Search Documents

By Thos Gibson

THE object of taxation is the raising of a revenue. Unless a tax accomplishes this, it is a failure. The right to take for public purposes a part of the moneys obtained from the carrying on of private enterprises is an attribute possessed only by a lawful government, and may indeed he called the supreme attribute of government. In free, democratic communities this power must of necessity rest upon the consent of the governed. Power implies obligation, hence it is obviously the duty of a government, in framing a system of taxation, to provide one which, while effective in producing a revenue, is also just and impartial. It will be conceded that mines and mining property ought to bear a fair share of the public expenditure. The question is, upon what basis taxation should proceed. Two separate taxing principles are usually contended for: Taxation should be proportionate to the benefits received by the person or property taxed; taxation should be based on ability to pay. A third is sometimes added, taxation should have reference to the extent and value of the natural resources enjoyed. As applied to mining taxation, it is pointed out by those who support the first mentioned basis that, mines being usually situated in rocky and hence sparsely peopled regions, mining companies are frequently obliged to construct roads, railways, telegraph and telephone lines, schools, water and sewerage systems, and many other amenities and conveniences of civilization, the cost of which in regions better suited for agriculture and consequently more thickly populated, has either been defrayed locally, or can be spread over a sufficiently large taxable group of people to materially lighten the financial burden on the mine. The mining com¬pany, it is argued, having made these outlays, should receive credit for, them and be relieved of taxation to a corresponding extent. There may be some force in this contention, but the situation is capable of relief without attempting to place taxation upon so unworkable a basis as the value of benefits received. Who is to be the judge of these benefits, and how are they to be valued? The very existence of a mining company and its ability to carry on business in peace and security, depend on the prevalence of law and order, which is a result of good government. The state provides protection against violence, and courts of law for

Jan 4, 1919

By C. E. Jr. Reistle

ALL crude oils become more viscous when chilled, but the only oils that congeal and precipitate paraffin to such an extent as actually to cause production troubles are those that contain an appreciable amount of wax. In handling these oils of high wax content, three distinct problems may be encountered before the oil reaches the refinery. The first problem is the precipitation and accumulation of paraffin in the well, either in the oil string or on the face and in the pores of the sand. The second problem is the accumulation of paraffin and the congealing of oil in the transportation lines. The third problem is the precipitation of paraffin and the formation of tank bottoms.

Jan 1, 1927

By K. P. Gupta

The Cb-rich boundary of the (Cb,Al) a phase field at 1250OC is near 41 pct Al. The Al atoms tend to occupy the C. N. 12 sites in this structure. A homologous (Ta,Al)a phase was identified. No a phase was found in the Mo-Al system at 1200°C. The first binary o-phase with a non-transition element as a major component was found1,2 in the Cb-Al system. The composition of this phase was reported2 as approximately 34 at. pct Al, based on X-ray diffraction patterns taken of alloys in the as-cast condition. Further study of the composition of this o-phase, therefore, appeared desirable. Since Si was previously found3,4 to occupy preferentially the lowest C.N. sites (I and IV) in the a phase, and preliminary resultsa indicated that Al may show similar ordering, one of the aims of the present work was to obtain more complete information on ordering in (Cb, Al) o. Among the binary systems of Al with Ti-, V-, and Cr-group elements, the Ti-Al, Zr-Al, V-Al, and Cr-Al systems are known to comprise no o-phase. In the present work a Ta-Al and a Mo-Al alloy were studied in an effort to find additional o phases with Al as a major component. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES AND RESULTS An alloy with the intended composition of Ta + 40 at. pct Al was prepared by arc melting in He atmosphere. In both the as-cast condition and after annealing for 10 days at 1250°C and quenching in cold water this alloy consisted of two phases, as seen in the X-ray pattern and the microstructure. One of these phases was identified as the o-phase; the observed and calculated d-spacings are shown in Table I. The lattice parameters of this o-phase are a = 9.972 A, c = 5.214 A and c/a =0.5228, as determined from a Debye-Scherrer pattern using Fe K a radiation. The d-spacings for the unknown second phase are given in Table 11. The alloy contained approximately 25 pct of the unknown phase after annealing, as estimated on the basis of microscopic examination. A Mo-Al alloy was prepared by arc melting, with an intended Al-content of 35 at. pct. The alloy button was annealed for 7 days at 1200°C and water quenched. The X-ray pattern of the alloy in both the as-cast and the annealed state showed the reflections of Mo3Al (Cr30 type structure) and an unknown phase different from a. Six Cb-Al alloys were prepared in the composition range 30 to 50 pct Al. All alloys were arc melted in He atmosphere. After annealing for three days at 1175oC in evacuated silica capsules and quenching in water, the alloys with 30 to 40 pct Al contained three phases, namely the o-phase, Cb3Al (Cr3O-type structure) and an unknown phase. The alloys with more than 40 pct Al contained two phases, namely, what appeared metallographically, the o-phase and the same unknown phase. In the alloys containing less that 38 pct Al, the unknown phase was not present after annealing for 4 days at 1250°c,

Jan 1, 1962

By Charles Will Wright

THE economy as well as the living standards of a country depends largely upon adequate supplies of raw materials at reasonable prices. Geological and climatic conditions responsible for the occurrence of commercial minerals and the growth of raw agricultural and forest products are so varied in different parts of the world that no country can be self-sufficient. The world is rapidly shrinking because of improvement in transportation facilities, but populations are steadily increasing and so are the needs for a greater production of raw materials and for their more equitable distribution. Too many barriers between nations prevent free access to the main sources of supply of the raw materials vital to neighboring nations and it is just such barriers that are often the cause of friction and even war. The International Trade Organization is doing a commendable job in helping to. break down barriers and to reduce friction, and we should now find ways to facilitate access to these sources of supply and encourage more efficient and greater production of the raw materials so urgently needed throughout the world. This cannot be done by individual selfish governmental agencies, influenced as they are by politics, nor by socialistic governments attempting to nationalize industries. It can be done efficiently only by the free individual through private enterprise properly protected against adverse governmental action. This protection can be supplied by the World Bank.

Jan 1, 1948

By A. W. Ambrose

THE underground losses of oil exceed by hundreds of thousands of barrels all the oil that has been lost in storage, transportation, or refining. The quantity lost is, of course, indeterminate; but when it is considered that the contents of an entire oil field have been excluded from recovery by invading waters, some idea of the amount wasted may be gained. Similarly, enormous quantities of gas have been lost underground. Conservation of the oil, therefore, should start before it is brought to the surface rather than after it is placed in storage tanks. Water is one of the most important causes for underground losses and the operator should give as serious consideration to an underground flood of water as he would to a destructive surface flood. The best insurance, of course, is to have the wells drilled in such a manner that water has no access to the productive oil and gas horizons, and on abandonment the wells should be properly plugged. The encroachment of edge water and the occurrence of water in the base of an oil sand present a very serious problem to an oil company; sooner or later these waters are bound to cause considerable damage, if they do not entirely destroy the possibilities of further production. Too often, however, a field has been considered to be in a hopeless condition, whereas wells in as bad a condition in other areas have been repaired and the life of the field appreciably lengthened. The corrections are very often suggested by technical study. Very successful results have been accomplished by detailed underground work in the California oil fields, in Cushing, Oklahoma, and in other areas.

Jan 9, 1920

By T. Egleston

The necessity of using a refractory material capable of much greater resistance to chemical action and having a far higher melting-point than those which contain silica, which melt and sweat off in the furnace even when not exposed to bases forming with silica more or less fusible compounds, has led to a careful practical study of all those materials which contain very refractory bases. The results of these researches, extending over several years, and made on a very large scale in many of the largest works in Europe, are of the highest interest, not only considered as a step in the progress of the study of the materials themselves, but in the application of refractory materials to metallurgical uses in general. The result of the experience of the last seven years with these basic materials, as in general with all such substanccs, is that natural products cannot be used as such. They are either too uncertain in their quality, contain substances which may in certain cases be very injurious, or, when in a condition in which they might be used, are so rare as to become practically unavailable for employment on a large scale. The materials that may he used are therefore not only limited in number. but they must be prepared artificially. When the use of basic artificial material is further extended, no doubt the number of these substances will not only be greatly increased, but the methods of preparation will be both perfected and cheapened to such an extent as to permit their application in processes for which they have hitherto proved too expensive. The quantity of refractory materials required for making ingots will he from 130 to 150 Ibs. per ton, or between 6 and 8 per cent. of the metal produced. In an establishment producing 2000 to 3000 tons of steel per week, considerable space is required to handle the basic materials properly. It is proposed in this paper to briefly discuss these basic materials and their application in the only two metallurgical processes where they have as yet been applied. These are the basic Bessemer and the basic open-hearth process, known as the Thomas-Gilchrist processes.

Jan 1, 1886

By C. D. Demond

In reverberatory smelting, fuel is the chief item of expense, as it commonly is in processes using large percentages of it. Hence the most suitable supply is eagerly sought; that is, the supply which, in the end, yields the greatest net profit. The better grades are not infrequently bought, even at an advanced price, because they are apt to be decidedly more economical. High price, of itself, however, is no merit, for freight is generally the largest part of the cost of fuel, and the nearby supply may yield as high efficiency as that from a greater distance. If a poorer grade is reasonably good, and if its cost is low enough to more than offset the decreased technical efficiency, it is of course the more suitable. Any smelting operation depends for both efficiency and economy on raising the furnace atmosphere considerably above the "critical" temperature; that is, above the temperature at which smelting is completed. If this temperature is not exceeded, smelting stops, no matter how much coal is burned; and the real value of a fuel depends on the number of degrees that the temperature is continuously kept above this point. For example, if one fuel maintains 2,500" F. and another only 2,100 F., while the "critical" temperature is 2,000" F., the first is worth at least five times as much as the second, although the increase above atmospheric temperature is only one-fifth more in one case than in the other. This "margin of temperature" above the smelting point is much more significant than the total number of heat units developed from the fuel. The case is parallel to that of water flowing from a pipe. The reservoir may contain a billion gallons of water; but, even though the fluid has come to the nozzle, not a drop will run out, where it can be of practical use, unless the level in the reservoir is higher than the nozzle; and the speed and volume of flow depend on how much higher the level is in the reservoir than at this point. If the temperature in a furnace is not above the critical level there will be no slag to flow over the skimming plate, even though there are enough heat units to bring an unlimited quantity of charge up to the point of slag formation; and just as the value of a water supply for the purpose of putting out a fire depends largely on the effective head, so the difficulties of furnace management

Jan 1, 1915

By John Wulff, J. H. Hollomon

THE opinion has been widely held that the corrosion of alpha brass occurs by the selective solution of zinc. As late as 1939, Fink1 and Evans2 suggested that in the initial stage of the corrosion the selective solution of zinc produces copper-rich areas, which subsequently act as cathodes that facilitate the deposition of copper. Previously Abrams3 had shown that most of the copper found on corroded brass was redeposited and not residual, although he did not consider the nature of the initiation of the corrosion process. Enough data exist to indicate that any metal surface is sufficiently heterogeneous to provide the anodes and cathodes necessary for the initiation of corrosion.4,5 Thus, for alpha brass we need postulate not an initial selective solution of zinc, but only the existence of local differences in electrochemical potential. The heterogeneity responsible for potential differences may arise from oxide and other films as well as from alloy concentration gradients. Even though selective corrosion may be possible in some alloy systems, previous data on alpha brass as well as the experimental work reported in this paper do not require this supposition. Bengough and May,6 in a discussion of Abrams' paper, first suggested the addition of small amounts of arsenic (0.03 per cent) to alpha brass to prevent the redeposition of copper (dezincification). This suggestion was later substantiated by Nixon.7 In their studies of the inhibiting influence of arsenic, Evans and Fink were led to the selective-solution hypothesis in order to explain the initial corrosion of such alloys. They believed that an arsenic film covered anode areas and prevented the formation of copper-rich spots capable of acting as cathodes for the deposition of copper. They did not consider, however, the mechanism by which the arsenical film was formed. Bengough and May,8 in another publication, suggested that the commonly found gray or black arsenical film may act to: (I) carry oxygen to the brass surface, (2) increase the discharge potential of copper on brass, (3) precipitate cuprous chloride from colloidal suspension in chloride solutions. Masing9 assumed that the film found upon arsenical brass was metallic arsenic. His measurements of hydrogen overvoltage of bulk arsenic led him to believe that the inhibition of dezincification occurs because the overvoltage of a brass surface is lowered by the arsenic film. He reasoned that this film would permit the more rapid reduction of hydrogen at the cathode, which would prevent the redeposition of copper. In a recent paper,10 we have pointed out that the film formed during the corrosion of arsenical brass and copper in stagnant solutions is essentially arsenious oxide (As203),

Jan 1, 1942

By AIME AIME

The Bulletin. The Bulletin of the Institute will be issued hereafter monthly instead of bi-monthly as heretofore. Among other reasons for this change, it is desired to effect thereby the earlier transmission to members of important papers, lists of candidates tin? membership, and other items of timely information. The New Haven Meeting. As already announced in special circular, the XCVIth meeting of the institute for the reading and discussion of papers will be held at New Haven, Conn., beginning Feb. 23, 1909. The Secretary of the Local Committee is Prof. J. D. Irving, Box D, Yale Station, New Haven. The program embraces visits to many interesting works in New Haven, Ansonia, Bridgeport, etc. The leading topics for discussion at the sessions will lie: The Conservation of Natural Resources; A Sea-Level Canal at Panama; and The Technical Education of Mining Engineers. But papers on other subjects also are announced. Lt is probable that a supplementary session of this meeting, will be held in New York City, at some time during March, 1909, as a joint session with other national engineering societies, for the farther discussion of the subject of The Conservation of Natural Resources. A Pacific Coast Meeting. It is now reasonably certain that the XCVIIth meeting will be held oil the Pacific Coast, including a. visit to the Exposition at Seattle, and various other points en. route going or coming, depending upon the route and program finally adopted. (lore definite information will be announced at the New Haven Meeting, or at the earliest possible date thereafter.

Jan 1, 1909

By Edmund M. Warner

Any city dweller who has walked alone along a remote mine passageway has to be impressed by the eerie silence-the total absence of noise except for one's own breathing and scuffing of boots on the bottom. An underground mine can have tremendous contrasts, from complete silence to the ear piercing clatter of percussion drills working in the mine roof. Noise in underground mining machines is both useful and detrimental. Without characteristic noises that are recognizable to miners, operators would have a more difficult job operating their machines. Noise serves as a warning of approaching machinery, and changes in noise give indication that breakdowns may occur.

Jan 1, 1979

ALABAMA Auburn.-Brown, R. L. Battelle.-Green, G. G. Bessemer.-Abbott, C. E. Dobbs, G. G. Ferguson, V. Birmingham.-Aldrich, T. H. Aldrich, T. H., Jr. Allen, A. W. Bonnyman, J. Bowron, J. Crawford, G. G. Crockard, F. H. Ellis, E. E. Fairbairn, C. T. Gambrill, G. T., Jr. Geismer, H. S. Hiller, E. McCormack, G. B. Maben, J. C.

Jan 1, 1917

By F. C. Langenberg

IT is the purpose of this paper to present a limited amount of experimental data obtained on the Charpy impact machine. Several concrete examples will be given showing the relation existing between the results obtained upon the Charpy impact machine and the behavior of the parts tested when in service. Although it is pointed out by G. Charpy and A. Cornu-Thenard1 that it is first necessary to determine a satisfactory working process before studying the correlation between the results of these tests and the behavior of the parts tested in service, this ideal course cannot be strictly adhered to. If a certain part repeatedly fails in service and the available tests give no indication of its cause, advantage must be taken of any possible means that will solve the problem; therefore, even though the reliability of the results obtained by the Charpy impact machine have been questioned by many, it was necessary to use this instrument without giving careful consideration to its possible sources of error. It would seem that the conclusions arrived at by Charpy and Cornu-Thénard justify the assumption that the precision obtained by this machine is comparable to that obtained by, the other more common forms of testing. The second general conclusion arrived at by them, namely, that the impact test upon notching does not offer any direct correlation to the ordinary tests, is also borne out by many hundred determinations made in the laboratories at Watertown Arsenal. This statement, however, should be qualified as follows: Other ordinary tests include the static tensile test from bars taken in a longitudinal .direction and the Brinell hardness. The author agrees that no law is yet known for the computation of the energy absorbed in the rupture of bars of the same material but of different dimensions. Although Charpy and Cornu-Thénard do not refer in their valuable article to the use of the Charpy machine in industrial practice, it should be stated that this instrument has been in constant use in the laboratory at Watertown Arsenal for several

Jan 8, 1919

By M. F. Burr, F. V. Lenel, G. S. Ansell

The mechanism of materials transport was studied in a model experiment in which a silver sphere was sintered to a silver plate under an applied external stress near 800° C. For this purpose the rate of growth of the neck between the sphere and the plate which is proportional to the strain rate of the creep process involved in a neck growth was determined by measuring the change in electrical resistance of the away. This rate of neck growth will depend upon the magnitude of the applied external stress. By measuring the rate just before and just after a change in the external load and therefore the applied stress, the relationship between strain rate and stress can be derived. For material transport by slip in a pure metal it is expected that the strain rate should be proportional to the 4.5th power of the stress, while for transport by diffusional flow the strain rate should be proportional to the first power of the stress. It was found that for stresses above 5 X 10' dynes per sq cm (70 psi) the exponent in the stvain rate-stress relationship was near 4.5 while for a stress of 0.7 x 108 dynes per sq cm (10 psi) an exponent of 1.8 was determined indicating that under the conditions of the experiment the transport mechanism for creep in silver shifts from diffusional flow to slip in the region of 0.7 x 106 dynes per sq cm (10 psi). The importance of these findings for an understanding of the mechanism of material transport in conventional sintering (without an external load) is pointed out. In a paper by Early et al.,' the mechanism of material transport during sintering was treated as a creep process. It was pointed out that two possible types of creep processes could operate during sintering. In one of these material transport takes place by vacancy diffusion due to a gradient in chemical potential. The vacancy sinks in this diffusion process may be either grain boundaries, as in Herring-Nabarro microcreep, or regions beneath a surface of small radius of curvature. The diffusive transport may be by volume, grain boundary, or surface diffusion. In the other mechanism, creep takes place by slip, i.e., dislocation motion with its rate generally controlled by dislocation climb. One method of distinguishing between these two modes of materials transport is to investigate the creep rate, i.e., the rate of material transport as a function of stress. For material transport by vacancy diffusion, the creep rate is proportional to the stress.' For creep by slip, controlled by dislocation climb, the creep rate is proportional to a power of the stress. For pure metals this power is 4.5;374 for dispersion-strengthened material a fourth power relationship can be derived.5 This difference in the stress dependence of the strain rate is illustrated schematically in Fig. 1, in which the logarithm of strain rate is plotted vs the logarithm of the stress for material transport in a pure metal by vacancy flux and by dislocation climb. The stress range in which the two types of material transport overlap would be expected to be relatively small. In the experiments described by Early and coworkers compacts pressed from spherical copper powder were sintered isothermally under an applied axial external load in a dilatometer. During sintering the magnitude of the applied external load was changed and the rate of axial shrinkage of the compact before and after the load change determined. In order to find the stress dependence of the strain rate the magnitude of the stress acting on the neck area between the spherical particles before and after the load change had to be calculated. This stress is the resultant of the stresses due both to the externally applied load and to surface tension. The stress due to surface tension is a function of the geometry of the powder compacts. It can be determined, at least for simple geometrical arrays,'76 but it is difficult to obtain exact values of the stresses for actual powder compacts when only average values of particle diameters and of neck diameters between particles are available. The calculation of stress and the strain rate-stress relationship is therefore only very approximate.

Jan 1, 1968

By G. Das, S. V. Radcliffe

The substructural features developed in tungsten as a function of annealing temperature (up to 2200°C) and type of material [undoped and doped powder metallurgy (PM) tungsten and electron beam melted tungsten] have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy. For doped PM tungsten wires, characteristic "par-ticulate" substructural features developed rapidly with increase in annealing temperature above 700°C. The features consisted of parallel rows of elongated or circular shapes (500 to 1000A diam) lying along the direction of the wire axis and were identified as internal voids by diffraction contrast experiments. In recrystallized doped PM rod, larger voids were observed and were identified by precision dark field analysis to be cubic in shape and bounded by (100) planes. In marked contrast with both the doped PM materials, recrystallized undoped PM rod exhibited only very occasional and randomly arranged voids. Furthermore, no voids were observed in either material after electron beam melting. The high concentration of voids in the doped PM materials is attributed primarily to vaporization of doping additions or their pvoducts situated at the original grain boundaries , whereas the few voids in undoped material are considered to be traces of microporosity which were not eliminated during sintering. A tentative mechanism is suggested for the dezlelopment of the voids in relation to the processing sequences (sintering and working) and to the subsequent annealing. In recent years, a characteristic substructural feature consisting of rows of small elongated or circular regions of light contrast lying along the direction of working has been seen in thin foil electron microscopy studies of annealed sheet, wire, and rod tungsten. These features were present in the published micrographs of sheet by Weissmann et al.1 and of wire by Meieran and Thomas2, although the authors did not draw attention to them. Wronski and Fourdeux3 observed similar features in sintered rod tungsten (it was not specified whether or not the material was doped*) and interpreted them on the basis of their ap- particles, based on extraction replica evidence from the fracture surface of the initial hot-rolled slab material from which the sheet was prepared. No diffraction contrast experiments on the features were reported in any of these studies. The present investigation was undertaken with the primary objectives of: a) identifying the nature of these substructural features in tungsten by electron diffraction contrast experiments, since the contrast for voids can be expected to differ from that for crystalline or glassy particles, and b) elucidating the origin of the features and their development. For the latter purpose, doped and undoped powder metallurgy tungsten was obtained as rod and wire to represent different stages of reduction during final processing. These materials were examined both in the as-processed condition and after annealing to successively higher temperatures. In addition, the same doped and undoped materials were examined after vacuum melting in rod form. I) MATERIALS AND PROCEDURE Doped powder metallurgy (PM) tungsten wire (commercial purity 99.9 pct W) was obtained in the as-drawn and surface ground condition (0.030 in. diam "ground seal rod"). Doped and undoped tungsten rod (0.075 in. diam) representing an earlier stage of final processing was obtained from the same commercial source (Refractory Metals Division, General Electric Co.). Lengths of both the doped and undoped rod materials were single-pass melted in an electron-beam zone refiner to examine the effect of vacuum melting on the substructure. Annealing was carried out in a tungsten crucible in a tantalum strip resistance furnace under a vacuum of l0-15 mm Hg. Longitudinal sections of the wire and rod materials were examined by light and electron microscopy. The preparation of thin foils suitable for electron transmission from 0.030 in. diam tungsten wire and the rod specimens was carried out by means of a high-precision microjet technique developed to provide lack of jet stability and precise control of the area thinned. The method is described in detail elsewhere.' The foils were examined in a JEM 6A electron microscope using a goniometer stage (±20 deg tilt, 360 deg rotation) and operated at 100 kV. To minimize contamination problems a 200 µ condenser aperture was used in conjunction with a useful beam current of 50 µA. II) RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A) Diffraction Contrast Analysis. In order to determine the optimum conditions for the development of the substructural feature, a series of isochronal 30 min annealing experiments were carried out on specimens of the doped PM tungsten wire. The transmission electron microscopy analysis showed that the as-drawn wire, Fig. 1(a), consists of 'fibers' whose long axis is closely parallel to the wire axis of (110). The fiber width averages some 0.5 µ. Dense disloca-

Jan 1, 1969

By C. J. Rodgers

The present day success of gravel packs to prevent or retard the migration of unconsolidated sands into the well bore is due to: (I) the use of a saline or non-aqueous, nonsolids drill fluid, (2) proper preparation of the well bore prior to gravel packing, and (3) pressure placement of the gravel. The experience gained from the "pressure pack" method of gravel packing indicates that sand-free fluid production can be maintained for a length of time sufficient to make the operation economically attractive. Data pertaining to the first 15 wells so completed by Gulf indicate that for each dollar spent to effect the completion, there will be a return of more than $2.92. The pressure pack technique of gravel packing is essentially the placing of gravel in and adjacent to the producing formations. This is done with fluid pressure and by the use of a drill fluid that will permit partial or complete loss of returns to the formation during placement. This technique was first intentionally used by Gulf in May, 1950, and since that time has been applied in more than 90 wells. Other advantages claimed for this type of completion are that the pressure placement of the gravel has a scouring effect on the casing perforations, that additional drainage channels to the well bore are created, and that the possibility of shifting of the formations adjacent to the casing is minimized and possibly prevented. During the past few years, the use of gravel to prevent or retard the migration of unconsolidated sands into the well bore has met with a favorable degree of success. Numerous methods and techniques of "gravel packing" have been used, each having its own relative merits, and with varying results. M. L. Cashion1 in 1939 ably reviewed the history of gravel packing to that time. As stated in his paper, ". .. the idea of gravel packing wells is not new." During the period 1939 to 1949, very little if any progress or change in technique in this type of completion was made. However, it was noted in some cases that during the placement of gravel, if there was a loss of drill fluid to the formation, there was a corresponding loss of gravel to the formation. Also, it was noted that in those gravel-packed completions (opposite casing perforations) that "sanded up," there was found to be an absence of gravel in the annular space between the liner and casing, although gravel had previously been placed in this space and no gravel had been removed from the well at the surface. These findings resulted in the placement of gravel with fluid pressure and by the use of a drill fluid that would permit partial or complete loss of returns to the formation during placement. Pressure placement of gravel became an accepted practice in late 1949 and early 1950. Another fact brought to light that has contributed to the current success of gravel pack completions is that drilling fluids containing solids will to some extent cause plugging of the screening medium or blocking of the producing section. The removal of these solids by chemical action, mechanical action, or a combination of the

Jan 1, 1955

By Norris Johnston, Carrol M. Beeson

For many years the permeability of reservoir sands has been measured by flowing air through a cleaned and dried core sample. This differs from the true reservoir permeability in one important respect: the rock particles in the reservoir are surrounded by interstitial water, not air, and their physical shape and condition of hydration are greatly dependent thereon. Permeability as defined must be measured with a single-phase fluid. Since no means exist for removing the oil and gas from a core sample by simply flowing water through it, the sample must be cleaned and then resatu-rated with water before testing. The present discussion attempts to show that after the cleaning process a considerably different permeability is determined with salt or fresh water than is obtained with air. The postulate is made that the salt-water permeability is probably closer to the true reservoir permeability than is the measurement with air. This is discussed in relation to both physically possible and economically feasible measuremerits. Data On more than 1200 core samples are given to show the nature of the effects observed, and a plea is made for others to consider water permeability measurements as a routine necessity, eventually replacing air permeability in regions where the differences are great. Introduction Permeability is defined1 as a "a measure of the capacity of a porous medium to transmit fluids, when there is no interaction between the solids and the fluid." Darcy's law of liquid flow in porous media states: kA?P QµL/A?L [I] where Q represents milliliters of liquid of viscosity p centipoises passed per second through a porous medium of permeability k darcys and cross-sectional area A sq. cm. under a pressure gradient ?P/L atmospheres per centimeter, the flow being understood to be laminar or viscous, not turbulent. This equation defines the darcy. For the case of radial flow in a uniform sand, such as usually exists in the neighborhood of a well in an oil or gas sand, Darcy's law becomes:2 Here h is the net sand thickness in feet, Pe and Pw are pressures at the drainage radius4 and well radius, and re and rw are these radii, respectively. The productivity index3 is defined as the barrels of liquid produced per day per pound per square inch mean pressure differential between ferences and well bore, and is thus: By further definition, the specific productivity index is: or in terms of practical units, and allowing for shrinkage:

Jan 1, 1945

By H. W. Graham

[ ] Even though we have a small audience, I am sure there are some here who are interested in sponge iron. It is a large subject, with a lot of economic interest, and one that will continue to grow in importance as the years go by and as the conditions that urge action in that direction increase. The authors have chosen to deal in this paper with one particular narrow phase of a long program of work by the Bureau of Mines. Before asking for any general discussion, I would myself like to ask Mr. Buehl if he would tell us just a little bit about the mechanism of discharge and the form in which the material was discharged; that is, when dolomite is added, what happens to the dolomite? R. C. Buehl (author's reply)-You are interested in the equipment that was used? H. W. GRAHAM-No, just the product. R. C. Buehl-The product was in granular form, of a shape very similar to that of the ore used. Using minus 10-mesh ore, the product is essentially minus 10-mesh, mixed with the coal and dolomite. It is then passed through a belt type of magnetic separator, which picks up the magnetic iron and allows the dolomite and coal to fall off. If the coal is sufficiently valuable, it can be separated from the dolomite and, provided the coal has a sufficiently low ash content, it can be reused. For instance, if a low-ash reducing agent like petroleum coke is used, it can be reused until all the carbon is consumed. H. W. Graham-That clears the point for me. I was not quite sure whether the experi-

Jan 1, 1947

Trans No. Place Date Vol. 1. Wilkes-Barre, Pa. May, '71 1 2. Bethlehem, Pa. Aug., '71 1 3. Troy, N. Nov., '71 1 4. Philadelphia, Pa. Feb., '72.. 1 5. New York, N. Y. May, '72 1 6. Pittsburgh, Pa. Oct., '72 1 7. Boston, Mass. Feb., '73 1 8. Philadelphia, Pa. May, '73 2 9. Easton, Pa. Oct., '73 2 10. New York N. Y. Feb., '74 2 11. St. Louis, Mo. May, '74 3 12. Hazleton, Pa. Oct., '74.. 3 13. New Haven, Conn. Feb., '75 3 14. Dover, N. J. May, '75 4 15. Cleveland, Ohio Oct., '75 4 16. Washington, D. C. Feb., '76 4 17. Philadelphia, Pa. June, '76 5 18. Philadelphia, Pa. Oct., '76 5

Jan 1, 1942

Jan 1, 1891

Trans No. Place Date Vol. 1. Wilkes-Barre, Pa. May, '71 1 2. Bethlehem, Pa. Aug., '71 1 3. Troy, N. Nov., '71 1 4. Philadelphia, Pa. Feb., '72.. 1 5. New York, N. Y. May, '72 1 6. Pittsburgh, Pa. Oct., '72 1 7. Boston, Mass. Feb., '73 1 8. Philadelphia, Pa. May, '73 2 9. Easton, Pa. Oct., '73 2 10. New York N. Y. Feb., '74 2 11. St. Louis, Mo. May, '74 3 12. Hazleton, Pa. Oct., '74.. 3 13. New Haven, Conn. Feb., '75 3 14. Dover, N. J. May, '75 4 15. Cleveland, Ohio Oct., '75 4 16. Washington, D. C. Feb., '76 4 17. Philadelphia, Pa. June, '76 5 18. Philadelphia, Pa. Oct., '76 5

Jan 1, 1932