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By Ralph Thomas, George Straghan

OIL production in Kentucky in 1941 was 5,191,024 bbl., one barrel less than in the preceding year. The total completions for the state numbered 714, of which 256 were gas Manuscript received at the office of the Institute Feb. 26. 1942. * Geologist, .Kentucky Weal Virginia Gas Co., Ashland, Ky. † Geoloneist. Inland Gas Co.. Ashland. Kv. producers, 220 oil wells, and 227 dry holes. The total number was 95 more than in 1940. No new important oil or gas pools were discovered. The number of dry tests was large, although many of the dry holes could be considered wildcat tests. In western Kentucky, 365 wells were drilled, of which 145 were oil producers,

Jan 1, 1942

By Eckley B. Coxe

I wish to call the attention of the Institute to a peculiar variety of anthracite which occurs in the Buck Mountain vein at our collieries at Drifton, and in the same and other veins in different localities in the anthracite coal-fields. It is known among the workmen as iron-gray or cast-iron. It has a dull, greasy appearance, as if a piece of ordinary anthracite had been rubbed with a dirty and greasy rag and allowed to dry. It was formerly considered a very impure coal containing a high percentage of ash, and was picked out of the coal and thrown away. But the following analysis of it and of its ash, made by Mr. J. Blodget Britton, of Philadelphia, shows that such is not the case, the percentage of ash not being much higher than that of the ordinary anthracites as they are prepared for market. ANALYSIS OF COAL. Water,.........4.36 Fixed carbon, by difference,.. 84.90 Volatile combustible matter,. . 3 48 Ash,..........7.26 100.00 The carbon proved to some extent to be of the nature of graphite, and slowly combustible. ANALYSIS OF ASH. Silica,.........25.66 Sulphur,........ .17 Alumina,........27.03 Phosphoric acid,.......21 Ferric oxide,.......42.83 Alkali, undetermined matter and Lime,.........1.56 loss,.........60 Magnesia,........1.83 Manganous oxide,......11 100.00 We recently collected a quantity of the substance and made a fire with it, in an ordinary stove, which was kept up several days. We found that it burned with intense heat, and apparently as freely as our other coal does. Mr. Britton is probably right in his view, that the difference in appearance is not due to impurities in the coal, but to the fact that the carbon is in a more or less graphitic form, as many of the standard coals are no purer. I bring this before the Institute as I know that a large quantity of this valuable fuel is thrown away every year, on account of its supposed impurities.

Jan 1, 1879

By J. C. Bradley

The relation of annealing temperature to conductivity of copper wire has been determined. Conductivity hard was 98.26 per cent. After a 10-min. heat,ing at 200" C. it was 98.69. By annealing 10 min. at 300" C. a large increase, to 100.93, occurred. Maximum conductivity, 101.15, was attained after a 500" C. anneal; thereafter it decreased to 100.53 after a 950" C. anneal. If copper is gassed the decrease is much more than this. Material and Method The work was done on high grade electrolytic copper, 99.942 per cent, copper plus silver, silver 0.0008 per cent. It was hot-rolled to 1/4 in., then cold drawn to 0.080 in. The wire was cut into 25 5-ft. lengths and numbered 1 to 25 as cut. Four samples were tested hard. The others were wound into 5-in. diameter coils. For the 100" C. heating a coil was put into water, the water brought to . boiling, and the wire kept at this temperature for 10 min. For the higher temperatures the coils were placed in envelopes of sheet copper, a little water added, and the envelopes sealed by folding over the edges twice, and hammering them together. This kept the air out very well. The envelope and wire were brought to the desired temperature; this was maintained for 10 min., then the whole was water-quenched. Results Data from the tests are shown in the table and plot (see Fig. 1); conductivity is referred to the International Annealed Copper Standard at 20" C. Conductivity hard is considerably less than conductivity soft.1 The increase is sharp when the wire anneals. The maximum, 101.15 per cent, in the particular material used, comes at 500º C.; thereafter the conductivity falls to 100.53 per cent. after 950" C. annealing, a drop of 0.62 per cent.

Jan 1, 1927

Organization Place Date 1918 Institute of Metals Division, A. I. M. E Milwaukee, Wis. Oct. 8-11 Iron and Steel Members, A. I. M. E Milwaukee, Wis. Oct. 8-10 American Foundrymen's Association Milwaukee, Wis. Oct. 7-12 American Museum of Safety and Sanitation, Exposi- tion St. Louis, Mo. Oct. -7-12 National Safety Council St. Louis, Mo. Oct. 14-17 Business Show : New York, N. Y. Oct. 21-26 National Society of Naval Architects New. York, N. Y. Nov. 14-15 American Society of Mechanical Engineers New York, N. Y. Dec. 3-6 Geological Society of America Boston, Mass. Dec. 25-31 American Association for the Advancement of Science Boston, Mass. Dec. 27-Jan. 2. 1919

Jan 10, 1918

By L. G. E. Bignell

Surveying what was done in 1929 in meeting problems of oil-field equipment corrosion, one is struck by the fact that fewer meetings were held for discussion of these problems and fewer papers written than in any year since the subject engaged the attention of petroleum engineers. This does not mean that progress has not been made, for a great deal actually has been accomplished. Recommendations that accompanied field reports have been put into actual trial and some results obtained are gratifying. The type of papers prepared also has undergone a change, for they now deal with things accomplished rather than recite damages and suggest possible remedies. Some of the most notable work pointing the way for future solution of many pipe line problems is that done for the U. S. Bureau of Standards by Dr. K. H. Logan and Dr. Gordon N. Scott, dealing with tests of pipe coatings and reports on soil conditions. Many facts of great importance have been isolated and defined by these two men, not only indicating what may be done in some instances to retard corrosion, but showing that things formerly considered of importance have little bearing apparently upon the practical results. All-aluminum Storage Tanks In April, 1928, an all-aluminum 500-bbl. field storage tank was put into actual field use in Crane County, Texas, together with another tank of the same capacity but made with steel bottom and lower section of side sheets and aluminum upper ring of side sheets and deck. In April, 1929, after a little over one year's use these tanks were opened and examined by a group of engineers and chemists. The results of the test were enlightening. Other tanks made entirely of steel and used in the same battery with the two test tanks had some of their side and bottom sheets destroyed by corrosion in six to nine months, but the all-aluminum tank was in actual use for 18 months before holes were found corroded through the bottom, when the tank was examined for a second time in September, 1929. This field test of the aluminum tank confirmed the already known

Jan 1, 1930

By D. Hanson

Fox most of their practical applications metals are required to with-stand stresses of appreciable magnitude: indeed, it is because they possess the quality of resisting stress without becoming permanently deformed that they find such extensive use in the service of man. Metals and alloys must, in service, usually behave as elastic substances-or nearly so. It is not difficult to satisfy this condition at ordinary temperatures. Iron and its alloys, especially the steels, are at normal temperatures excellent elastic bodies, capable of satisfying most of the mechanical requirements of the engineer: where electrical, chemical or other properties are impor-tant, which cannot be met by steels, it is usually possible to find a non-ferrous alloy such as nickel, copper or aluminum, which will prove satisfactory. When the metals or alloys are not inherently sufficiently elastic, cold-working or heat-treatment may develop elastic properties to a sufficient extent for practical needs. By means of relatively simple, rapid tests we can measure such properties as elastic modulus, limit of proportionality and proof stress, upon which design can be based with confidence. The case of the soft metals, such as lead and tin, is well known to be exceptional. They possess no definite limit of elasticity, and the value of proof stress or tensile strength depends to a great extent on the speed with which the test is carried out. Design here must be based on other considerations than a well-established theory of the proportionality of stress and strain. It is now generally recognized that steels and non-ferrous alloys possess at temperatures not greatly exceeding that of the atmosphere, characteristics quite different from those existing at ordinary temperatures, and that they assume qualities similar to those of the soft metals. Not only have they no limit of elasticity, but the proof stress and the ultimate stress depend on the time of application of the load. Flow under load may persist for long periods of time, possibly indefinitely, and the determination of a true maximum stress becomes a matter of great difficulty.

Jan 1, 1939

By S. A. Swensrud

REPORTS from smelters show that all were so occupied with the in- creased production called for during the first half of the year that little time was devoted to metallurgical developments. Improvements which have been made such as gas-firing and other alterations ill the reconstructed Hayden smelter, will require time for reporting. The labor situation at all plants held the most prominent place and put all other problems in the background. Coming events of considerable importance concerti the construction of two new smelters. The Chino unit of Nevada Consolidated which has long had its concentrate smelted at the El Paso plant of the American Smelting and Refining Co. is constructing its own smelter at the property in New Mexico. The newest Phelps Dodge development of the Clay ore body at Morenci, Ariz., will call for another new smelter.

Jan 1, 1938

By P. Duwez, L. Zwell

L. S. BUSCH—We have had presented two methods of measuring these variations in powder compacts. E. OROWAN—Tn connection with the rolling mill research work carried out at. the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, with the help of the British Iron and Steel Research Association. Dr. E. A. W. Hoff, Mr. J. Los, and myself, have determined coefficients of friction at ex- treme pressures for a number of liquid and solid lubricants, both by direct measurement, and by calculation from measured values of the roll force. The most efficient lubricants at these high pressures (for the small amounts of sliding that, occur in rolling) were camphor and. in particular, borneol (Borneo-camphor). Perhaps such lubricants could be used with advantage in the kind of work described by Dr. Wulff. L. S. BUSCH—1 think Dr. Wulff has in the past mentioned experiments which have been performed in the extrusion and rolling of metals and which led to conclusions which can be applied to the compacting of metal powder. A. SQUIRE*—There have been some recent developments in the field of high pressure lubricants which indicate that boron nitride might be a very desirable material to employ as a die lubricant. At the present time its cost is prohibitive, but as the need arises for the material it will undoubtedly come down in price. The present price is $200. a pound. It is my understanding that one of the reasons for vacuum pressing both in ceramics and metal powders, is to prevent

Jan 1, 1950

By Charles Bohdanowicz

As in preceding years, the most intensive drilling activity during 1934 took place in the old fields of the western part of the Polish Carpathian petroleum province (district of Jaslo). The number of wells completed to the end of 1934, expressed in percentages, is as follows: Jaslo district, 57 per cent; oil fields outside Boryslaw-Tustanowice-Mraznica, 27; Stanislawow district 8 and Boryslaw fields only 7 per cent. The number of meters drilled (Table 2), expressed in percentages, for the same fields are as follows: Jaslo district, 51 per cent; oil fields outside Boryslaw-Tustanowice-Mraznica, 26; Stanislawow district, 12, and Boryslaw oil fields, 11 per cent. This comparison shows that most of the new

Jan 1, 1935

By G. Hileman

At present there are three fields in commercial exploitation in the Argentine. In order of production they are: (1) Comodoro Rivadavia, (2) Salta, (3) Plaza Huincul. Comodoro Rivadavia.—This field is on the coast of the Territory of Chubut in the southern part of the republic. It is being developed and exploited by Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales, the government oil entity, and five private companies. The immediate coastal portion of the field, which embraces the original discovery area, is almost completely developed. This is especially true of the original government reserve and one private property. The Y.P.F. has extended its explorations and developments westward to Escalante, 27 km. distant on the state railway. This extension has been the most active and prolific section of the field for the past three years. The government has also continued its exploration drilling in the region lying south of Colonia Sarmiento and east of the Rio Senguer. Private companies have not been able to extend their operations beyond the claims they had in process of acquisition in 1924, when the government reserve areas were established. The Y.P.F. is the major producer of the field and employs modern methods and appliances. Practically all its drilling and pumping operations are electrically operated, from a central power plant. In view of t'he scarcity of water supplies, this facilitates operations and is an economic factor of considerable importance.

Jan 1, 1934

By Edgar C. Bain, William E. Griffiths

The results of an inquiry into the structural nature of some 70 iron alloys containing both nickel and chromium over a considerable range of concentration are briefly described in this paper. This study is a part of a comprehensive program of investigation into alloys involving chromium in progress at the Union Carbide and Carbon Research 1aboratories. All the compositions studied contained carbon in amount comparable to commercial alloys. The B Constituent In addition to locating the limits of composition for the three principal types of structure (polyhedral ferrite, martensite and austenite) and their combinations, certain other features of the system were observed. A hitherto undescribed brittle constituent (designated here as the "B constituent") was discovered. It is very hard, non-magnetic and forms in two modes from chrome-ferrite by recrystallization. It is the stable low-temperature condition for the equal-proportion chromium-iron materials containing less than 10 per cent. nickel. Although it partakes of the nature of an inter-metallic compound, yet it may exist over a considerable range of composition. It is non-existent above a temperalure zone, varying with composition, from 800° C. to 950° C., and heating above this critical temperature develops chrome ferrite persistent after average cooling rate; a few hours just below this temperature will develop the complicated brittle crystalline type. The B constituent, when found in the grain boundaries of alloys of lower chromium content, contributes a serious brittleness removable, however, by heating and cooling rapid enough to prevent its re-format'ion. By suitable means of precipitution, the hard B constituent can be made to strengthen the already stiff alloy matrix in the manner of submicro-scopic particles, as exemplified in duralumin or the Sykes iron-tungsten and iron-molybdenum alloys. A possible explanation is offered for the familiar brittleness developed in chrome iron at temperatures above about 475" C. and removable by

Jan 1, 1927

Jan 1, 1891

By Zay Jeffries

Tungsten has the highest melting point of all the known metals, namely 3350 C.; it is one of the hardest of the metals; it has the highest equiaxing or recrystallization temperature after strain hardening, of any pure metal known. It is particularly distinguished because, when composed of small equiaxed grains, it is extremely brittle and fragile at room temperature, and when possessing a fibrous structure it may be ductile and pliable at room temperature. The common ductile metals act in exactly the opposite manner in this respect. The present paper will include a brief note regarding the manufacture of wrought and ductile tungsten. The metallography of wrought and ductile tungsten in the various stages of manufacture will be considered more or less in detail. The general relationships between the properties of tungsten and other metals will also be considered. A discussion will be given explaining why fibrous tungsten is ductile at room temperature, even though past experience with other metals would indicate that it should be brittle. Finally, a brief note regarding some new fundamental metallographic propositions relating to all metals will be given. Manufacture of Wrought and Ductile Tungsten Up to about 10 years ago, it had not been possible to work tungsten mechanically. About the year 1908, Dr. William D. Coolidge, of the General Electrie Go., produced ductile tungsten from what was then supposed to be an inherently brittle metal and which, in fact, was inherently brittle in its normal state, that is, when composed of equiaxed grains. Since that time many products, chief among which are the filaments for electric incandescent lamps, have been made from wrought and ductile tungsten. Tungsten is produced chiefly from the minerals wolframite and scheelite.1-8 The ores may be reduced in many ways. For example, the ore may be fused with alkali carbonates and the fusion dissolved in water; sodium tungstate is formed, which is soluble in water. This

Jan 1, 1919

The Library of the above-named Societies is open from 9 A. M. to 10 P. M. except on holidays. It contains about 70,000 volumes and 90,000 pamphlets, including sets of technical periodicals and publications of scientific and technical societies. Members of the Institute, with few exceptions are forced to spend a portion of their time in localities isolated from sources of information. To these the Library; through its Library Service Bureau, can render valuable service through correspondence; letters requesting information will receive especial attention: The Library is prepared, to furnish references and photographic copies of articles on mining and metallurgical subjects; to determine the existence of mining maps, and to furnish general Information on the geology and mineral resources of-all countries. All communications should be made as definite as possible so that the information received may be what is desired and not include collateral matter which may not be of interest. The time spent in searching for such collateral matter will be saved, and the information will be sent more promptly and in more usable shape. HARRISON W. CRAVER, Director.

Jan 4, 1919

By M. S. Azun

I do not at all agree with the basic points of the author's conclusion. The use of lognormal or normal model to respond to the attribute distribution function should be carefully questioned. If fitting a distribution function of regionalized variables is the main purpose, one may employ one of certain well-known families of distributions, such as Tukey's lambda functions. For instance, the distribution function of gold assay values studied by Krige (Krige, 1978) may fit the lognormal model well, but one should not exclude that the basic idea of using the distribution function of observed data is to have insight of the physical mechanism that gives rise to the regionalized variables. In Applied Geostatistics, there are many examples considering only lognormal or normal model for the distribution function of geostatistical data even if the observed distribution function has more than one mode. Of course, using lognormal or normal model always brings easy computation for the statistical properties of attribute under investigation. Still, I object to adopting any of those models without having any "statistical inference." As seen from the author's paper, lognormal and normal model produce the same average grade (0.746% copper) and almost the same sample variance. Therefore, which model explains the probabilistic behavior of ore deposit is always an important question that should be replied by the geostatistician using not the common sense but the statistical and probabilistic methods. For kriging procedures, such as linear kriging, one should describe either second order stationary properties or bivariate properties of regionalized variables. Second order properties, such as correlogram function or semivariogram function, are the inputs of the so-called kriging equations. Selecting one of any useable models for the observed second order properties, such as spherical model, is not easy since the models are not based on the correlations structure of the regionalized variables. How those models being used in Applied Geostatistics can be distinguished is another important problem. One may develop many fitting models to respond to the observed second order properties of regionalized variables. However, I suggest that the model should be based on the probabilistic behavior of geologic process. The author used spherical model for copper, wolfram, and silver grades from isotropic sector (Fig. 2, 4, 3b) and exponential model for silver grades obtained along raises in isotropic sector (Fig. 3a). It seems that those semivariograms given in Fig. 3b for isotropic sector and Fig. 4 may be described by the random model implying that regionalized variables do belong to renewal process (Azun, 1983). If I knew the total number of data points used in estimation, may prove that my conclusion is correct. Recalling the test for the first order sample correlogram value, the test procedure is introduced such that the independence is rejected if [Ir(1) I > Za/2 N1/2] where Za/2 is the a/2 percentile of standard normal random variable and N is the total number of samples used in estimation (Azun, 1983). For the other observed semivariogram functions I suggest the author might try to use the so-called "Markovian model" describing not only the correlation structure of regionalized variables, but also the physical mechanism that produces the regionalized variables. The Markovian model for correlogram function is, [p (h) = T 1ih , h>1 ,] The Markovian model for the other second order properties of ReV are also derived. [T veß], in the above equation, show, for example, structural change and mineralizational variation in a considered deposit, respectively (Azun, 1983). In selecting any model, it is not easy to search for the "best" response to the observed second order properties of ReV's. The Markovian model, based on a theoretical understanding of underlying mechanism, gives more information about the occurrence of regionalized variables and respond to all properties. Random model and the so-called hole effect structure can be easily defined as a special form of the Markovian model (Azun, 1983). An estimation of any second order properties of regionalized variables may be computed through (N-1) lag. However, the dependency between the regionalized variables may be deemed to have "died out" after the so-called stationarity width (range). In practice, the estimation is carried out through 25% of the total number samples available. Therefore, the large fluctuations around the zero level and variance for correlogram or covariogram function and semivariogram function, respectively, cannot be observed. Since the number of pairs involved in the estimation of higher second order properties is small, the estimation variance at those lags is large. There is no need to show higher order estimated second order properties. After using one of any kriging procedure for block estimation, the distribution function of average grades has the same mean as the drilling sample grades but

Jan 1, 1986

By Jerome J. English, Gordon W. Powell

An experimental investigation and mathematical analysis of the thermal-dilation behavior of the titanium alloy Ti-7Al-3Cb have shown that the linear dimensional changes associated with the polymorphic transformation need not be isotropic. The absolute magnitude of the linear dimensional change, which may be either positiue or negative, associated with the cr-p transformation is dependent upon the relutzve volumes of different orientations of the transformation product. It is hypothesized that the dilation irregulati-ties that have been observed during the polymorphic transformation of pure, coarse-grained titanium and other titanium-base alloys can be explained in the same manner. When titanium is heated above about 165O°F, the hcp a structure transforms to bcc 0. Thermal-dilatioh measurements have shown that the transformation is accompanied by a decrease in length of 0.16 pct.' Such dilation behavior would be expected because the volume of the hcp unit cell is about 0.3 to 0.4 pct greater than that of the bcc unit cell. A recent investigation2 of the thermal-dilation behavior of an experimental a-p* titanium alloy, Ti- 7A1-3Cb, containing 0.06 wt pct 0 showed that its dilation behavior during the polymorphic transformation differed substantially from that reported for unalloyed titanium. The first time the alloy was cycled through the transformation, the dilation curve closely duplicated that of unalloyed titanium. However, upon repeated cycling through the transformation temperature range, both the magnitude and the sign of the dimensional change associated with the transformation were observed to vary with each cycle. This investigation was undertaken to obtain additional data on the dimensional changes associated with the polymorphic transformation in the Ti-7A1-3Cb alloy and to determine the cause of the dimensional irregularities. After testing, the specimens were examined metallo-graphically. In addition, Laue back-reflection patterns were obtained from selected sections taken perpendicular to the specimen axes to determine the a orientations present in these sections. White radiation from a tungsten target and a 0.1-mm-diam collimator were used to produce the diffraction patterns. RESULTS Dilation Curves. Three types of thermal-dilation curves were obtained when the a-8 titanium alloy was heated and cooled through the transformation temperature range. These three types of curves are illustrated in Fig. 1. The type I curve represents what is considered normal behavior, because the dilation change is what would be expected on the basis of the volumes of the unit cells of a and p. The Type I1 curve is the inverse of Type I. Normal behavior is characterized by an expansion on cooling through the transformation, whereas a contraction takes place in the Type 11 curve. With Type ni behavior, no clearly distinguishable length change occurs during the transformation. No other anomalies that might be indicative of other phase transformations were observed in the dilation curves at lower temperatures. Apparently, the cooling rate was low enough for equilibrium to be reached during the 0 to a transformation. Table I lists the types of dilation curves observed during the polymorphic transformation as a function of the direction of measurement and cycle number. The A1 value was determined by extrapolating the low-temperature (a + 5 pct p) and high-temperature (100 pct p) segments of the dilation curves to a common temperature and measuring the difference in the or-dinates at that temperature, see Fig. 1. The transformation occurs over a temperature range in this alloy, so the magnitude of A1 is not an absolute value but depends on the choice of temperature. A mean temperature, T,, within the transformation temperature range was selected for the measurement. T, on cooling occurred about 100°C lower than T, on heating. The first time each of the three dilation specimens was heated to above the temperature, that is, Cycle 2, normal Type I behavior was observed. In Cycle 3, two deviations from normal behavior occurred. First, during cooling of the longitudinal specimen, a substantially larger expansion, +0.21 pct, was measured as 0 transformed to a compared with +0.03 pct in Cycle 2. Second, the thickness specimen was observed to undergo a contraction instead of the anticipated expansion on cooling. Continued cycling of the three specimens from room temperature to 2500°F produced additional changes in the dilation behavior. These changes did not seem to be related to the fabrication direction of the alloy because the values of a1 for the longitudinal, transverse, and thickness specimens varied unpredictably in magnitude and sign. Furthermore, both the longitudinal and transverse specimens showed all three types of dilation curves at least once during the six cycles that they received. Fig. 2 is a sketch of the transverse specimen after

Jan 1, 1967

By Donald W. Gentry

The recently established SME-AIME Education Board has completed its first full year of operation, and its six constituent committees-Accreditation, Career Guidance, Continuing Education, Educational Statistics, and Scholarship-have been extremely active in identifying and initiating programs to serve the educational needs of the Society of Mining Engineers and its members. The Continuing Education Committee-primarily concerned with the needs and problems associated with providing a continuing education program for SME members-is responsible for: (1) determining the need for short course offerings; (2) developing needed courses, along with new means and opportunities of presentation; and (3) scheduling and evaluating course presentation. In response to this charge, the committee has sponsored two short courses at the SME-AIME Fall Meeting in St. Louis and three short courses at the AIME Annual Meeting in Denver. Its major effort, however, has been directed toward the 1978 SME-AIME Fall Meeting to be held in Orlando, Fla., where 18 days of short-course instruction have been scheduled. A portion of these courses will be presented prior to the meeting, with the remainder to be presented in Nassau, Bahamas, immediately following the meeting.

Jan 7, 1978

By F. F. Peng, A. D. Walters, M. R. Geer, J. W. Leonard

INTRODUCTION Washability characteristics derived from float-and-sink analysis in Chapter 4 demonstrate that coal is intrinsically heterogeneous, and this heterogeneity is also evident in the proximate, ultimate, and size analyses. A range of particles from high to low specific gravity is usually seen in the run-of-mine coal. One objective of coal preparation is to recover the high quality float material (the particles of lower specific gravity) such that the recovered product meets certain quality specifications, as well as to reject or recycle low quality particles of higher specific gravity. The maximum recovery of cleaned coal at the required quality is of major concern to plant operators. However, the quantity and quality of products of coal cleaning, determined in the operation of actual commercial cleaning plants and by theoretical calculation based on run-of-mine washability studies, are known to be different with each coal. Therefore, during the last half century, coal preparation engineers have repeatedly sought methods to predict the technical and economical efficiency of separation of cleaning equipment and systems. Many formulas have been proposed by international investigators to evaluate the efficiency of various coal cleaning operations, primarily based on the yield and/or ash of the various products of coal cleaning. Performance criteria in use today are capable of defining all of the important aspects of a given concentrating operation; however each criterion has certain restrictions or limitations. It is important, therefore, to understand how such formulas can be used and the problems involved in their construction. Technical Measure of Plant Performance Conventional means for evaluating a preparation plant's performance are generally approached through the use of equipment performance mea-

Jan 1, 1979

By John Griffen

This paper records over twenty years' experience with the use of the Rheolaveur system in the United States, showing its ability to meet changing conditions caused by the dirtier mine output of present-day mechanical mining methods. Data are given on size ranges handled, number and capacity of units installed, maintenance experience, and operating results on two-product and three-product separations. IT is not the purpose of this paper to discuss the principles employed in the Rheolaveur system of fine-coal cleaning as these have been fully covered in the technical literature of the Institute."2 Rather, our purpose will be to record the highlights of over 20 years' experience in the United States with Rheolaveur fine-coal launders, which will indicate their capabilities and costs of cleaning and their adaptability to meet the changing conditions caused by present-day mechanical mining methods. Rheolaveur fine-coal launders are used in the United States to treat a wide variety of size ranges of fine coal, the coarsest being 1/2 in. to 0 and the finest about 1/8 in. to 0. In Europe feeds as coarse as 5/8 in. and as small as 1/2 mm (28-mesh) to 0 are being cleaned. The size ranges usually handled in this country are 3/8 to 1/4-in. round to 0. Thirty five units with a combined hourly feed capacity of 3200 tph have been installed in the United States. Individual units are cleaning as little as 25 tph, while others are cleaning as much as 200 tph. Rheolaveur fine-coal launders offer cleaning units of high capacity and are outstanding in requiring a minimum of building space per ton of input. Experience has shown that maintenance costs are low. Several installations were made in the Pittsburgh district from 1928 to 1930, and since that time operation has been largely two shifts per day. Minor repairs to liner plates and Rheo boxes have been required during the intervening years, but no major replacement of launders was required until 1947 and 1948. At one of these plants, launders operated for 17 years before they were replaced and during that period over 26,000,000 tons of —5/16-in. coal were cleaned. The effect of the much dirtier raw coal produced by mechanical loading of the Pittsburgh seam is shown by the following tests. The data in table I summarize the performance of a Rheo fine-coal unit when cleaning hand-loaded raw coal. The —4-in. raw coal fed to the cleaning plant analyzed only 8.16 pct ash and 1.31 pct sulphur and contained 4.6 pct sink, 1.55 sp gr. Two years later, in 1945, mechanically-loaded coal from the same mine was cleaned in the same plant. The feed, —4 in., then analyzed 20.10 pct ash and 1.53 pct sulphur and contained 20.2 pct sink, 1.55 sp gr. The performance of the Rheo fine-coal unit when cleaning this coal is given in table 11. It will be noted that the +48-mesh coal is cleaned almost as thoroughly as in table I. The large amount of high-ash slimes produced from the dirtier feed are responsible for the higher ash of —--48-mesh washed coal in table 11. In this plant the Rheo fine-coal unit did not get the full load of refuse resulting from mechanical

Jan 1, 1951

By John Griffen

This paper records over twenty years' experience with the use of the Rheolaveur system in the United States, showing its ability to meet changing conditions caused by the dirtier mine output of present-day mechanical mining methods. Data are given on size ranges handled, number and capacity of units installed, maintenance experience, and operating results on two-product and three-product separations. IT is not the purpose of this paper to discuss the principles employed in the Rheolaveur system of fine-coal cleaning as these have been fully covered in the technical literature of the Institute."2 Rather, our purpose will be to record the highlights of over 20 years' experience in the United States with Rheolaveur fine-coal launders, which will indicate their capabilities and costs of cleaning and their adaptability to meet the changing conditions caused by present-day mechanical mining methods. Rheolaveur fine-coal launders are used in the United States to treat a wide variety of size ranges of fine coal, the coarsest being 1/2 in. to 0 and the finest about 1/8 in. to 0. In Europe feeds as coarse as 5/8 in. and as small as 1/2 mm (28-mesh) to 0 are being cleaned. The size ranges usually handled in this country are 3/8 to 1/4-in. round to 0. Thirty five units with a combined hourly feed capacity of 3200 tph have been installed in the United States. Individual units are cleaning as little as 25 tph, while others are cleaning as much as 200 tph. Rheolaveur fine-coal launders offer cleaning units of high capacity and are outstanding in requiring a minimum of building space per ton of input. Experience has shown that maintenance costs are low. Several installations were made in the Pittsburgh district from 1928 to 1930, and since that time operation has been largely two shifts per day. Minor repairs to liner plates and Rheo boxes have been required during the intervening years, but no major replacement of launders was required until 1947 and 1948. At one of these plants, launders operated for 17 years before they were replaced and during that period over 26,000,000 tons of —5/16-in. coal were cleaned. The effect of the much dirtier raw coal produced by mechanical loading of the Pittsburgh seam is shown by the following tests. The data in table I summarize the performance of a Rheo fine-coal unit when cleaning hand-loaded raw coal. The —4-in. raw coal fed to the cleaning plant analyzed only 8.16 pct ash and 1.31 pct sulphur and contained 4.6 pct sink, 1.55 sp gr. Two years later, in 1945, mechanically-loaded coal from the same mine was cleaned in the same plant. The feed, —4 in., then analyzed 20.10 pct ash and 1.53 pct sulphur and contained 20.2 pct sink, 1.55 sp gr. The performance of the Rheo fine-coal unit when cleaning this coal is given in table 11. It will be noted that the +48-mesh coal is cleaned almost as thoroughly as in table I. The large amount of high-ash slimes produced from the dirtier feed are responsible for the higher ash of —--48-mesh washed coal in table 11. In this plant the Rheo fine-coal unit did not get the full load of refuse resulting from mechanical

Jan 1, 1951