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By Dix, E. H.

THE percentage of manganese used in commercial aluminum alloys is small, and yet this element is an important addition to some very valuable alloys. When used alone with commercial aluminum containing iron and silicon as impurities, the usual percentage in wrought materials is from 1 to 1.5 per cent., whereas castings may contain as much as 2 per cent. An aluminum-manganese alloy containing nominally 1.25 per cent. manganese is much used in sheet form for the manufacture of cooking utensils and other articles requiring a little greater strength and hardness than could be obtained with commercially pure aluminum. It is also used for various purposes in the form of rods, tubes and pipes. The aluminum-manganese alloys, both wrought 'and cast, offer excellent resistance to many kinds of corrosion attack. The U. S. Naval Gun Factory uses an aluminum alloy containing from 1 to 2 per cent. each of copper and manganese, for both castings and forgings. Manganese is also used, up to about 1 per cent., as a minor alloying .element in several of the strong aluminum alloys of the duralumin type. It is felt that the role of this element when thus used has not been fully understood, but it is believed that the results obtained in this investigation will throw additional light on the subject. The earlier work on the system aluminum-manganese was general in nature, and no detailed investigations of the relations existent in the useful aluminum-rich alloys have been reported. Guilletl1in 1902 surveyed the system, and Hendrichs2 in 1908 published an equilibrium diagram which, although based on .few data, is often used in the literature. Fragmentary work has also been done by other investigators."

Jan 1, 1927

By John R. Eckel

A Iaboratory drilling rig has been devised and placed in operation which permits the application of hydrostatic, terrastatic, and formation pore pressures to a rock sample for drilling under controlled conditions. Calibrated rests of this equipment in-dicate qualitative agreerment with field results on the effect of weight on bit, rotary speed, and rate of circ~~lation on drilling rate. Tests under pressure, using water and air as the drilling fluids, indicate that when drilling saturated limestone samples, a pressure differential between hydrostatic and formation pressure is the only pressure which affects drilling rate. A differential in either direction causes a reduction in rate, but the same diflerential from the wellbore into the formation causes the greater reduction. Also, in lime.stone, air favorably affected drilling rote only when compared to water at high hydrostatic pressurre, all other conditions remaining constant. Large increases in drilling rate with air could be obtained in the laboratory only while drilling a shale, which offered a limited permeability to nitrogen and which could be drilled with a differential from the formation into the wellbore. In general, the magnitude of the changes due to the pressure effect were small compared to changes in drilling rate obtainable by changing either bit weight or rotary speed. INTRODUCTION In the course of Humble's drilling research program, the desirability of investigating several factors which lend themselves to laboratory rather than field study became obvious. Principal reasons for this are the expense involved in field studies and the difficulty of exercising the required degree of control. Of primary importance are investigations of the effect of fluid pressure on rock rate, the effect of pressure on rock drillability, and a study of the fundamental mechanics of rock failure and chip generation. Several years ago some work in the laboratory on the effect of mud properties on drilling rate was re- ported to the API', but the completion of this work and the investigation of the other variables affecting drilling rate required equipment somewhat more elaborate than that used on these earlier tests. This equipment has been assembled to form Humble's Drilling Engineering laboratory. To date only the effect of pressure on rock drillability while using water and air has been investigated, and this work is not yet complete. Facilities are available to investigate the effect of fluid properties on rate of penetration, and information is being assembled on a current basis on the mechanics of drilling. The sequence of presentation in this progress report is somewhat different from that in which the data were obtained since the order of ex-

By Robert R. Walden, LaMont West

KENTUCKY'S first acid-grade fluorspar flotation mill, shown in Fig. 1, was placed in operation Aug. 1, 1952, by the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Co. at Mexico, Ky. During 1951 a critical shortage of acid-grade fluorspar developed and it became necessary for the company to produce part of its fluorspar requirements. In 1951 the company purchased the Crider and Lennen metallurgical fluorspar mill and an adjacent stockpile of tailing at Mexico, Ky. The tailing, assaying about 26 pct calcium fluoride, originated from log washer and jig mill concentrators in the area. As the mill did not have a fluorspar dryer or convenient rail facilities, the company leased the Burleson concentrator at Marion, Ky., where these facilities were available. At Marion, Ky., on the Illinois Central Railroad, dry acid-grade fluorspar is transported direct to the company's Calvert City, Ky., hydrofluoric acid plant.

Jan 5, 1954

By H. B. Charmbury, D. R. Mitchell

Everyone in the coal industry from top management to the preparation engineer is vitally interterested in recovering as much salable coal as possible from the run-of-mine product. Coal losses from a preparation plant occur in the solid refuse material being discharged from the plant and in the bleed-off slurry from the water circuit. The refuse is generally hauled from the plant in solid form by trucks, conveyors, or aerial trams to the refuse or culm banks or it may be crushed and transported by hydraulic methods to refuse ponds or dams. The loss of coal in refuse material and the extent of this problem has been covered in another paver.' The loss of salable coal in the plant bleed-off slurry is one of the water circuit problems in coal preparation plants. Slurries originate at various places in the processing circuits and are usually disposed of by transportation to waste ponds known as slurry ponds. Even though the combustible material discharged as slurry and refuse from the plant is labeled a loss, the loss must only be considered temporary. There is a tendency at the present time to examine refuse and slurry losses and to reprocess these materials to recover valuable coal. Slurries from eight bituminous coal preparation plants in central and western Pennsylvania have been sampled and examined to determine the amount of recoverable coal in each. Examinations of the samples were made to determine the tons per hour of solids and the gallons per minute of water in the slurry; the size, ash, and sulfur analyses of the solids; and the sink-float characteristics of the larger solids. The extreme fines (—325 mesh material) from one of the samples has been examined further to determine the micron size fractions as well as the ash and sulfur content of the micron sizes. Collection of the Samples: Field trips were made to each of the plants where samples were obtained and discussions held with the preparation engineer prior to sampling. The flowsheet of the plant operation was studied and a time-period selected to obtain a representative sample. At least 20 1-gal samples of total plant bleed-off suspensions were collected at each plant in increments over designated periods belived to be typical of the plant flow Three of the samples were obtained from plants in the Pittsburgh area. Each plant supplied information on the capacity, operating time, type of cleaning equipment used, water and material balances, and auxiliary equipment. From the time required to collect given amounts of slurry and from the amount of solids in the slurry, total solids discharges from the plant were calculated and compared with the plant flow. Ash and sulfur analyses of the total solids were also checked, at some plants, with company figures. In all cases where checks could be made there was reasonable agreement between company figures and those reported here. Analysis of the Slurries: Representative fractions of properly agitated samples were examined in the laboratory to determine the specific gravities of the slurries. The solids and water were separated by filtration to check the weight of each so that the percent of solids in the pulp could be determined. From the resulting data, presented in Table I, it may be seen that the percent solids in the slurries ranges from 2.8 to 39.0 and the amount of solids from 2.61 to 45.61 tph. Size Analysis of Solids: Representative fractions of the slurries were permitted to settle and the clear water was removed by siphoning. The solids were then wet-screened at 28, 35, 48, 65, 100, 150, 200 and 325 mesh. Results of the size analyses are presented in Table 11. These results indicate the extreme variation of sizes and in most cases the degree of fineness of the solids. The amount of —325 mesh ranges from 22.5 to 84.5 pct and the amount of+200 mesh from 8.3 to 69.1 pct.

Jan 1, 1961

By David Schroeder, John Chipman

Jan 1, 1964

The following list contains the names of members whose death notices have been printed in MINING AND METALLURGY from March 15, 1947 through March 15, 1948 Biographical sketches published in MINING AND METALLURGY are indicated in the last two columns Year of Election - Name - Date of Death - Issue Containing Biography - Page 1938 ABERNATHY, G E , (M) Feb 6, 1948 April 1948 266 1935 ARCHER, M T, (M) Oct 26, 1947 Dec 1947 633 1947 ATIKINSON, JAMES E, (S) Feb 6, 1948 June 1947 309 1940 AYRES, VINCENT L, (M) Oct 14, 1947 Jan 1948 59 1915 BABCOCK, JAMES E , (M) April 1, 1947 June 1947 309 1942 BAGGALEY, WILLIAM BLAIR, (A) Aug 28, 1947 Jan 1948 59 1897 BUIN, II POSTER, (M) Mar 9, 1948 April 1948 219 1945 BAMPFIELD, A E (M) Unknown Mar 1948 215

Jan 1, 1952

By H. T. Kennedy, S. G. Dardaganian, J. L. Clanton

This paper presents equilibrium ratios measured on oil and gas samples taken from the Kelly-Snyder field at the reservoir temperature of 128°F. From these data smoothed curves were constructed for the reservoir fluid up to the bubble-point, 1,874 psia. A material balance calculation, based on the use of equilibrium ratios instead of the usual solubility and shrinkage meayr~rements is made on the field and compared to the con\.entional method. DETERMINATION OF EQUILIBRIUM RATIOS The equilibrium ratios, or K values were obtained by recombining separator samples of oil and gas taken when the reservoir was above its bubble point, and thus represented the reservoir fluid before any change had occurred due to the evolution of gas. The well sampled had a gas-oil ratio of 617 cu ft of high pressure sepalator gas per barrel of separator oil. and a bottom-hole temperature of 128°F. Samples were brought to equilibrium by agitating for 24 hours in a thermostat, maintained at the proper temperature within 0.2ºF, mercury being added when necessary to maintain the pressure constant. Samples of oil and gas were then taken by constant pressure displacement, and analyzed by low temperature frac-tionation. Equilibrium ratios were determined at 128°F and 500, 800, 1,000 and 1,400 psig. At the latter pressure, there were indications that the gas samples were contaminated with small quantities of oil, and only data taken at the first three pressures were included in Fig. I. This figure has been extended to higher and lower pressures by the use of the Fluor charts for 3,000 psi convergence pressure, on which the experimental points fit well. MATERIAL BALANCE EQUATIONS The possible errors involved in conventional material balance equations have been analyzed by Muskat1. Where the errors occur in field measurements, or in obtaining effective averages from variables such as gas-oil ratio and pressure, they will evidently be involved in any attempt to estimate the content of the reservoir. On the other hand, substantial errors may be introduced in conventional material balance calculations by: (1) the neglect of the amount of oil dissolved in gas at high pressures and temperatures in the reservoir, but which condenses under separator conditions; (2) the assumption that the separation of oil and gas in the reservoir may be duplicated by a differential liberation in the

THREE regional meetings are planned for this summer and fall following the spring meeting held under the auspices of the Iron and Steel Committee and the Ohio Section at Cleveland in April and in lieu of a general fall meeting of the Institute. Plans for all of them are maturing rapidly. Excellent programs and. interesting visits to points of local tech¬nical interest are already assured. THE SALT LAKE CITY MEETING This meeting will be under the auspices of the Milling Committee and the Utah Section. It will be one of the features of the joint convention held the week of August 22 to 26 with the Western Division of the American Mining Congress. The Congress will be responsible for the general arrangements and for the program on the first day. The following general committees have been appointed:

Jan 7, 1927

By R. W. Raymond

THE sudden death of Dr. Drown, on Nov. 17, 1904, brought to multitudes the pang of personal loss. Of all those who, as students at Lafayette College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Lehigh University, were brought under his influence, not one can have forgotten him, and all will now acknowledge, with an unfading gratitude, what they owe in professional equipment to his wise, clear, skillful guidance, and in character to his sympathetic, stimulating personality. Outside of this wide circle, the experts of both hemispheres will lament the departure of one who, in his department of scientific inves¬tigation, both knew what work was needed, and how to do it so that it needed not to be done again. The older members of the American Institute of Mining Engineers will remember with gratitude the part he took, as Secretary from 1873 to 1884, in promoting the interest of that organization, and in shaping the plan and policy which it has followed with such noteworthy success. And, in addition to all these (though partly included among them), there are a host of friends; who can scarcely think of the public loss by reason of their own. Thomas Messenger Drown was born March 19, 1842, at Phil¬adelphia, Pa. His parents were natives of New England; and. he was the youngest of their three sons. He received his preliminary education in the public schools and the High School of Philadelphia, from which he was graduated in 1859. Be-

Jul 1, 1905

By C. J. Beevers

Tlze influence of zirconium hydride precipitate mprphology on the fructure of Zr-H alloys tested at strain rates of 10- sec at 20° and - 196°C and at strain rates of -500 sec.-1 at 20°C has been inves-tigated. The critical stage in the embrittlement of these alloys was the fracture of the zirconium hyhide precipitates to form large interval cracks at a stress of 25,000 10 137,000 psi. In specimens con-temping up to 100 ppm H the preciptates existed as isolafed platelets in the zirconium matrix and their fracture as enhanced by low temperature (—196°C) and high strain rate (-500 set-f) loading. These resl~lts lead to the conclusion that the rate of strain hardening of the zirconium metal controls the frac-tzrm of the hydride platelets. Increased hydrogen contents of 500 to 2000 ppm resulted in an increase in the 1)volume fraction and size of precipitates and crlso led to crack propogation in the hydride at both 20 and —196C at the low strain rates (10'* sec-'). Quenching led to refinerment of hydride precipitate size and reduced the degree of embrittlement at — 196°C; this effect is attributed to the absence of fracture of the fine precipitates. The formation of zirconium hydride precipitates has been shown to be the cause of hydrogen embrittlement of zirconium.' Several investigators'-" have studied the problem in broad outline, demonstrating that impact-loading conditions, testing temperatures below room temperature, and increasing hydrogen content produce increased brittleness. For example, Muehlenkamp and schwope2 showed that the transition temperature for notched impact tests was raised from 150" to 350°C on increasing the hydrogen content from 45 to 490 ppm. The degree of embrittlement is also controlled by the morphology of the zirconium hydride precipitates. The solubility of hydrogen in zirconium decreases from 600 ppm at 550°C to 10 ppm at 20"C,~ so that the form of the zirconium hydride precipitates (ZrH2) can be modified by varying the cooling rate through the Zr-aZr + ZrH2 phase boundary.= Forscher showed that quenching a specimen containing 35 ppm H from above 315°C resulted in a reduction in area of 70 pct at -196"C, whereas slowly cooling from above 315°C resulted in a ductility of half this value. The role of the hydride precipitate in the fracture process has been examined by Young and schwartz6 and more recently by westlake.' From metallo-graphic observations on slowly cooled Zr-H alloys they have suggested that cracks are nucleated in the hydride precipitates by the interactions of twins in the zirconium metal with the hydride. The experiments reported in this paper show that crack propagation in the zirconium hydride precipitates is the critical stage in the embrittlement of Zr-H alloys. The factors influencing fracture of the hydride precipitates and crack propagation in the zirconium metal will be related to the problem of embrittlement. EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES The zirconium used in these experiments was produced from an ingot of vacuum arc-melted iodide zirconium forged down to 1 in. diameter at 800' to 850°C. The 1-in.-diameter bar was surface-machined and cold-swaged to 0.375 in. diameter. After a vacuum anneal at 800°C for 1 hr the hardness was 60 to 70 Vdh. The total impurity content was approxi-

Jan 1, 1965

By G. R. St. Pierre, A. J. Wilhelem

In connection with the reduction of hematite or magnetite to metallic iron, it appeared desirable to study the rate of reduction of each oxide to the next lower oxide under conditions which excluded all other condensed phases. For this purpose, pellets of Fe,O,, Fe,O,, and oFeOo were prepared. A gas train for the preparation of Ar-Hz-H20 mixtures was employed to establish a continuous flow of a controlled atmosphere over a pellet suspended on a balance. In this manner the following individual reduction steps could be studied: For example, pellets of hematite were reduced solely to magnetite by adjusting the gas atmosphere such that it was oxidizing to wustite. In other words, the reaction was complete when the hematite pellet had been totally converted to magnetite. The pellets were prepared from Baker Chemical ferric oxide. The ferric oxide powder was moistened and handrolled. Air sintering at 950°C produced Fe,0, pellets with a density of 3.65 g per cm3. The pellets ranged in size from 0.6 to 1.2 cm diam. The magnetite and

Jan 1, 1962

By A. T. Miesch, L. B. Riley

Distribution of minor elements in sandstone-type uranium deposits of the Colorado Plateau is being studied by the USGS on behalf of the A EC. A primary objective has been to provide basic data which could be useful in geo-chemical exploration for new deposits. The basic statistical measures — similar to those used in sedimentary petrology—are described. The underlying principle is that the frequency distributions fit or approach the log-normal form. Since 1952 the U. S. Geological Survey on behalf of the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission has conducted a study of the distribution of minor elements in sands tone-type uranium deposits of the Colorado Plateau. A primary objective in this study has been to provide basic data which could be useful in geo-chemical exploration for new deposits. Among the basic data considered important are estimates of the abundance and habit of each element in the ore and in the host rocks. It has been found that a few basic statistical techniques, and variations of these techniques, are useful in this type of study. Some of the basic techniques have been used to advantage by researchers in geochemistry and in other fields of geology, especially sedimentary petrology; others have been used to only a limited extent. Among the latter is the linear correlation coefficient, which has proved useful in assessing the element associations in a particular rock type without analysing individual mineral separates. In computing the basic statistical measures a scale has been used which is, in some ways, similar to the phi ($) scale used by sedimentary petrol-ogists in grain-size studies.' FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTIONS It has been recognized for some time that the results of analyses for a given minor element in a suite of samples of rocks or ores yield frequency distribution curves which are approximately normal when the curves are plotted on logarithmic or geometric scales. In other words, the analytical results give an approximate lognormal frequency distribution. A classical example is given by D. G. Krige2 in the study of the distribution of gold values from a mine on the Witwatersrand. Another example is shown in Fig. 1, the distribution of barium concentrations in samples of uranium ore from the Chinle formation. The geochemical data are analogous to grain-size data gathered by the sedimentary petrologist. Both types of data, after simple logarithmic transformations, may be treated by conventional statistical methods based on the normal distribution. This is not to say that other types of transformations may not serve equally well or better for particular element distributions.3 Spectrographers and other analysts are quite aware of the dependence of their precision on the concentration of the element present.4 For example, in the part per million range the variation may

Jan 1, 1961

By R. W. Drier

THE conductivity of copper wire is of prime importance to the electrical industry and consequently to the copper refiner and wire manufacturer. Annealed copper wire has a higher conductivity than hard-drawn wire, but, on the other hand, its tensile strength is lower. In an attempt to explain the reasons for these changes in property or at least to study the conditions existing in these two types of copper wire, the experiments described here were carried on in the Department of Metallurgy of the Michigan College of Mining and Technology. This is only a partial and preliminary report on some of the work done to date on a research program of which the object is an intensive study of copper. It is offered with the hope that, though it is not an exposition of the most rigorous of conclusions, the general trend of inferences which may be drawn will be of value and interest.

Jan 1, 1929

By L. W. Berger, and R. I. Jaffee, D. N. Williams

The effects of hydrogen on the properties of binary Ti-A1 alloys containing 2.5, 5, and 7 pct aluminum and ternary alloys of the same compositions with added interstitial elements oxygen, nihrogen, and carbon were stzdied. Aluminum increases the apparent hydrogen solubility of the a-phase, resulting in a marked increase in resistance to impact embrittlement. In the Ti-5Al and Ti-7Al alloys, for example, the addition of 180 and 305 ppm hydrogen, respectively, did not cause embrittlement, while unalloyed titanium was embrittled by as little as 75 ppm. The role of aluminum in increasing hydrogen solubility of the a-phase probably accounts for the excellent hydrogen tolerance of a-ß alloys containing considerable amounts of aluminum. There is some evidence that aluminum retards the rate of hydride precipitation. If so, these alloys may be susceptible to slow-strain embrittlement. UNALLOYED a-titanium is extremely sensitive to small amounts of added hydrogen in that there is a marked decrease in notch properties. For example, as little as 100 ppm hydrogen is sufficient to lower the room-temperature notch-impact strength from over 100 to less than 20 in.-lb.' This loss of impact Strength has been associated with the Presence of hydride phase in the microstructure. Hydrogen in the amounts encountered in commercial practice

Jan 1, 1959

By L. D. Jaffe

IN previous metallographic work on titanium and its alloys, difficulty has been encountered in distinguishing spheroidal particles of titanium hydride, dispersed in a-titanium, from other phases that may be present, such as p-titanium. This problem is common in examination of commercial unalloyed titanium.' In the course of an investigation of the Ti-H phase diagram, it was noted that titanium hydride, dispersed in a matrix of a-titanium, showed strong optical anisotropy when examined under polarized light. With sensitive tint illumination, particles of the hydride, when the stage is rotated, changed from bright yellow to bright blue in color. Since P-titanium is cubic, it showed no color change on rotation, remaining dark gray or blue-gray. Although a-titanium is hexagonal, it showed only a minor color change, going from pale pinkish-blue to pale purplish-blue. These colors could be modified somewhat by adjustment of the illumination. They were observed in specimens mechanically polished, both without etching and after etching with hydrofluoric acid-nitric acid mixtures in either water or glycerine. The strong color change of the hydride seems to offer a simple method for its metallographic identification. Optical anisotropy of titanium hydride is inconsistent with its accepted face-centered-cubic structure.' Samples of iodide titanium containing 6 to 40 atomic pct deuterium were prepared for diffraction studies. After deuterating and slow cooling' the samples were held 21 % hr at 400 °C, water quenched, held 61 hr at 100°C and quenched, then held 64% hr at 255 C and quenched. Debye ex-posures with MoKa X-rays and 1.111A neutrons were made at room temperature of samples as-deuterated and after the 100" and 255°C treatments. Table I shows the lines observed, in addition to those attributable to a-titanium. These data show that the hydride phase was not cubic, but probably tetragonal. The titanium atoms appeared to form a body-centered-tetragonal lattice complex, two titanium atoms per cell, with approximate dimensions: a = 3.12A, c = 4.18A, and c/a =1.34A. This is equivalent to a face-centered-tetragonal complex, four titanium atoms per cell, with approximate dimensions: a = 4.42A, c = 4.18A, and c/a - 0.946A. The presence of the 2.98 and 1.81A neutron lines indicates that the true Bravais lattice is not identical with this lattice complex, but may be primitive tetragonal with dimensions some multiple of those of the complex. The relative intensities of the hydride and a-titanium X-ray lines as functions of overall composition indicated that the hydride, presumably in equilibrium with the a at 100" to 255"C, contained more than 62 atomic pct H. Acknowledgments The experimental work covered in this report was done at Brookhaven National Laboratory, through the courtesy of D. Gurinsky. The cooperation of J. Sadofsky, 0. Kammerer, A. McReynolds, and A. Cendrowski is gratefully acknowledged.

Jan 1, 1957

By S. A. Hovanessian

The method of characteristics which reduces the Buckley-Leverett mnlineur, partial differential equation to two first-order, linear differential equations is applied to the solution of a waterffood recovery problem for multiple lines of producing wells and one line of injection wells. The application of the method is described by a numerical example, and a brief theoretical background is given. From the results of this study, it is concluded that the cumulative water injected and oil produced are the same for single and multiple sets of producing wells. INTRODUCTION In this paper, the method of characteristics is applied to the solution of a waterflood recovery problem with multiple lines of producing wells and one line of injection wells. The application of the method to this type of recovery problem considerably simplifies the procedure of obtaining a numerical solution. It differs from the method described by Kern1 because it eliminates the need for integration in obtaining saturation fronts. In addition, the saturation history at any location within the field is obtained from a single diagram (time vs distance with saturation as a parameter)'. The paper includes a brief theory of the method of characteristics and its application to the solution of oil recovery problems. A numerical example is worked out, and the cumulative oil recovery-vs-time curve for a system with multiple sets of producing wells is obtained. This curve is then compared with the recovery curve of a system with only one set of producing wells. From this study, it is concluded that the cumulative water injected and oil produced are the same for single and multiple lines of producing wells. However, the recovery time is considerably longer for multiple sets of producing wells.

By W. V. Long, D. H. Reynolds, R. B. Bhappu

Equilibrium distribution coefficients were determined for some monovalent and polyvalent ions for several absorbing and exchanging media as functions of pH and initial ion concentration. Among ions studied were NH4 (I), K(I), Ni(II), Ce(III), Th(IV), and Mo(VI). Absorbents used were: ion exchange resins; a tertiary, and a quaternary amine in an inert solvent; and some activated carbons. The ions studied were in aqueous HCI, HNO3, H2SO4, or HC104 solutions. The classical mass action expression proved of little value in describing the variations observed. The data indicate that the determining factors in absorption and ion exchange may be the ionic species in the aqueous solution, which in turn depend upon pH, dilution, and perhaps other conditions. Three sorption processes have become prominent in recovering values from leach solutions. These are: 1) ion exchange, 2) solvent extraction (liquid ion exchange), and 3) physical adsorption by materials of high specific surface. In the first two of these processes the exchange reaction is considered chemical in nature, and is discussed in terms of the mass action principle. The third is considered a surface phenomenon and is discussed in terms of surface areas and various forms (Gouy, Stern, Grahame, etc.) of the Helmholtz double-layer theory. Generally speaking, we have found in chemical analysis and hydrometallurgical studies that there are close similarities between the three sorption processes, and also differences which are difficult to reconcile with any of the usual theoretical treatments. That others have experienced the same troubles is shown by the fact that usable processes, in chemical analysis as well as in hydrometallurgy, generally are discovered by empirical procedures. EXPERIMENTAL CONSlDERATlONS The gaps between theory and practice have allowed many conflicting statements to appear in the litera- ture. To learn, in particular, the behavior of some metallic ions on a cation exchange resin at a constant pH, equilibration studies were made over a wide range of concentrations.' Results are shown in Fig. 1 for four metals in hydrochloric acid solution on a strongly acidic cation exchange resin, AG 50W-X8 (Bio-Rad). The distribution coefficient, defined as D = amount of metal extracted per g of resin/amount of metal unextracted per ml of solution is seen to vary in a way to support all manner of reports about its behavior with changes in solution concentration. The metals used were chosen from those least likely to form stable chloro-complexes. The changes of slope in the various isotherms may reflect formation of unsuspected chloro-complexes of low stability (ion-pairing for example) whose concen-

Jan 1, 1967

By Robert G. Nisle

The classic theory of pressure build-up in shut-in oil wells as developed by Horner and van Everdingen is based on two-dimensional radial symmetry in the well-reservoir system. Such symmetry does not exist in the case of a well which parfiially penetrates the producing formation. As a result of this lack of symmetry the use of the classic theory in such cases become questionable. In this paper the mathematical theory has been extended to include the case of partially penetrating wells. Numerical solutions illustrating the up-dication of the equations are presented. The effect of partial penetration on pressure build-up is shown by a comparison of synthetic pressure build-up curves derived from the numerical solution of the equation for partially penetrating wells for various degrees of penetration. It is shown that partial penetration is detectable from the characteristic shape of the pressure build-up curve and that formation productivity may be calculated from the pressure buildup data in a manner identical to that described by the classic theory. INTRO DUCTION The use of pressure build-up data on shut-in oil wells is a well-established technique for the measurement of reservoir productivity. The work of Homer' and van Everdingen' is well known. Since the publication of their pioneering work, others"' have elaborated and extended the technique. These authors have dealt exclusively with the case of wells that completely penetrate he producing formation. Two-dimensional radial symmetry is achieved, thereby, and the problem is greatly simplified. This ideal situation is seldom encountered in practice. But, in spite of this, the technique is often employed anyway. The question, therefore, arises: how much confidence can be placed in the results of such calculations when the data are taken on wells that only partially penetrate the producing formation? It is the purpose of this work to answer this question. Only the single-phase fluid case will be considered. van Everdigen' has presented a rigorous solution of the two-dimensional case, but because of mathematical complexity, this solution has not proved to be particularly useful. Horner' utilized Kelvin's point source solution in two dimensions and showed that it is a sufficiently good approximation for oil reservoir studies. The geometry of the well and the producing formation is illustrated in Fig. l. Geometrically the formation may be described as an infinite slab. The infinite slab is defined as the solid (the porous medium in this case) bounded by two parallel planes. Thus, the slab extends to very great distances in both the positive and negative directions of two of the coordinate axes, but is finite in

By J. M. Weehuizen

Complete details are given of the drilling method by which two shafts were sunk at the new Beatm'x mine of Staatsmijnen in the Netherlands. The nature of the rock strata in the Dutch mining district determined choice of the drilling rather than the freezing method. Data for each step and details of the equipment used are given in the illustrations. Staatsmijnen was founded in 1902 with government financial backing, but it is run as a private enterprise, on a commercial basis, with the normal fiscal obligations. The company now has four mines in operation with annual outputs amounting to 7 1/2 million tons of coal. In 1952 it was determined that a new mine—the Beatrix—would be opened. Details of the shaft-sinking operation are described in this paper. SHAFT LOCATION The coal-bearing carboniferous rock in the Dutch mining district is overlain almost completely by soft water-bearing strata, which at the site of the new shafts are about 1600 ft thick. The sinking of the new shafts through this soft water-bearing overburden (Fig. 1) is a costly and time-consuming affair. From the two availaible sinking methods: 1) Poetsch's well known freezing method or 2) the drilling method of Honigmann-de Vooys, the latter was preferred, not only because of its relative cheapness, under the prevailing conditions, but primarily because by using the drilling process, a special type of shaft lining of steel, concrete, and bitumen could be used. The new shafts, located 330 ft apart, have an inner diameter of 18 ft, 4 1/2 in. The boreholes, which have a diameter of 25 ft and which were drilled through nearly 1600 ft of overburden and some 100 ft of carboniferous, each contain more than 29,000 cu yd—by far the largest in the world. DRILLING METHOD The drilling method is based on the use of mud-flush—a thin mixture of clay and water—to keep the borehole filled during the entire drilling period and during insertion of the lining (Fig. 2). The pressure of the mudflush against the borehole wall is greater than that of the water in the surrounding

Jan 1, 1961