements, may be guided in their application to the estimation of details of the geometry in specific structures in which he may be interested, and may be moved to apply the results, with understanding, to new structural problems. Several authors6, 7 have demonstrated independently that it is possible to obtain unbiased estimates

Jan 1, 1964

By E. S. Machlin, C. W. Chen

RECENTLY Chen and Machlin' proposed a mechanism for intercrystalline cracking in metals during high-temperature stressing. According to this mechanism the formation of voids at grain boundaries is primarily responsible for intercrystalline cracking. A model has been provided to demonstrate the initiation of submicroscopic cracks and voids at jogs of grain boundaries where grain boundary sliding is inhibited. Submicroscopic cracks can grow as a result of either further grain boundary sliding or localized tensile stress. In the former case, it is believed that grain boundary sliding produces more voids which link together to produce macroscopic cracks and which may lead to the eventual failure of the metal. Concurrently, Nield and Quarrell2 reported their interesting results obtained in a systematic investigation of intercrystalline cracking in two aluminum alloys under various creep conditions. Their observations are generally in agreement with the above mechanism, especially the conclusion that voids are formed as a direct consequence of grain boundary sliding. On the basis of the volume fraction occupied by voids, they could find no confirmation of vacancy condensation as the mechanism for void growth. Furthermore, an important feature of intercrystalline cracking has been likewise pointed out by them that the majority of cracks are not formed at grain corners. Nield and Quarrel1 meanwhile emphasized the importance of grain boundary migration by designating it as one of two main processes operative in the mechanism of crack formation during creep. The designation seems unnecessary because overemphasis of grain boundary migration only complicates the mechanism of void formation. There are two reasons which militate against the inclusion of grain boundary migration in the mechanism of void formation. In the first place, the formation of intercrystalline voids per se does not require grain boundary migration. Secondly, in addition to grain boundary migration, void formation may be minimized by any other process such as plastic deformation which is capable of relieving localized stresses around jogs. Chang and Grant3 have shown that intercrystalline cracking is prevented in aluminum by lattice bending in high stress regions. The influential role played by grain boundary migration in creep has also been realized in our studies. In several cases, voids did not appear at all in grain boundaries whenever grain boundary migration took place prominently during creep. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the effect of grain boundary migration on the formation of intercrystalline voids and other related rupture properties. Experimental evidence indicates that in an unstable grain structure void formation may be markedly modified by structural changes. The abnormally high ductility and the transcrystalline mode of fracture observed in copper at elevated temperatures reveals that effective grain boundary migration minimizes void formation. Grain boundary migration has long been known as a common high-temperature phenomenon in metals with the grain configuration in a nonequilibrium state. Its effect on ductility and mode of fracture has not been recognized until recently.4 Since the introduction of the term "Equicohesive Temperature," the conventional belief has been that below the equicohesive temperature the ductility of metals increases moderately with decreasing temperature until the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature of fracture is reached. In this temperature range, metals fracture in a ductile mode with a "cup-and-cone" fracture surface. Above the equicohesive temperature, ductility remains invariably low and decreases slightly with increasing temperature. The mode of fracture is strictly brittle and intercrystalline. Typical examples have been shown for a brass and copper in Fig. 1 and 9, respectively, in the paper by Greenwood, Miller, and Suiter.5 The observation in the upper temperature range that ductility of metals is low and insensitive to temperature may be explained in terms of void formation at grain boundaries. It is also in accordance with the findings of McLean6 and Fazen, Sherby, and Dorn7

Jan 1, 1961

By H. W. Mead, C. E. Birchenall

SELF-DIFFUSION in pure gold has been studied by Sagrubsky,1 McKay,2 Gatos and coworkers,3,4 and Okkerse.5 Sagrubsky used a sectioning technique but reported results far lower than any of the others. The work seems to be carefully done, and it appears that a factor of 60 must have been omitted in his calculations or the units misstated by an equivalent amount. McKay used a surface activity method, and Gatos and Kurtz, following Gatos and Azzam, applied autoradiography to the measurement of activity on an oblique section through the diffusion zone. These two investigations agree well with each other but give results below those reported here. Okkerse employed a very careful sectioning technique. Chemical interdiffusion in Au-Ag alloys has been measured under several concentration conditions. Average values of the diffusion coefficient for the range of 0 to 18 atomic pct Au were obtained by Braune.6 since the diffusion coefficient probably varies markedly over this range, the values may not be too useful. Also, a plot of these data suggests that grain boundary contributions may have been appreciable at the lowest temperature employed. Ebert and Trommsdorf7 give average values for 0 to 9 atomic pct Ag, and Johnson8 reports average values for 45 to 55 atomic pct Au. Johnson also measured silver and gold self-diffusion coefficients in 49.2 atomic pct Au alloys, and self-diffusion in pure silver. The self-diffusion of gold in pure silver has been determined by Jaumot and Sawatsky.10 Other measurements which do not cover a range of temperature or are of low precision are not mentioned in this account since a review by Kubaschewski is available." This contribution reports diffusion coefficients for self-diffusion in gold, self-diffusion of gold in Au-Ag alloys, and chemical diffusion in Au-Ag alloys. Although it had been intended to obtain silver self-diffusion data in the alloys it now appears unlikely that these measurements can be done soon, so a table has been worked out for a self-consistent scheme of diffusion coefficients which should not be too far from the true values. Experimental Details Experiments on pure metals were conducted using fine gold of 99.99+ pct Au and silver of the same purity. Alloys were prepared by melting the two metals together in a graphite crucible in vacuo and allowing the slug to solidify in the crucible. After machining to a cylinder about 0.85 in. diam each slug formed one half of a diffusion couple. Compositions were determined later by analyzing chips taken from the extremities of the diffusion zones. The gold used in the preparation of alloys was sometimes pure gold but was normally either in the form of clean pickled alloy from previous experiments or gold recovered by oxalic acid precipitation from warm aqueous solution. Chips from the various stages of experimentation were dissolved in aqua regia and the solution taken to low bulk, diluted with water, and again taken to low bulk before diluting for the precipitation. This precipitated gold contained a small amount of silver as the only impurity detectable by spectrographic analysis. Disks for use in diffusion couples had opposite plane faces abraded on emery paper as far as zero grit, were annealed for 12 hr at 900°C in argon, and had one face of each disk polished to 000 emery paper. Radioactive gold was plated at about 2 ma per sq cm from a small volume of cyanide solution containing 1 mg of inactive gold as a carrier. Specimens , were freshly abraded on 4/0 emery paper immediately prior to plating. In the case of the active couples disks of a similarly prepared but unplated alloy or pure metal were placed on top and welded to the active disk. With the concentration couples disks of different compositions were welded. Welding was performed after a pressure of 5,000 lb had been applied at

Jan 1, 1958

By W. W. Mein

IN March 1949 the Calaveras Cement Co. was sued by five landowners whose properties are located in the vicinity of the plant. These landowners—all of them cattle ranchers—sued for dust damages of $120,338 and for an injunction preventing the company from casting dust upon their properties in injurious quantities. The issue was split, the jury deciding the amount of damages and the court handling the injunction features. The action came to trial before a jury in April of that year and resulted in damages being awarded in the amount of $7,508. A month later the court issued its injunction requiring recovery of stack dust to an 87 pct minimum. The Calaveras plant, shown in Fig. 1, is located three miles from San Andreas in the heart of the Mother Lode country, about 45 miles east of Stockton, Calif. Since it is in a small town, the company's responsibilities to its employees and to the community are different from those of plants located in large centers of population. Construction of the plant was begun in 1925, and production was started the following year. Standard gray Portland cement as well as several specialty cements are produced. Production facilities have been continually enlarged so that the present capacity is more than double what it was 25 years, ago. The most important item in the company's expansion program was the purchase in 1945 of an 11 ft 3 in. x 360 ft Allis-Chalmers kiln which had been declared surplus by the Defense Plant Corp. The company is now able to produce about 2,500,000 bbl of cement a year, and employment at the plant is approximately 300. The production of cement has always involved a dust problem, solution of which has been attempted in a number of different ways. By far the most efficient method of catching dust discharge is electric precipitation. Soon after the company went into production in the 1920's, the landowners near the plant began complaining about dust discharge. The company settled the matter by paying them a total of $27,000 for dust damages incurred during the period from 1929 to 1938. In the latter year the two-unit Cot-trell Electric Precipitator shown in Fig. 2 was installed and collected over 85 pct of the dust resulting from operation of the two 11 ft 3 in. x 10 ft x 240 in. kilns. From 1938 until 1946 the landowners registered no objection and were apparently satisfied with that dust recovery. In 1946, however, the substantially higher production resulting from operation of the new kiln immediately overtaxed the facilities of the existing two-unit precipitator. In a short time claims for dust damages were again received from the landowners. The company informed them that because of postwar shortages it would take several years to install a new precipitator. The company stated that it intended to purchase an additional precipitator and offered in the meanwhile to pay the landowners a fair amount to cover their damages. This offer was rejected and the landowners filed suit in the Superior Court of Calaveras County asking for total damages of $120,-338 and for the injunction outlined above. Case for the Ranchers The attorneys for the plaintiffs produced three different types of witnesses: first, the landowners themselves and members of their families; second, other cattle raisers who were sympathetic to the plaintiffs; and third, several types of technical experts: veterinarians, soil chemists, and an aerial photographer. The testimony of these witnesses was designed to establish that the flue dust from the plant had not only damaged the land and the forage, but had also caused fluorine poisoning to their animals. By a combination of these causes, the plaintiffs attempted to prove substantial loss of profits.

Jan 1, 1952

By S. R. Mitchell, M. C. Fuerstenau, A. M. Gaudin

The two principal attributes of a thickener pulp are its settling rate and the ultimate pulp density of the thickened mud. Testing for evaluation of thickening attributes of a pulp has usually been done batch-wise by placing the pulp in a one-liter glass graduated cylinder and noting the position of the boundary between clear liquor and mud as a function of time. Refinements in testing have included repulping a thickened mud to various dilutions and evaluating the settling rate on these various repulped muds. This is considered to make possible an estimate of the settling rate as a function of pulp density and therefore to pinpoint the slowest settling pulp which ought to be critical from the standpoint of thickener plant design. Finally, tests are sometimes made with model-size continuous thickeners of arbitrary size. In batch tests it is generally accepted that the behavior of a pulp is described by a curve such as the one shown in Fig. 1, in which the position of the boundary between clear liquor and mud (the mudline) is plotted against time. It has also been assumed that the initial settling rate (the slope of the line segment AB) is descriptive of the pulp and independent of the size and shape of the container. Where the settling rate is slower and clearly a function of time (portion CD of the settling curve), it has been assumed that the data are not of much use because of the intrusion of compacting phenomena. The next important datum is the height. PE, which is a measure of the so-called ultimate pulp density. This quantity is assumed to be characteristic of the pulp and independent of the container. When actual data are recorded, results are rarely exactly according to this theory and numerous deviations may be noted. For example, some pulps seem to require an appreciable delay before beginning to settle, as in line AF. This is spoken of as representing the need for an induction time for flocculation. It has seemed desirable to explore thickener data with a more sensitive charting tool than is afforded by the coordinates of Fig. 1. Instead of relating the position of the mudline to time, it has seemed desirable to relate the rate of descent of the mudline to time. This, in effect, amounts to charting the slope of the line in Fig. 1, or the derivative of its ordinates, against the same abscissas. Fig. 2 shows the new chart for the curve ABCDE of Fig. 1. When this new tool was applied to data obtained, for example, with sized clay pulps, astonishing differences appeared. Apparently the traditional tool conceals differences instead of revealing them, whereas the new method emphasizes them. It seems, also, that both charting methods have their uses. In this article attention is focused on the effects of pulp density and container height as they affect the settling behavior of flocculated suspensions of a sized kaolin. The thesis by M. C. Fuerstenau' gives more details than this summary, as well as some information about the effect of other variables. Sized fractions of kaolin were used, supplied through the courtesy of S. C. Lyons of the Georgia Kaolin Co. Large batches were made by agitation in a flotation machine and in a glass jar equipped with a mixer. The settling vessels were 2, 4, and 6-in. diam glass cylinders of various heights. Pulp Dilution: The effects of pulp dilution on sedimentation behavior are shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5. Fig. 3 shows data on pulps ranging from 2.44 to 16.7 pct solids initial pulp density, flocculated with Separan and charted in the traditional manner. At least two of the lines appear nearly straight in their early sections, but neither of the others does. Each of the curves in this figure includes a region labeled

Jan 1, 1960

By H. H. Klepfer, M. E. Snyder

UNTIL very recently, the commercial availability of the rare earths as metals has been very limited. Fabrication of mill products from these metals has not been studied in most cases. This note reports the results of the development of fabrication techniques for thulium. Thulium has a melting point of about 1550°C and a hexagonal close-packed crystal structure. It oxidizes in air to give a black oxide (TmzO,). The procedures for producing thin thulium foil were developed on one ingot weighing about 220 g and were subsequently applied in processing about a pound of metal to foil. Several alternates for the various fabrication steps were investigated and will be discussed. The metal fabricated was in the form of commercial chill-cast ingots 1 in. in diam and 2 in. long weighing approximately 220 g. Impurities in the ingots were reported by the vendor to be 4000 ppni tantalum, 2000 ppm calcium, 200 ppm nickel, 100 to 200 ppm iron, 100 ppm europium, and less than 100 ppm copper, lutetium, and ytterbium. In addition to these impurities, several salt-like inclusions as large as l/8 in. in diam were revealed along the center line of the one ingot sectioned. Preliminary tests indicated that small wafers cut from the as-cast ingot would not fabricate readily by rolling. Forging of copper-jacketed wafers was therefore attempted. At 1550"F forging was satisfactory but an apparent reaction of copper with thulium demanded investigation of lower temperatures. Therefore, the remainder of the test ingot was forged at 1450°F—with only minor cracking. All ingots forged were inserted into copper tubes of 1 in. 1D and 0.125-in. wall thickness. The jackets were sealed by flattening the ends of the tubes and welding under helium. Heating time at 1450°F was 30 min. Press forgings of 1/8 in. per pass were used, followed by 10 min reheats. When the ingots had been squared and reduced to 0.250 in. in thickness, the original copper jacket was stripped off and replaced by a new jacket in preparation for hot rolling. Hot rolling at 1450" F without edge cracking was readily accomplished after forging. Excellent results were obtained with 10 pct reductions of thickness followed by 5 to 10 min reheats. After reduction of thickness from 0.250 to 0.100 in. the copper jacket was removed. It was found, in fact, that hot rolling in air was possible. A tenacious black oxide similar to that seen on zirconium was formed during 3 min reheats at 1450°F. Reduction in air to 0.010 in. foil was possible taking 10 pct reductions per pass. The oxide coat formed during hot rolling in air could best be removed by sand blasting and pickling. Common pickling solutions containing polar solvents were found to attack the metal too rapidly and a concentrated nitric-hydrofluoric acid mixture attacked neither the oxide nor the metal. The most satisfactory pickling solution was 52 vol pct concentrated nitric acid-48 vol pct glacial acetic acid. After forging to 0.250 in., vacuum annealing and cold rolling was found to be another satisfactory alternate to hot rolling in copper jackets. After forging. a hardness of Rockwell B76 was found. Annealing in vacuum (2 X l0-5 mm of Hg) for 1 hr at 1200"F did not alter this value. Annealing at 1470"F for 1 hr brought the hardness down to R;]63. With cold rolling (5 pct per pass) the hardness returned to about R,1:76 after 20 pct reduction and edge cracking became noticeable. However, cold rolling to a total of 40 pct reduction in thickness (RI,,83) was possible before edge crack propagation became serious. Good surface finish was obtained, and the metal loss due to oxidation was minimized by cold rolling and vacuum annealing. Using this procedure the yield of 1.25 in. wide by 0.010 in. thick foil from a 1-in. diam ingot was about 40 pct.

Jan 1, 1961

By G. R. Speich, S. A. Kulin

The isothermal formation of martensite at subzero temperatures has been studied in an austenitic stainless steel. The amount of martensite formed isothermally in a given time was found to follow a C-curve behavior with decreasing temperature. Since isothermal rnartensitic transformation occurs at temperatures above the true M. temperature of the olloy, the observed M. temperature is dependent on the cooling rate. It is believed that a general martensite theory must include the basic concepts of the strain embryo theory, and also the important role of thermal fluctuations. UNTIL recently the isothermal component of the martensitic transformation had been considered as a trivial effect in theoretical considerations of this type of transformation. One of the postulates used in defining a martensitic transformation was that the reaction was temperature dependent but not time dependent. Cohen and his associates1'2 were the first to report the isothermal formation of mar-tensite. They obsel-ved the time dependency of the martensite reaction at room temperature in plain carbon steels and certain tool steels. They found that a small amount of additional transformation occurred after the specimen reached the quenching temperature and that the rate of this isothermal transformation decreased rapidly with time. These authors considered this phenomenon to be a "tailing-off" of the main athermal reaction. Kurdjumov and MaksimovaL 5 studied the isothermal formation of martensite at subatmospheric temperatures in steels containing 0.6 pct C-6 pct Mn, 1.6 pct C, and in an iron-base alloy containing 23 pct Ni and 3.4 pct Mn. In each case it was found that both the initial rate and the total amount of isothermal transformation exhibited sharp maxima with decreasing temperature. They stated that it was possible to completely suppress the martensitic transformation in the 0.6 pct C-6 pct Mn steel by drastic quenching in liquid nitrogen. They interpreted their results in terms of a thermally activated process. The maximum in the rate of nucleation vs. temperature curve was assumed to be a result of the temperature dependence of the rate of growth of the martensite plates. It has been demonstrated," however, that martensite plates can form with great rapidity even at temperatures approaching absolute zero. In addition," attempts to confirm the reported suppression of the martensitic transformation by rapid cooling of a 0.6 pct C-6 pct Mn steel have proved unsuccessful. On this basis, and on other theoretical grounds, the validity of some of Kurd-jumov's results and conclusions is open to serious question. Cohen, Machlin, and Paranjpe' have proposed a theory of martensite formation based on the nucleation of strain embryos and a growth mechanism involving cooperative atomic displacements. According to this theory thermal fluctuations can make a strain embryo supercritical and thereby produce martensite isothermally. Das Gupta and Lement' have investigated the isothermal formation of martensite in a 17 pct Cr-0.7 pct C steel at temperatures below the ambient. They found that partial suppression of the martensitic reaction occurred on quenching into liquid nitrogen. That part of the reaction which can be suppressed is taken to correspond to the isothermal rather than the athermal part of the rnartensitic transformation. The initial rate of isothermal transformation for this steel was found to go through a maximum with decreasing temperature. This is in conformity with the findings of Kurdjumov and Maksimova for the steels used in their investigation. Das Gupta and Lement conclude that isothermal martensite formation occurs by the nucleation of new plates and is always preceded by some athermal transformation. An iron-base alloy containing 14 pct Cr-9 pct Ni was used in this investigation to study further the kinetics of the austenite to martensite transforma-

Jan 1, 1953

By J. B. Agan, R. J. Fernandes

This paper utilizes the layered-system approach, modified to include areal sweep efficiency, to determine the miscible-slug size required and to predict the perfort7zance of a miscible-slug process in a highly stratified reservoir having a permeability variation of 0.76. The slug size in each layer was determined from theoretical calculations and laboratory data which showed that, to maintain miscibility in the reservoir, the slug size had to be 8.2 per cent of the floodable hydrocarbon pore volume. Economic considerations, however, such as the value of the miscible product injected, the cost of injection and the cost of reprocessing the miscible product, limited the amount of miscible product which could be injected into the lower-permeability layers. This resulted in subjecting only 60 per cent of the reservoir to a slug size sufficient to maintain miscibility. Utilizing the relationship of producing gas-oil ratio and areal sweep efficiency as a function of pore volume injected (as obtained from data published by Dyes, Caudle and Erickson2), the theoretical performance was determined. This prediction is compared with actual performance to date. Actual performance reflects an increasing percentage of tniscible product in the produced fluid to a particular level, which remains static for a short period and then increases again to a higher level. This performance suggests that the reservoir has performed as a layered system. It is concluded that the layered-system approach can be used to predict performance in a highly stratified reservoir and that economic consideration is a limiting factor in determining the amount of the reservoir which can be miscibly swept. INTRODUCTION The Paloma zone in the Paloma oil field, Kern County, Calif., is comprised of several sand members separated by siltstone, shale and/or cherty sections. Rapid facies changes within the zone indicate that the sediments were deposited in a "near shore" environment. As a result, the Paloma sands have a high permeability variation, and the Paloma zone is comprised of several sand reservoirs. Since one of the sand reservoirs containing crude oil was not receiving the benefits of gas injection, consideration was given to recompleting certain wells to isolate the sand in order to perform a miscible-phase injection project and, thereby, to increase its ultimate oil recovery. Before proceeding with the project, a review of the literature was made to determine the miscible-slug size that would be required to maintain miscibility throughout the displacement process. Although the review showed that considerable information was available for homogeneous systems, insufficient information was available to determine slug-size requirements and to predict performances for a highly stratified reservoir. This paper has been prepared to describe the method used to determine the miscible-slug-size requirement and to predict the performance of the miscible-phase injection project initiated in the Paloma oil field. Although the Paloma project has only been in operation since Aug., 1958, sufficient production history has been obtained so that a comparison can be made with the predicted performance. DESCRIPTION OF RESERVOIR The reservoir in which the miscible-phase project was initiated in the Paloma field is shown on Figs. 1 and 2. Reservoir properties are as follows: average sand thickness, 43 ft; porosity, 19.1 per cent; water saturation, 47.2 per cent: oil viscosity, 0.328 cp; reservoir temperature, 250°F; reservoir pressure, 3,500 psi: gas saturation, 21.2 per cent at time of miscible product injection; and total net hydrocarbon pore volume, 19,993,000 reservoir bbl. LIMITATIONS The method described herein utilizes a layer-system approach, where injection into and production from each layer is assumed to be proportional to the layer's fractional capacity. The effects of increased fluid mobility on injection and production rates, in layers which have had breakthrough, are not reflected in this method. There has been considerable controversy over the slug size necessary to maintain miscibility throughout the displacement process. In this method, the slug-size

By R. F. Blakely, P. E. Potter

Any stratigraphic section or bedding sequence can be synthesized if there is a transition procedure from one lithology or bedding type to another, and if thickness distributions of the different lithologies are known. Stratigraphic sections of a fluvial sandstone body were synthesized with five bedding types: cross-bedding, massive beds, parting lineation, ripple mark and mudstone. The transition procedure from one bedding type to another used dependent, Markovian random processes which have a memory that extends one step backward in the depositional process. As observed in nature, median grain size and sand wave thickness (cross-bedding and ripple mark) decline upward in the synthesized sections as proportions of the different bedding types change. Grain size and permeability were also incorporated into the sections. By changing the transition procedures, bed thickness distributions, rate of upward decline or sand wave height and length, different types of sections can be synthesized, thus making it possible to model many different sedimentation problems. INTRODUCTION This paper describes a general method for synthesizing stratigraphic sections and bedding sequences of sedimentary, metamorphic or igneous origin. Synthetic generation is of interest for several reasons. Close correspondence between real and synthetic sections suggests that the factors used in the synthesizing model may indeed be the correct ones, thus giving the investigator a check on his assumptions. Rapid, inexpensive simulation of many stratigraphic sections permits one to synthesize a rock body (sandstone or carbonate reservoir) or, on a larger scale, the fill of a sedimentary basin. Harbaughl gives an example of mathematical simulation of a carbonate basin. He simulated the basin in the hope that improved prediction would follow better understanding of the depositional processes. From the petroleum engineer's viewpoint it seems reasonable to believe that the synthetic generation of rock properties and their distribution in a reservoir should be relevant in the study of reservoirs. Any stratigraphic section or bedding sequence can be generated provided there is a transition procedure from one lithology or bedding type to another, and provided the thickness distributions of the different units are known. The transition procedure involves random processes that are either independent or dependent. If the depositional process is independent, previous deposition will have no influence on present deposition. However, if it is dependent, past deposition will influence either present or future deposition. Such a dependent depositional process can be thought of as having a memory that extends backward in time through one or more pulses of deposition. A process with a memory can be described by a Markov process. Because the concept of memory or dependence appears to be in accord with our understanding of many depositional processes, Markov processes were used to synthesize the bedding sequences of this study (see Appendix). The above methods are perfectly general and are appropriate for any stratigraphic section or bedding sequence: bedding types in a beach deposit, an evolving carbonate bank or the changing lithologic fill of a thick geosyncline sequence. We chose to synthesize a vertical profile of a fluvial sandstone body because its characteristics were well documented, much was known about fluvial processes and fluvial-deltaic sandstone bodies constitute an important class of petroleum reservoirs. CHARACTERISTICS AND ORIGIN OF FLUVIAL CYCLE The fluvial cycle has been well documented in recent years by Bersier,2 Allen3-5and Visher.6,7 Deposits from fluvial cycles range from 10 to 150 ft or more in thickness and are characterized by a "fining upwards": coarse sandstones with occasional conglomerates grade upward into medium- to fine-grained sandstone, and hence into siltstone and mudstone. The dominant sedimentary structure is inclined bedding: thick cross-beds in the lower half

By V. M. Dobrynin

Experimental data demonstrate that physical properties of porous rocks change under pressure. In this paper an assumption is made and proved that under pressure the changes of physical properties such as porosity, density, permeability, resistivity and velocity of elastic waves are controlled to a large extent by the pore compressibility of rocks. It is also shown that the pore compressibility of rocks can be determined, within the range of pressures from 0 to 20,000 psi, by knowing the maximum pore compressibility and the magnitude of the pressure. Mathematical equations were developed which permit one to define changes in physical properties of porous rocks under pressure. These equations were verified by experimental data obtained from the study of sandstones. INTRODUCTION In studying the behavior of porous rocks under pressure in the field of petroleum technology, the most interesting aspect is the observation of those properties which characterize the rocks as possible reservoirs — for example, porosity, permeability, resistivity, density and the velocity of elastic waves. The literature dealing with this problem mainly contains data concerning the study of only one or at most two of these parameters, but not of the group as a whole. An attempt is made in this paper to find general equations involving each of these parameters, which will permit the study of the behavior of rocks under pressure. All experimental data used here were obtained from the investigation of consolidated sandstones. EXPERIMENTAL In addition to the use of published experimental data, an experiment was carried out which studied the main physical properties of sandstones under pressure. Two homogeneous quartz sandstones were chosen for this purpose: (1) the Torpedo sandstone from Kansas, and (2) the Medina sandstone from Ohio. The porosity of the Torpedo sandstone was 20.2 per cent, and that of the Medina 8.7 per cent. Permeabilities were 45 md and less than 1 md, respectively. Each sandstone contained about 5 per cent clay minerals, consisting mostly of kaolinite and chlorite, which were distributed quite evenly throughout the samples. One cylindrical sample 2 in. in diameter and 5 in. in length was cut from each sandstone and then saturated in a vacuum with a 3N solution of NaC1. This high concentration was used in order to obtain true formation factors and to decrease the swelling of the clay minerals. The methods of mounting the samples and measuring the changes in porosity and resistivity were practically the same as those described by Fatt and Mann.1,2 Changes of resistivity under pressure were studied for sandstones with 100 per cent water saturation, and for sandstones with the irreducible water saturation. The irreducible saturation was obtained by enclosing the saturated rock samples in relatively fine silicate powder so as to remove the water by capillary action. This procedure is described by Orkin and Kuchinski.3 Changes of permeability with pressure were determined at room temperature using nitrogen as the flowing medium. In studying the effects of pressure, one series of measurements was made using an internal pore pressure Pi equal to the atmospheric pressure, while the overburden pressure Pe ranged from 0 to 20,000 psi. A second series of measurements was used over the same range of overburden pressure, but with an internal pore pressure of 1,800 psi. When the results were compared on the basis of net overburden pressure (Pe — 0.85 Pi ), there was practically no difference for these two sandstones. The origin of the factor 0.85 in the expression for net overburden pressure is given by Brandt,4 Fatt5 and Geertsma.6 The relatively large bulk volumes of the sample (about 15 cu in.) made it possible to observe a

By H. D. Outmans

Present first-order theory for frontal stability and viscous fingering of immiscible liquids is improved by including the nonlinear terms in the equations describing conditions at the interface of the liquids. This leads to the revision of several conclusions which were based on first-order theory. They concern the growth rate and changing shape of a sinusoidal disturbance, particularly in relation to the wave number of this disturbance. Nonlinear aspects of effective interfacial tension are discussed and it is shown that this tension is not simply a positive proportionality constant in a linear relation between pressure difference and curvature at the interface. Scaling requirements are determined from the dimensionless groups which govern fingering. Gravity and interfacial tension invalidate a previously formulated conclusion that the shape of a finger after a given displacement is independent of the displacement velocity. Also, similarity of fingering (and, hence, of sweep efficiency in case of an unstable front) requires geometrical similarity of the initial disturbance in the model and the reservoir with a scale factor which is the same as the one for scaling down the dimensions of the reservoir. INTRODUCTION The critical velocity at which the transition zone in the vertical displacement of immiscible liquids becomes unstable was calculated by ill. More recently, the same was done for nonvertical displacements and it was also shown that the stability is affected by an effective interfacial tension between the liquids. 2-4 Although in the oil reservoir a stable front is always desirable from a recovery point of view, the necessary velocity may have to be so low that the corresponding production rate is not economical. In that case, a knowledge of the fingering unstable front is necessary for predicting recovery at break- through. Studies in this direction have not gone beyond the very moment at which fingering first occurs.5,6 Conclusions about stability and fingering in these references are all based on linear theory. In this theory the nonlinear terms in the equations describing conditions at the front are neglected. The usual justification for this lack of mathematical rigor is that the nonlinear terms can be made small relative to the linear terms and, supposedly, small causes produce only small effects. It has been recognized, however, that this is not necessarily true in the nonlinear problems of hydrodynamics.7 The hydro-dynamic stability and fingering of the front between two liquids, accelerated in a direction normal to the front, for instance, is strongly influenced by the nonlinearity of the boundary conditions.8-10 Since these boundary conditions are not unlike those arising in the problem of stability and fingering of the front during a slow immiscible displacement in porous media, it was thought that there, too, the nonlinear terms should be taken into consideration. A summary of the results obtained in linear theory and a comparison with experimental data precede the nonlinear theory developed in this paper. This summary serves to introduce some quantities which will be used in the further develop ment. It should also be pointed out that the method of higher-order approximation by which the nonlinear stability problem is solved has application in other reservoir studies.11 SUMMARY OF LINEAR THEORY 1. A plane interface remains stable if its velocity is smaller than a critical velocity. vc = (p2-p1)gn/(l/A2- l/A1 .........(1.1) This equation is derived for uniform flow in a thin layer inclined to the horizontal plane. The displacement takes place in a direction normal to the intersection of this layer and the horizontal plane. The undisturbed (line) interface is normal to the velocity. Fluid 1, the upper fluid (gas), is displacing Fluid 2 (oil). (VcQS would be the injection rate in cc/

By S. G. Epstein

Electromigration has been measured in dilute liquid alloys of lead in antimony and antimony in lead. In these alloys antimony migrates with the electron current; lead migrates in the opposite direction. These results, which contradict the mass criterion, were predicted by the electron drag model for electromigration in liquid alloys. The existing experimental data are shown to correlate with the difference in electrical resistivities of the alloy components. FOR many years investigators have attempted to relate observed electromigration phenomena in liquid alloys to the physical properties of the alloy components. The most successful correlation was found by Angus et' al.,1 who in 1959 proposed an empirical criterion for predicting the relative direction of motion of the components of a liquid alloy in an electric field: the component with the smallest atomic mass concentrates at the cathode. While this criterion is obeyed in nearly all the alloy systems which had been investigated, the physical basis for such an effect was not understood. It was also disturbing that the mass criterion predicted the wrong sign for the Haeffner effect; observations with pure liquid metals revealed that in every instance the lighter isotope was transported to the anode.2 Klemm3 explained these isotopic separations by suggesting that the lighter isotopes were more mobile and more easily carried to the anode with the electron stream. Additionally, several deviations from the mass criterion have been found in liquid alloys, notably involving transition metals such as chromium, nickel, palladium, and zirconium, which migrate to the anode in liquid bismuth.4'5 Recently, a model has been proposed6 in which electromigration in liquid alloys is attributed primarily to the interaction between the electron stream and the metal ions. In essence, this model predicts that the component with the greater electron-ion scattering cross section will be preferentially transported to the anode, displacing the other component to the cathode. The electrical resistivity of each pure component at its melting point is taken as the measure of its scattering cross section. This model was developed from the results of systematic studies with various solutes in liquid mercury,7'8 bismuth,9 and sodium.10 In every alloy, the component with the greater resistivity has centrates at the anode. Coincidentally, in every instance the component with the greater resistivity has also the greater mass, apparently satisfying the mass criterion. In order to differentiate between electron-ion coupling and atomic mass as the relevant physical prop- erty influencing electromigration, measurements were made with Pb-Sb alloys. Lead has an atomic mass nearly twice that of antimony, but lead has an electrical resistivity of 91 microhm-cm while antimony has a value of 113.5 microhm-cm at their respective melting points. The mass criterion predicts that in an alloy of the two antimony will concentrate at the cathode; the electron drag model predicts that antimony will concentrate at the anode. EXPERIMENTAL To conclusively determine the relative motion of lead and antimony in each other, solute electromigration was measured in dilute liquid alloys of antimony in lead and lead in antimony. Both starting materials were 99.999+ pct pure. The measurements were made with the same capillary-reservoir technique previously used for measuring electromigration in liquid bismuth alloys.11 Several changes in the experimental apparatus were necessary, however, to accommodate liquid antimony, which has a higher melting point than bismuth. The modified apparatus is depicted in Fig. 1. In each experiment four quartz capillaries were filled with the molten alloy. A direct current was passed through two of the capillaries; the electrode in one of these capillaries was made the cathode, and the electrode in the other was made the anode. The remaining two capillaries sampled the alloy in the reser-

Jan 1, 1969

By R. E. Reed-Hill, W. H. Hartt, W. A. Slippy

An unusual form of double kinking has been observed at the ends of {1121} twins in deformed zirconium. These kinks lie partly outside of the twin and partly inside. While they are undoubtedly closely associated with accommodating the twinning shear into the matrix, they are apparently closely related to other important aspects of twin growth. A mechanism is proposed for {1121} twin growth involving interactions between 1/3 (1120) dislocations in the bend planes and twinning dislocations. It is also shown that boundaries without long range strain fields develop at the tapered ends of the twins. The {1121} twins can, therefore, grow without forming high-energy noncoherent twin boundaries containing large numbers of closely spaced twinning dislocations. NUMEROUS investigators have indicated that slip is often closely associated with deformation twinning. An example is twin accommodation kinking,1-3 where dislocations form bend planes and permit accommodation of a twinning shear within the parent crystal. Another is the incorporation of slip dislocations into twins, as proposed by Sleeswyk and verbraak4 and Ishii and Kiho5 for iron and ß-tin, respectively, and observed in hcp metals by Price.6 In addition, it has been shown that shear discontinuities exist at the points of twin intersections in zinc,7 magnesium,8 titanium,9 ß-tin,10 and bismuth," where the continuity conditions for twin intersections, originally proposed by cahn,12 are not satisfied. A similar situation occurs for zig-zag (1121) twins in zirconium13 and ?-phase silver-aluminum alloys,14 where the twinning shears of the two component twins are not parallel. In all these latter cases additional deformation by slip is believed to accommodate the twinning shear discontinuity. The present paper is concerned with a newly observed aspect of the slip and twinning interrelation, in which two kinks, one inside the twin and the other external to the twin, are formed. These kinks, observed in conjunction with (1121) twinning in zirconium, form to accommodate the twinning shear. A model has been constructed explaining the growth and accommodation of (1121) twins in terms of these kinks. This mechanism may be significant since it is concerned with an important twin mode, which occurs not only in zirconium but also in titanium and hafnium. The practical significance of (1121) twinning has been adequately demonstrated. At 77° K the high ductility of zirconium containing a large number of grains unfavorably oriented for slip is primarily due to (1121) twinning.'5 Also, (1121) twins nucleated at 77°K may grow during further deformation at room temperature. This growth can greatly increase the transverse ductility15 as well as produce large mechanical hysteresis effects.= EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Arc-melted, sponge zirconium plate previously described17 was prestrained 0.65 pct at 77° K by cold-rolling to introduce {1121} twins into the structure. Tensile specimens were cut with axes normal to the plate rolling direction. These specimens were pulled in tension to near the point of failure in an Instron machine at room temperature at a cross-head speed of 2 x10-2 in. per min. This additional deformation caused growth of the twins nucleated by prestrain. Deformed specimens were then prepared for metallo-graphic examination. This included an anodizing treatment18 that made the surfaces sensitive to polarized light, permitting small lattice rotations to be revealed. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS Nature of the Twin-Kink Band Structure. Fig. 1 is a photomicrograph of a typical specimen after prestrain at 77° K. The structure is characterized primarily by long, narrow, parallel sided (1121) twins which norma1ly traverse the entire grain. Fig. 2 shows several (1121) twins after additional straining at room temperature. These lie near the center of the polarized light photomicrograph and are inclined upward to the right. It is evident that this latter deformation has resulted in appreciable twin growth. The dark regions extending from the ends of these twins are accommodation kinks. The difference in reflected light intensity indicates the

Jan 1, 1969

By G. T. Smith, R. C. Moyer

Cadmium, along with other impurities such as lead, gallium, germanium and indium, is characteristically found associated with zinc ores, the average ratio of zinc to cadmium being about 200 to 1. The increasing demand for cadmium has led most zinc producers to develop a means for its recovery. The separation and recovery of this byproduct constitutes an important development in the metallurgical field. Zinc sulphide concentrates, principally from domestic sources, are processed at Donora Zinc Works and they assay approximately 60 pct zinc, 30 pct sulphur, 0.37 pct cadmium, and 0.8 pct lead. Concentrates are roasted to convert zinc sulphide to zinc oxide. Sulphur evolved as sulphur dioxide is used to manufacture 60º Baume sulphuric acid by the lead chamber process. The roasted calcine is sintered to remove the remaining sulphur and volatile impurities. Fume from the sintering machines is collected by Cottrell pre-cipitators and sent to the Cadmium Department for cadmium removal. The sintered product, a crude zinc oxide, is then mixed with coke and salt and charged into horizontal retorts for reduction to zinc metal. Furnace residues are then passed through a Waelz kiln which recovers practically all of the remaining zinc as an oxide. This oxide is collected by Cottrell precipi-tators and returned to the sintering plant for further processing. The following discussion covers operating procedure, and equipment used in the Cadmium Department for the manufacture of cadmium and its byproducts. (See attached Flow Sheet, Fig 1.) The production of cadmium may be divided into several steps, each of which will be discussed separately. These steps are as follows: 1. Raw Materials—Sinter Plant Cottrell dust, acid sludge and sulphuric acid. 2. Sulphating—Separation of lead. 3. Purification—Separation of impurities other than zinc. 4. Precipitation—Separation of cadmium from zinc. 5. Briquetting—Preparation of sponge for charging to furnace. 6. Smelting—Distillation of cadmium metal. 7. Remelting—Casting into commercial shapes. 8. Recovery of Rare Metals—Separation of germanium, gallium and indium. Raw Materials The raw material, or Sinter Plant Cottrell dust, from which the cadmium is manufactured, is recovered by Cottrell units collecting fume from two Dwight-Lloyd sintering machines. An average analysis of this dust is 36 pct zinc, 1.5 pct sulphur, 17 pct lead, and 5.5 pct cadmium, with associated elements in smaller amounts. A lesser tonnage of material removed from the sintering machine fans, and called fan cleanings, is also treated for cadmium. It is lower grade material and analyzes approximately 41 pct zinc, 1.2 pct sulphur, 14 pct lead, and 4 pct cadmium. Cottrell dust and fan cleanings are delivered to the Cadmium Department by monorail crane in bell-bottomed dump buckets. Acid sludge and 60" Bauine sulphuric acid are received from the Acid Department. The acid sludge is a mixture of lead sulphate, sulphuric acid and zinc sulphate, and is recovered mainly from the floors of the acid chambers or storage tanks. The acid sludge is delivered to the Cadmium Plant in a lead lined bucket. The 60º Baume sulphuric acid is delivered through a lead pipe to a lead lined storage tank. Sulphating Four well ventilated lead lined sulphating tanks, 8 1/2 ft in diam by 12 ft deep, are used. These are steel tanks lined with 20 lb lead on the bottom and 16 lb lead on the ides, equipped with Hastelloy side agitators. 15 hp motors drive 24 in. propellers at 450 rpm. There are water connections to stuffing boxes to keep sludge from entering the bearings. The tanks are covered with removable wooden lids and are connected to marine plywood

Jan 1, 1950

By L. C. Brown, A. J. Stewart

Phase transformations have been studied in Ag-Zn alloys quenched from the high-temperature bcc 0 phase and lying in the composition range 37.4 to 50.0 at. pct Zn. On quenching, the alloy with the lowest zinc content transformed to massive a (fcc); all other alloys formed the ordered (3' phase. On deformation, a martensitic reaction took place forming a close-packed structure. At Lou' zinc contents transformation to this structure was complete. However, above 43 at. pct Zn a p.rogressively increasing amount of ß' was retained following deformation. The close-packed structure was fcc at lower zinc contents (under 47 at. pct Zn) and either hcp or a mixture of fcc and hcp at high zinc concentrations. The structures produced by cold working were unstable and on aging transformed to the ß' phase or the complex hexagonal to phase. For low zinc contents (under 43 at. pct) the fcc st-ructure transformed directly to the equilibrium To phase. With higher zinc contents, some 13' was retained following defownation, and on aging the amount of this phase relative to the close-packed structure increased. On further aging both structures transformed cornpletely to PO. Metallographic examination indicated that the nature of the deformation product depended very markedly on the mode of deformation. Tensile deformation gave a microstructure characteristic of thermal martensite. KING and Massalski1 have shown that an alloy of Ag-50 at. pct Zn quenched from the high-temperature bcc ß phase undergoes a low-temperature ordering reaction forming ß' which can be retained to room temperature. On deformation an hcp phase is produced, although this is unstable and the structure reverts completely to ß' on aging. In the present paper, the work of King and Massalski is extended to cover a wide composition range in the p phase, observations being made of the structure of the quenched 13 and of the effects of deformation and aging. The relevant portion of the Ag-Zn phase diagram is shown in Fig. 1. King and Massalski have shown that close to stoichiometry the ß' phase is the equilibrium structure at low temperatures. The approximate composition range of this phase, taken from a recent paper by Pops and Massalski,3 is shown on the phase diagram. The locations of atom sites are very similar in the ß' and to structures, and the 4, structure can be derived from the 0' structure by a small movement of atoms mainly in the direction of the cube diagonal.4'5 However, the probability of filling any particular atom site by a silver or a zinc atom is markedly different in the two structures. The structure can be considered partly ordered but the arrangement of the ordered atoms is completely different from that in the p' structure and transformation from ß' to requires a large fraction of the atoms to change position. It has been shown that the ß' transformation is thermally activated involving normal nucleation and growth processes.5,8 Massalski and Barrett7 have shown that in the Cu-Zn binary the (3 phase can be retained in the ordered state to room temperature over a wide composition range. On deformation a new close-packed phase is produced, the structure varying from fcc to a mixture of fcc + hcp to hcp alone with increasing zinc concentration. It appears that an ordering reaction is necessary to retain the bcc phase to room temperature. In CU-Ga,8 the bcc phase cannot be retained to low temperatures as it transforms by a massive reaction above the ordering temperature of the ß phase. The structure of the massive phase is very similar to that in Cu-Zn, varying from fcc to fcc + hcp to hcp with increasing zinc concentration. Similar structures have also been observed in CU-A1,9 Ag-Cd,10,11 and Ag-Al.12 EXPERIMENTAL The alloys were prepared by melting fine silver (99.99 pct purity) and electrolytic zinc (99.999 pct

Jan 1, 1969

By John E. Carr

A bewildering variety of continuous thickeners and clarifiers are used in mineral industries and other heavy industries. General topes arc: ? Conventional thickeners ? Thickeners with flocculating feedwells ? Solids contactors ? Tray thickeners ? Lamellas ? Conventional thickeners with Lamellas ? High flow, fluid bed thickeners These units must be adapted to varied applications. They must provide operating flexibility to meet process needs. Such factors multiply the decisions which must be made prior to the selection of a thickener. The seven types of thickeners listed above, with their variations, share design concepts which limit their application and which can be used to evaluate their performance. Some of these arc: ? Feed velocities must be limited and/or controlled. ? Natural or reagent flocculation is necessary. ? Horizontal settling area is the basis for capacity. ? Overflow velocities must be limited and. or controlled. ? A controlled underflow is necessary. Thickener selection is the application of these needs to the basic process concepts. The basic function of a thickener, in the minerals industry, is the separation of a thickener sludge containing fine solids from water. In addition to this primary separation function, others include: ? Separation of solids from water ? Separation of flocculated solids from slimes ? Storage of solids ? Control of percent solids ? Storage of water ? Process control by absorbing fluctuations in feed ? Process control by increase in head clue to the depth and percent solids of the thickened sludge. Most thickener designs, suitable to minerals applications, are based on the separation of minus 65-mesh, 2.7 specific gravity solids containing slimes. These designs are routinely adapted to coarse and or denser materials. Materials of lower specific gravity such as coal, wood, char, some chemical precipitates and organics act Hike slimes if a thickener is used. Perhaps the most conservative approach to sizing and application is the use of comparative data from similar plants or similar industries. Thickeners are-routinely used in a great number of industries from which there is good historical information available. In the minerals industry, thickeners are used in: clay sizing, coal refuse, heavy media, copper concentrates, copper tailings, gold flotation concentrates, and countercurrent decantation for cyanidization in gold and CCD in uranium. Concentrate and tailings thickeners are used in iron ore plants, and concentrate and tailings units in lead-zinc plants. In addition, there arc thickeners designed to handle lime mud; limestone concentrates and tailings; phosphoric acid; potash; and rutile concentrates. Thickeners are, in addition, widely used in gravel plants for water reclamation. This gives excellent data on clay settling in some cases. Thickeners are used extensively for slurries generated by flue dust from wet scrubbers. Thickeners in flue dust applications are operating with considerable variations, treating blast furnace dust. BOF flue dust, and wood char. Similar applications are met in the power industry with fly ash and SO2 scrubber systems. Even though field data is preferred, such data has limitations as listed: ? Flowsheets are seldom identical. ? Data is often incomplete or limited. ? Ores vary significantly. ? Operating needs are changing. For these reasons, mathematical and theoretical methods are needed for application of field data to a specific project. In addition, laboratory data for similar projects and, if possible, laboratory data on a representative sample should be used to specify the thickener. There is a great volume of thickener literature. The references for this paper, along with their references, and past AIME papers provide excellent background. Older literature can be reviewed in light of current methods. It is interesting to note that the requirements for higher flow rate designs, more extreme flocculation systems, etc., can be logically introduced by reading Gaudin's Sections on Flocculation and Thickening, which was written before field installations could illustrate all of his ideas. The problem, then, is to select hardware which will take into consideration the functions of flocculation, separation of the solids, water clarity, control of the underflow, and control of the overflow. Reliable operation and simple control are customary.

Jan 1, 1979

By H. L. Sauder, J. L. Newman, C. Waddell

An instrument capable of measuring subsurface flow rates is described. The instrument is self-contained and may be run on piano wire line. It detects flow by means of an impeller suspended between two torsion wires. The force of the well fluid striking the impeller causes the impeller to rotate, exerting a torsional force to the wires. This force is determined by recording the angle of rotation of the impeller on film using a battery-driven, clock-controlled camera. The impeller is sensitive to flow in either direction and the same instrument can be used to measure injection as well as production rates. Changes in direction of flow, such as might be caused by thief zones, are measurable and are indicated by a reversal of the direction of rotation of the impeller. Adjustment of the sensitivity of the instrument to measure a wide range of flow rates is accomplished by the use of different size torsion wires. An umbrella-type fluid trap, which contacts the casing or wellbore, diverts the flow through the flow tube. The fluid trap remains closed while rurrning in the hole and can be opened at any point in the well. The instrument with the trap closed is 1 3/4 in. OD and may be run through 2 in. tubing. Successful flow profiles have been made on wells with flow rates ranging from 60 BID to 4,000 B/D at surface pressure up to 4,500 psi. The instrument is designed for high-pressure and high-temperature operations. INTRODUCTION The need for an instrument that will measure flow rates in a wellbore is as old as reservoir engineering itself. A number of such devices have been designed within the past few years. Some of these have been described in the literature1,2,3,4,5,6 One of these devices1. a hot-wire anemometer type, made many successful jobs in dry gas producing areas. Difficulty was encountered when this flowmeter was used in wells producing liquids and development work was initiated to overcome this difficulty. The present flowmeter is the result of this work and provides an instrument with a wider range of application in the industry. Consider- able development work has been done on the tool involving many changes in the mechanics of recording the flow readings, however, the basic principle of flow detection has remained the same since its inception. PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION The basic principle of operation of the flowmeter is the utilization of a portion of the kinetic energy of flowing well fluid to impart a rotational force to an impeller suspended between two torsion wires. This impeller, Fig. 1, is a screw-type propeller with the blades having a pitch angle of 40. As the well fluid passes through the instrument it strikes the impeller. The resulting force rotates the impeller and twist\ the torsion wires to a balance point at which the torque imparted to the wires balances the force required for the impeller to deflect the well fluid. The impeller is symmetrical and a change in direction of the flow results in a reversal of the direction in which the impeller is deflected. Thus the direction of the flow as well as its velocity is indicated. A dial is attached to the impeller by means of a hollow tube through which the upper torsion wire extends. The angular position of the impeller is recorded by photographing the dial at frequent intervals. In any given set of torsion wires the modulus of shear and polar moment of inertia remain constant and the deflection varies directly with the applied torque. The deflection imparted to the torsion wires also varies as the square of the fluid velocity. Further, the velocities represented by any two given deflections hear the following relationships: and Where V = velocity of flow stream and O ;= deflection. This is the basic relationship which is used to calculate the relative velocities represented by a given set of deflections where the velocity represented by any one of the deflection readings is a known quantity. For a given torque, the deflection of the torsion wire varies inversely as the fourth power of the wire diameter. Wire sizes ranging from ,005 in. in diameter to .022 in. in diameter can be used. The range of

Jan 1, 1957

By L. A. Wood, A. G. Winslow

Subsidence has occurred in several areas of the upper Gulf Coast region of Texas, although in most cases this is not evident without precise instrumental leveling. As referred to in this report, the region comprises about 7200 sq miles of the Gulf Coastal Plain and includes all or parts of the following counties: Harris, Fort Bend, Waller, Brazoria, Galveston, Liberty, Chambers, Orange, and Jefferson (Fig. 1). Topographic relief is low, ranging from sea level at the Gulf of Mexico to 300 ft or more in northwestern Harris County. In this upper Gulf Coast region, which embraces the most heavily populated and industrialized parts of Texas, industrial and municipal water supply is obtained chiefly from wells. Largest center of ground-water withdrawal is the Houston-Baytown area, where about 200 million gallons per day was pumped in 1956 for municipal and industrial use. Other large centers of ground-water withdrawal include the Alta Loma sector and the heavily industrialized Texas City area in Galveston County, where about 23 mgd was pumped in 1956. In the Freeport area in Brazoria County about 6 mgd was pumped in 1956 for city and industrial supply. In addition to withdrawals in metropolitan districts, great quantities of ground water are supplied by irrigation wells to thousands of acres of rice. These wells are widely dispersed over many miles, principally in Harris, Waller, Fort Bend, Brazoria, and Liberty counties, and effects of pumping are not so readily noticed as in the industrial and metropolitan sectors. Subsidence: Starting with the 1905-1906 line from Smithville, Tex., to Galveston, the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey has extended a network of first and second-order level lines throughout the upper Gulf Coast region. In 1918, when a line was run from Sinton, Tex., to New Orleans, La., a tie was made to the 1905 leveling at Houston. In 1932-1933 a line was run from Palestine, Tex., to Houston, and a good deal of leveling was carried out in the vicinity of Houston. At this time the entire network was adjusted to the Sea Level Datum of 1929. In 1935-1936 and 1942-1943 several new lines were run and considerable releveling was performed. Supplementary adjustments were made after both the 1936 and 1943 levelings in order to reduce the elevations to the Sea Level Datum of 1929. These adjustments probably masked some of the subsidence that had occurred up to that time, although a certain amount of subsidence was noticed in the 1943 leveling. When several lines in the vicinity of Houston and Galveston were releveled in 1951, the regional nature of the subsidence became apparent.' Direct comparison with the 1943 leveling was possible because the datum was not changed. Comparisons with prior leveling were unreliable because of differences in the early and subsequent datums. In 1953-1954 many lines in the region were re-leveled and in 1957 the entire network, including the elevations previously determined, was readjusted to determine the changes in elevations as indicated by various levelings between 1905 and 1953-1954. In this instance the adjusted elevations were held fixed near the boundaries of the region where the bench marks seem to have remained stable. The only sea-level connection held fixed was the connection of the 1905 leveling to the 1903-1906 tidal series at Galveston. Almost the entire region has been at least slightly affected by the subsidence, some areas to a great extent. The profiles of subsidence (Fig. 2) and the map showing the contours (Fig. 3) illustrate both regional and local changes. A large area of subsidence is centered in the Houston-Baytown district, where the maximum recorded is about 2.7 ft between 1905 and 1954. This probably falls short of the actual maximum, since land surface subsided as much as 2.5 ft in the industrial section alone between 1943 and 1954. Sub-

Jan 1, 1960