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By John C. Feeley

This paper is the result of a field study of prospect drilling in the Florida phosphate fields. The objective is to describe the drilling methods employed . . Since the general policies of the operating companies in the land - pebble area do not permit the dissemination of prospecting information and costs thereof , the writer has carefully avoided mentioning names and locations except by reference to existing publications ,

May 1, 1949

By Michael W. Redifer

A Fortran IV computer program was developed to calculate the composition at equilibrium of products from a set of high-temperature gas combustion reactions. The program was used to develop high-temperature equilibrium concentration profiles for various constituents as a function of temperature and oxygen concentration. The computer program was specifically applied to reactions pertaining to the corrosion of superheater tubes in pulverized coal-fired boilers; however, it is useful for any multicomponent, multireaction scheme in which equilibrium constant data can be obtained and is comprised of gaseous reactants along with finely dispersed solids or liquids. General applicability of the computer program, including its limitations, are discussed along with detailed instructions for using the program.

Jan 1, 1973

By John J. Sammarco

Miners depend most heavily on visual cues to recognize underground mining hazards; consequently, illumination plays a critical role in miners? safety. Some hazards are located in the miners? peripheral field-of-view (10 degrees to about 60 degrees off-axis) or on-axis (0 degrees). The objective of this research was to determine if there were visual performance improvements when using solid-state cap lamps with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as compared to incandescent light bulbs commonly used in miner cap lamps. Recent research has indicated that an increased short-wavelength content of the spectral power distribution of LEDs relative to incandescent lamps improves peripheral visual performance for low-light (mesopic) conditions. The visual performances of nine subjects were quantified by measuring the subjects? speed and accuracy in detecting floor objects located on axis and at ±20 degrees off axis. The objects were located near field (1.83 meters) and far field (3.66 meters). Upon presentation of the objects, subjects would count and point to each object using a red-laser pointer. The object detection response time and number of missed objects were recorded. The results of the visual performance comparison for an LED, a prototype LED, and an incandescent cap lamp are presented. There we no missed objects when subjects used the LED-based cap lamps but, there were three missed object occurrences when subjects used the incandescent cap lamp. The mean detection time when using the incandescent cap lamp was 55.3% greater than the prototype LED cap lamp and 43.5% greater than the LED cap lamp. It can be inferred from this data that the spectral distribution of LED-based cap lamps could enable significant visual performance improvements as compared to incandescent cap lamps1.

Jan 1, 2007

By W. W. Adams

"The eighth National Safety Competition, that for 1932, conducted by the United States Bureau of Mines, was participated in by 322 mines and quarries operating in 34 States. Tables 2 to 6 show the relative standing of the various plants. Bronze trophies, known as the 'Sentinels of Safety,' which were provided by The Explosives Engineer magazine to be awarded annually by the Bureau of Mines, were awarded to five companies, each company having established the best accident-prevention record within one of the five classes into which all companies were divided, - namely, anthracite-mining companies, bituminous-coal-mining companies, metal-mining companies, operators of nonmetallic-mineral mines other than coal mines, and quarries or open-cut mines. The trophies are awarded for one year and are then transferred to the winners of the succeeding year's contest.The trophy for bituminous-coal mines, which has been in New Mexico for the past year, was won by a mine in West Virginia. The metal-mine trophy goes to New York State for the first time in the history of the contest. Previously it had been won by mines in Minnesota, Michigan, Kansas, and Oklahoma. The trophy for nonmetal mines remains for another year at Retsof, N. Y.; that for quarries and open-cut mines is transferred to a quarry in Michigan. The trophy for anthracite mines, of course, remains in Pennsylvania, as all anthracite mines in the contest are in that State.In determining the relative standing of the various companies enrolled in the competition, all mines and quarries were graded according to their accident-severity rates, - that is, according to the number of days of disability of employees on account of accidents in proportion to the number of man-hours of work done by all employees at the plant. Reports of accidents and of man-hours worked were furnished by the companies to the Bureau of Mines. These reports were carefully examined and classified to insure uniform weighting of accidents according to the number of days of disability to be charged and to insure uniformity of methods of calculating the accident-severity rates for the various mines and quarries. When the relative standing of all plants had been determined in this way, a summary of the records of the companies having the lowest accident-severity rates in their respective groups was sent to the members of a committee of award for examination in accordance with the rules governing the safety contest. The members of the committee of award were W. H. Cameron, managing director of the National Safety Council; William Green, president of the American Federation of Labor; James F. Callbreath, secretary of the American Mining Congress; T. T. Read, Vinton professor of mining engineering of Columbia University; C. B. Huntress, executive secretary of the National Coal Association; A. J. R. Curtis, assistant to the general manager of the Portland Cement Association; and A. T. Goldbeck, director of the bureau of engineering of the National Crushed Stone Association. When two or more mines within the same group operated without an accident during the year, the contest rules provided that the trophy for the group should be awarded to the plant whose record showed the largest number of man-hours worked."

Jul 1, 1933

By D. Bienstock

As part of the development of the hot-carbonate scrubbing process by the Bureau of Mines, the corrosion rates of steel in boiling solutions of potassium carbonate saturated with carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide were determined, and the effectiveness of various inhibitors was evaluated by Bureau researchers. The highly corrosive solution of carbonate saturated with carbon dioxide can be inhibited with a 0.2-percent concentration of either potassium chromate or sodium metavanadate. Solutions of carbonate saturated with carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide are mildly corrosive, 0.01 inch per year. Complete absence of corrosion is obtained with 0.2 percent sodium metavanadate or 0.15 percent vanadium pentoxide. Oxidizing inhibitors such as potassium chromate are destroyed in the alkaline sulfide mixture, N-alkyl trimethylene diamines, at a concentration of 0.1 percent, lower the corrosion rate to about 0.005. Sodium metasilicate, at a concentration of 0.6 percent, completely inhibits the corrosion but may deposit free silica in the system. Commercial cladding materials such as the epoxy coatings also prevent corrosion.

Jan 1, 1962

By N. A. C. Smith, E. W. Dean, W. A. Jacobs, H. H. Hill

Fractional distillation is the most important process in the commercial refining of petroleum. The same procedure, conducted on a small scale, is the basis of a number of analytical methods of wide application in the petroleum laboratory. The Bureau of Mines has studied apparatus and procedure for the distillation analysis of petroleum, and this report is presented as a record of developments up to the present time. The work is incomplete, but the extensive information that has been obtained to date is made available as a guide in handling laboratory distillation problems. The analytical distillation of petroleum is commonly made to determine range of boiling points or to separate the oil. into fractions for detailed examination, or both. When only one of these two ends is sought the procedure involved is notably simpler than when, as is more common, information is required regarding both boiling range and properties of fractions. Moreover the degree of minuteness of measurement and the accuracy of the data required from analytical distillations differ considerably. Often the simplest sort of comparative figures are satisfactory; other tests require complicated and highly tedious procedure. No one distillation method is universally applicable, and it is impossible for anyone group of investigators to foresee all the different kinds of requirements that may occur in the industry.

Jan 1, 1922

By BUREAU OF MINES

In 1948 the United States became a net importer of oil. Coupled with an unpre- cedented domestic production of 5,900,000 barrels daily, imports approximating 500,000 barrels made available a total supply of 6,400,000 barrels a day. Thus, by herculean effort, the oil industry was able to meet an extraordinary demand at home and, in addition, to ship abroad almost 400,00 barrels daily of petroleum and products. The country's oil position now differs greatly from that prevailing at the be- ginning of World War II. Then, actual oil production averaged about 4 million bar- rels a day, and productive capacity probably was greater than 5 million barrels a day. As the demand of the military and industrial machine grew with the rising tempo of the drive toward victory, the United States not only met its own needs but pro- duced about two-thirds of the total oil requirements of the Allied Nations, excluding Russia. As a people, we can be deeply grateful that the Nation's petroleum resources were adequate and sufficiently developed to support such a tremendous effort. Even in those critical hours when immediate needs were the paramount issues, a prudent Congress paused to contemplate the importance of an assured long-term supply of liquid fuels. From these deliberations came the Synthetic Liquid Fuels Act of 1944, which authorized research and development work on new sources of oil coal, oil shale, and agricultural and forestry products. ce World War II, a civilian demand for 6 million barrels of petroleum prod- ucts has become the order of the day every day. By drilling as many as 39,000 new wells a year, the production rate has been increased enough to meet domestic require- ments by a bare margin. Some imports were necessary, however, to fill both domestic and foreign demands, and these doubtless will increase. Is this policy of exploration within the United States and the development of oil in foreign countries adequate insurance for the fulfillment of our future national needs? This question has two aspects one purely civilian and economic in character and the other significant from the standpoint of our national defense. There are now approximately 4,000 producing oil fields in this country. At first thought, it would appear that production could decline in a considerable number of these fields without materially affecting the over-all daily output. However, 48 percent of the oil comes from only 111 major fields which contain 50 percent of the total proved domestic reserves. It is apparent, then, that the flow from large fields - having proved reserves of 100 million barrels or more each must be sustained if daily production is to be kept at the present levels. Essentially, this means that new major fields must be discovered about as rapidly or perhaps more rapidly than the older ones lose productive capacity. From 1940 through 1947, only eight major fields with estimated reserves of more than 100 million barrels each, were discovered and proved - an average of one such field a year. The total estimated reserve of these eight fields was less than 1 year's supply at the present rate of use. As drilling continues, some existing fields ultimately will prove reserves larger than those now known. Without a pronounced increase in the num- ber of major discoveries, however, the prospects for increasing our present productive level are not encouraging. Any gap that appears between domestic productive capacity and demand could be filled with supplies from proved oil resources abroad. Assuming cheap pipe-line and tanker transportation to the United States, freedom from exorbitant taxes and charges

Jan 1, 1949

By E. M. Frost

"A new apparatus has been devised for quickly and precisely analyzing natural gas for its helium content. The following outstanding advantages make it far superior to any equipment now available for the purpose.3/4/5/6/1. It enables more rapid determinations to be made.2. It has far greater sensitivity than previous apparatus. 3. It is portable.Fifty or more samples may be analyzed in an 8-hour day with the new apparatus and procedure. A maximum of about 10 samples per day could be analyzed with previous apparatus. In the apparatus described, the volume of pure helium obtained from a sample is determined by measuring the pressures created by that pure helium when it is expanded into a constant calibrated volume. In older methods the pure helium separated from a sample is pumped into a burette and measured at atmospheric pressure. The new apparatus and Procedure used with it reduce the average time for an analysis from about 40 minutes to less than 10 minutes,Samples containing a few thousandths of a percent helium may be analyzed as readily as samples containing 1 percent or more, This was not possible with former apparatus. Duplicate samples containing a few thousandths of a percent helium have been analyzed, results checking to one ten-thousandth of a percent. Attempts to measure a corresponding volume of helium in a burette at atmospheric pressure become futile. The ability to determine very small quantities of helium has become of great importance recently in gas- and oil-field engineering studies such Os the utilization of helium as a tracer gas in following the movement of gases through underground structures.A complete apparatus was recently carried more than a thousand miles in a passenger automobile. It arrived without breakage, was .set up and ready to make an analysis in a few hours. .Former apparatus was not portable. The portability of the present apparatus permits taking the apparatus to the field for more efficient prosecution of field engineering problems. The only services required in the field are electricity, tap water, and a source of liquid air or liquid nitrogen.The principle involved is based upon the fact that large volumes of all the constituents usually found in natural gas, except helium, are adsorbed quantitatively on cocoanut charcoal that has been cooled to the temperatures of liquid air. A volume of sample is measured and transferred to a tube of cocoanut charcoal maintained at the temperature of liquid air. After adsorption of all the constituents other than helium, the charcoal tube is connected to a sensitive pressure-measuring device, and the Percentage helium originally in the sample is calculated from two pressure readings and the volume of the original sample."

Jun 1, 1946

By J. W. Paul

The material that composes the roof in coal mines differs in strength according to variations in its physical nature and characteristics. Some material such as limestone and massive sandstone, (free from slits) and carbonaceous shale or bone, will often remain in place in narrow work without the use of timber or other means of support, but in wide places the use of supports becomes a real necessity. Roof material composed of shale, fire clay or small laminations of sandstone, or shale or sandstone interspersed with laminations of thin coal, presents conditions that call for timber support in both narrow and wide work. However, in narrow work such unstable roof material may be taken down until the strata assume an arch that is self-supporting for overlying firm strata such as a roof coal, a touch weather-resisting, shale, sandstone, or limestone. The proper support of the roof in roadways used for haulage or travel adds to the economy of operation by preventing delays in transportation and increases the safety of those who travel these roadways.

Jan 1, 1930

By W. H. Pomroy

This report describes research by the U.S. Bureau of Mines to design and in-mine test a rapid response pneumatic fire detection system for multilevel metal mines. The relative merits of pneumatic detection are discussed in the context of typical multilevel mine layouts and environments. The Bureau's prototype system is described, with emphasis on design features that counter commonly experienced and/or perceived operating problems with pneumatic detection systems. Finally, the results of a 3-year in-mine performance evaluation of the prototype system are discussed.

Jan 1, 1990

By Victor V. Verbinski

This report presents the development of a raw coal concentration sensor for hydro-transport of coal and refuse (rock) from underground mines, and the results of an international test series carried out at the Colorado School of Mines Research Institute in Golden, Colorado, the U.S. Bureau of Mines, Hydraulic Transport Research Facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Saskatchewan Research Facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and the Steinkohlenbergbauverein Test Facility in Essen, West Germany. Test results are presented for a three-component sensor and also for the more rugged two-component (all nuclear) sensor.

Jan 1, 1988

By H. W. Gillett, A. E. RHOADS

In its study of methods for reducing metal losses in the non- ferrous metal industry, the Bureau of Mines has conducted a long series of experiments on electric brass melting and collected much data on the experiments of others. Reports bearing on this work that have already been published by the Bureau of Mines are Bulletin 73, "Brass-furnace practice in the United States," and Bulletin 77, "The electric furnace in metallurgical work." A comprehensive report describing the design and operation of all types of electric brass furnaces and showing their performance in experimental tests on a commercial scale is in course of preparation. However, commercial tests of several new and promising types of furnaces are still under way, the results of which should be included in any general discussion of the subject. For this reason it has seemed desirable to issue a preliminary bulletin giving the data on a type of furnace developed in one stage of the bureau's work.

Jan 1, 1918

By J. B. Zadra

Tungsten, a comparatively new metal, is one of the important strategic war materials. In peacetime, tungsten is widely used as a filament in elec¬tric lamps and electronic tubes and is a vital constituent of some of the most important industrial alloys. High-speed tool steel containing tungsten and stellite alloys containing cobalt, chromium, and tungsten are extremely hard and resistant to corrosion. These alloys and the tungsten carbides are unequaled as cutting tools and in other wear-resistant applications. They play a prominent role in the present era of mass production. Alloys containing tungsten resist oxidation at high temperatures and have been key alloys in the development of modern aircraft. The adaptability of tungsten to new uses is expanding, particularly in the high-temperature range. Domestic production of tungsten has come from a large number of deposits in 17 of the 49 States; but, of the total domestic output from 1900 to 1956, more than 80 percent was produced from mines in North Carolina, California, Colorado, and Nevada. The average tenor of the mined ore was less than 1 percent tungsten trioxide (W03).

Jan 1, 1959

By R. D. Currie

A study of the accident statistics in the coal mining industry convinces one that an organized effort must be put forth to prevent the vast destruction of human life in this industry . The fatality rate in Pennsylvania has not improved in the past several years and during 1928 it was higher than the average for the period 1916 to 1927 , inclusive . Although the accident rate for this State is less than that of the coal mines of the United States as a whole , nevertheless the rate is unduly high ; however , there are many companies which have exceptionally good records as regards both fatal and nonfatal accidents . A study of the methods used by some of these relatively good- record companies to reduce accidents in their mines shows that they exert an organized effort to prevent accidents , and that their safety organizations usually affect every employee in and about the mine from the highest official to the check boy . The chief executive must be actively and personally interested in accident prevention if real safety results are to be obtained ; when he shows this interest it is almost invariably reflected in the officials under him and throughout the organization . Safety organizations vary in form and are readily changed or adapted to the varying conditions found in the bituminous field . The companies whose organizations were studied in preparing this report are all getting good results , and it is their opinion that the safety organizations have been a big factor in obtaining these results . At their request the identity of some of the companies whose organizations were studied has not been divulged in this paper , but this does not affect the value of the information concerning their safety organizations .

Mar 1, 1931

By R. J. Pokora

This Bureau of Mines report is an applications manual that can be used by the nonmetallic mining industry for guidance in installing noise control materials into crushing and screening plants. These noise control modifications were installed and successfully tested at three operating quarries. This report identifies the major noise sources that can be encountered in crushing and screening plants, and discusses the applicable noise control materials and techniques that a plant operator can utilize on a retrofit basis to reduce equipment noise.

Jan 1, 1984

By Michael K. Phang

The use of explosives to fragment rock generates ground vibrations which may have a detrimental effect on contiguous underground coal mine openings. Increased surface blasting by a burgeoning number of surface coal mines and quarries has caused considerable concern among underground mine operators. Ground vibration effects generated from surface mine blasting are also causing public concern. In response to this concern, the U.S. Bureau of Mines (Stagg and Engler, 1980) has measured and analyzed ground vibrations and their effects on underground and surface structures. Some of the complaints registered against the mining industry are claims of substantial material damage from vibrations generated by the blasting; others are nuisance complaints of minor damage or annoyance. In general, allegations of damage from surface blasting have been sufficiently numerous to constitute a major problem for mine operators engaged in blasting operations. They have recognized the need for more technological data to evaluate the vibration problems associated with blasting. Both the operators and the general public need adequate safeguards based upon factual data to protect their specific interests. The coal mine industry needs reliable information from which to change blasting operations to reduce the number and severity of major damage claims and eliminate the growing number of nuisance complaints. The problem is of major concern not only to coal mine operators and nearby property owners, but also to federal, state and local governments. At the same time, environmental control agencies responsible for blasting and explosives use require reasonable and appropriate guidelines to protect the miners' lives.

Jan 1, 1984

By J. P. Powell

The importance of recovering more oil from known petroleum reserves has placed increasing emphasis on the application of secondary producing methods. One of the most successful of these has been the injection of water into depleted oil reservoirs. Water flooding is now recognized as a valuable conservation measure that not only prevents the premature abandonment of stripper leases but also is credited with reviving operations in many oil-producing areas previously abandoned. The injection of water into an oil-producing zone as a method of stimulating oil production was legalized in Kansas in 1935. Although water flooding had been attempted previously in other parts of the State, 1935 marked its introduction into the shallow stripper area of eastern Kansas. Two years later flooding was begun in the five-county area that is described in this report. Figure 1 is a map showing the water-flood areas in Allen, Bourbon, Crawford, Labette, and Neosho Counties, Kans. To July 1, 1955, the 77 projects in the oil fields of these 5 counties are credited with recovering an estimated 12.3 million barrels of oil that would not have been produced by methods used previously. These projects are expected ultimately to cover 10,700 acres, of which only 5,400 has been flooded to date.

Jan 1, 1957

Coal has been mined in the central Appalachian coalfields of southern West Virginia, western Virginia, and eastern Kentucky for more than a century. The dwindling reserve base consists in large part of coal that would have been considered unmineable by earlier generations. Nearly every current operation is working on a property where coal has been extracted in the past, from seams either above, below, or both. NIOSH is conducting research aimed at helping mine planners prevent hazardous conditions due to multiple seam interactions. To-date, more than 300 case histories have been collected from underground mines, mainly from central Appalachia. This paper focuses on several of the more challenging situations that have been encountered, including: • Room-and-pillar development 20 ft (6 m) beneath full extraction workings at a depth of 1,000 ft (300m) of cover (Virginia) • Pillar recovery 45 ft above full extraction workings at 900 ft (270 m) of cover (Virginia) • Near-simultaneous room-and-pillar mining with pillar recovery with 40 ft (12 m) of interburden and 1,500-2,000 ft (450-600 m) of cover (Kentucky) • Longwall mining directly beneath main entries in overlying seams (West Virginia) • Some of these operations have been highly successful in overcoming the challenges, others less so. The lessons learned from their experience will help ensure that these and similar difficult reserves can be mined safely.

Operator efficiency and control capability along with cost effectiveness have been the quest of mining, industrial, and mobile hydraulic engineers for years. The majority of the functions in present day fluid power systems are controlled by on/off control valves. They are inexpensive and provide easy installation and operation, but they lack the quality of fine control of load flow or what is sometimes known as "feathering the load". An alternate approach to obtaining this capability is the use of electro-hydraulic servo-valves, but their implementation into a system is complex, and they are expensive. As a result, electrohydraulic systems are still used primarily in the aerospace industry. Of late, a compromise seems to have evolved between the on/ off control systems and the servo-technology is the so-called proportional flow control valves. A proportional flow control valve meters fluid to the load in proportion to the input command from the operator. In principle, it is similar to a conventional flow control valve and is tailored to meet the control requirements from the load point of view. The hydraulic system using this valve usually works in an open-loop mode with the operator closing the loop. Incorporating load-sensing mechanisms and adoption of electrical/electronic signalling into the valve make it the "ideal valve" which designers have been looking for from a techno-economic point of view.

Jan 1, 1983

By W. W. Adams

"The ninth yearly National Safety Competition covering the calendar year 1933, conducted by the United States Bureau of Mines, w participated in by 332 mines and quarries situated in 35 States. Enrollment represented as increase of 10 plants over 1932, and one addition was made to the number of States represented.The primary purpose of the United. States Bureau of Mines in conducting the contest is to promote safety in United States mineral industries. This purpose is accomplished directly through the efforts of the competing companies and their employees to win first place in the competition and thereupon receive recognition on a national scale for their achievement the purpose is accomplished indirectly through studies by the United States Bureau of Mines of the facts contained in the accident reports the competing companies furnish to enable the Bureau to compute the accident rates that are the basis for determining the winners of the contest.The statistics which constitute the basis for determining the winning companies and the relative standing of all companies are prepared uniformly without regard to the States in which the companies operate, or to differences in classes of accidents covered by State laws relating to compensation for injuries resulting, from industrial accidents.Bronze trophies, known as 'Sentinels of Safety', which were provided by The Explosives Engineer magazine to be awarded annually by the Bureau of Mines, were presented to five companies in the contest of 1933, each company having established the best accident-prevention record within one of the five classes into which all companies were divided, namely, anthracite-mining companies, bituminous-coal-mining companies, metal-mining companies, operators of nonmetallic-mineral mines other than coal mines, and quarries or opencut mines. The trophies are awarded for 1 year and are then transferred to the winners of the succeeding year's contest.The trophy for bituincus-coal mines was won by a company in Wyoming. A company in Tennessee won the trophy for metal mining. In the nonmetal-mine group the trophy was again won by a company in New York. A quarry in Michigan won the trophy for the quarry-and-opencut-mine group. The trophy for anthracite mines remains in Pennsylvania, as all anthracite mines in the contest are in that State."

Jul 1, 1934