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By Howard M. Wells

The investment worth of a mineral deposit can only be realistically evaluated in relation to specified engineering design criteria which fully detail the proposed method of exploitation. The operational design of a mine falls essentially within the technical discipline of the mining engineer, under the constraint that the technical design should be aimed at optimizing the financial attractiveness of the project. In the case of a marginally viable proposition it becomes vitally necessary to identify the best set of design parameters which together will add up to an optimum investment proposal. This paper examines some fundamental logic of optimization for a "wasting asset" type of investment such as a mine, with special reference to the rate of annual production and the strategy of selective mining.

Jan 1, 1979

By Martin F. Milligan

THIS short discussion of the effects of deoxidation on the mechanical properties of cast steels is intended to serve as general introduction to the subject of this afternoon's session. The subject is covered in detail in Mr. Carter's excellent paper. My material has been collected from the works of various investigators, several of whom are present today. For a definition of deoxidation, as applied to steel-furnace melting practice, we can best go to Briggs' book, "The Metallurgy of Steel Castings." Briggs says that deoxidation "includes all the phenomena in the final preparation of steel that would permit it to solidify free from gas cavities and from dissolved oxygen of all kinds." Various practices are used by welters to produce these end results.

Jan 1, 1947

By Christopher Haycocks, J. Richard Lucas

The growth of computer and ground control technology in recent years, combined with an urgent demand for low-cost fossil fuels and mineral resources, has set the stage for full-scale utilization of computers in mine planning. Steeply rising production costs and the need to preserve the environment are placing great demands on engineers to improve their mining efficiencies, which can best be accomplished by applying the full capabilities of the computer. Pressure to develop and perfect programs with an immediate potential for improving mine design, reducing mining costs and extending the viable coal reserves of the country has already come to bear in the form of exploding energy requirements, environmental considerations and the visible limitations of other energy sources.

Jan 4, 1973

By H. J. Booss

THERE is a considerable lack of data on thermody-namic properties of hard-metal alloys. Only two papers 1,2 give mean values of specific heat in an unknown temperature range; more recently the author3 gave more detailed information on the mean specific heat in the temperature range from 20" to -190° C.. EXPERIMENTAL 1) Method—Experimental procedure followed a method suggested by Oelsen and coworkers.4 It requires samples of some 100 g of weight. The time of measurement is prolonged (30 min) but one run allows the measurement of a lot of positions on the heat-content curve. Results4 were found to be in good agreement with "best values" given by kelley,5 Kubaschewsky and Evans,6 etal.

Jan 1, 1960

By B. G. Bunting, J. H. Johnson, H. J. Schock

This paper describes an experimental method for monitoring diesel-generated exhaust gas pollutants in a deadended drift to assess the effect of control approaches. Experiments were conducted to determine the relative merits of these ventilation configurations: no auxiliary ventilation, induction ventilation at the entrance to the drift, and ventilation of the dead-ended drift with positive displacement tubing. The drift used in this experimental work was approximately 32 m long and slightly downsloping, with an everage height and width of 2.4 and 8.6 m, respectively. For this drift, it was found that ventilation with positive displacement tubing provided the best removal of diesel-generate pollutants. Induction ventilation appeared to be the least effective of the three methods examined.

Jan 1, 1982

By AIME AIME

PERHAPS the outstanding characteristic of the newly elected President of the Institute is his rare ability to set aside nonessentials, and pick out the few basic elements on which a valid conclusion on any question can be drawn. This holds whether he is appraising a mining enterprise, selecting a man for an important position, deciding whether to buy or sell a bond, or choosing the best method for mining a huge body of ore. For example, he has pointed out that the two primary factors that make for success in a copper-mining venture are a large reserve of reasonably good ore and competent management. Usually the first is not as difficult to gauge accurately as the second. In a big enterprise the quality of the management

Jan 1, 1939

By Paul M. Tyler, Carle R. Hayward

DOES it pay to do really good work? Quite likely the practical millman will answer that it does not. The preparation of ores for market is primarily a business enterprise, and by and large the individual operator does not bother his head about squandering our national resources or making easier the job of the smelterman. Having accepted such ore as he may get fro111 the mine, his job is to make the best possible showing with his mill fro111 the standpoint of financial return. His success is measured in dollars and cents, and he has no rightful reason to expect more than scant acknowledgment of any other achievements from the stock- holders of his company who in the last analysis are his employers.

Jan 1, 1936

By Paul L. Russell

THIS is a progress report of an experiment being undertaken in cooperation with the Bethlehem Steel Corp., the Crucible Steel Co., and the Rock Bit Sales and Service Co., involving heat treatment of the shank ends of drill steel. This experiment is being conducted by the U. S. Bureau of Mines in its experimental mine, Mining Research Branch, Bluemont, Va. The purpose of the experiment is to determine the effect of an increase in the time the steel soaks in the furnace during the hardening heat. It has been thought that increasing this time produces a soft zone below the lugs resulting in a metallurgical notch that causes early failure. Each of the steel companies furnished enough 11/4 - in. straight carbon, hollow, round steel to make up 10 sets of drill steel, in each instance the steel bars were from the same heat. These sets of drill steel, consisting of 2-ft, 4-ft, 6-ft, and 8-ft lengths were fabricated by the Rock Bit Sales and Service Co. Special attention was given to the forging of the steel to produce the best rods possible. The heat treatment of all thread ends was identical and followed the best practice. The heat treatment of the shank ends of five sets of steel from each company produced a soft zone 2 to 4 in. in front of the lugs. It was decided that possibly the best way to obtain this effect was not to overlap the hardening heat but to let the steel soak for an additional 30 min before quenching. Therefore the only variable in the test steels is the length of time the shank ends were in the furnace. The remaining drill steel shanks were treated as follows: Heat treatment in pyrometer-controlled furnace at 1550°F. Quenching oil at 105°F to 125°F temperature. Areas for heat treatment were; shanks, 11 in.; threads, 9 in. Time at heat, standard practice, 20 min for 11/4-in. steel. Actual drilling tests were made in greenstone, (a metamorphosed basaltic rock), and in epidosite. Greenstone has a specific gravity of 2.96 and a compressive strength of 44,200 psi. Epidosite has a specific gravity of 3.26 and a compressive strength of 63,100 psi. All drilling tests were made using a 31/2-in. column-mounted, automatic feed drifter, with a controlled air pressure of 90 psi at the throttle. Tungsten-carbide bits of 2 in. diameter were used for all drilling. Contrary to expectations the drill steels that were allowed to soak for the additional 30 min before quenching performed better than the steels that were heat treated according to standard practice. This performance, as shown in Table I, was especially noticeable in the drilling of epidosite. The "longheat" drill steels furnished by Company "A" drilled 154 pct more minutes than the "standard-heat" steel. Expressed in feet, the "long-heat" steel drilled 114.60 ft more before failure than the "standard-heat" steel. The "long-heat" steel furnished by Company "B" drilled 37 pet more minutes or 60.39 ft more before failure than the "standard-heat" drill steel. The effect of the long heat treatment was not as evident when the steels were drilling in greenstone (Table II). In greenstone, the increase in minutes drilled by the "long-heat" steel over the "standard-heat" steel was 47 pet and 1 pet, respectively, for Companies "A" and "B."

Jan 1, 1952

POSITIONS VACANT (Under this heading will be published notes sent to the Secretary of the Institute by members or other persons.) Advertising Manager for Machinery Manufacturing Company. Must have technical training. No. 94. ENGINEERS AVAILABLE (Under this heading will be published notes sent to the Secretary of the Institute by members or other persons introduced by members.) Member, technical graduate in Mining, Chemistry and Metallurgy, Post-graduate, Royal School of Mines, Freiberg, Saxony, Germany and Columbia School of Mines. Aged 37, 14 years' experience in teaching mining metallurgy, chemistry and assaying. Available now. Willing to go anywhere. No. 278. Member, aged 33, mining engineer, 88 years' experience, desires position as mine safety and efficiency engineer with coal company. Best of references on request. No. 290.

Jan 5, 1916

By Jack Fox

Although this is going to appear in the December Issue of &E, it is being written long before the end of the year. December, of course, is the time for a summing up of the year's activities. Perhaps, the best way to begin is to report on what went on at the SME Board of Directors Meeting in St. Louis on October 20. This won't be a chronological report, and I shall take time to comment on some of the items we cover as we go along. You should be encouraged to know that your Directors take their duties seriously. Of the 21 current Directors, 19 were present, and three of the new 1971 Directors came to observe what goes on at an SME Board Meeting.

Jan 1, 1970

By M. S. Klima, P. T. Luckie

An evaluation of the operating performance of a recently designed pneumatic centrifugal classifier is presented. This classifier has been modified from a separate air and feed input design to an entrained solids in air feed input. The evaluation first required determining the size distributions for the three streams (feed, fine, and coarse). Using size distribution data and mass flow rates, a size selectivity curve was calculated for each operating condition tested. This curve, in turn, was characterized by appropriate selectivity parameters (i.e., the equiprobable or cut size, the sharpness index, and the apparent bypass values). The variation of these parameters with classifier operating conditions was examined. From these evaluations, the "best" operating conditions for the classifier were then determined.

Jan 1, 1985

By John V. Beall

As Mother Nature arranged it, the hottest potential mineral target in the country today, the Stillwater complex had to occur in a spectacular natural setting-the north margin of the Bear Tooth Mountains of Montana. What more appropriate backdrop for the August 17-18 field hearings of Senator Frank E. Moss (D-Utah). His subcommittee, on Minerals. Materials and Fuels, heard 37 witnesses ponder the value of minerals vs esthetics or other uses of federal lands. On August 17, four Army Hueys swept the senatorial party, the press, Forest Service Officers and such distinguished witnesses as Montana Governor Forrest H. Anderson over the Custer-Gallatin National Forests, besting the thin air of 10,000 ft p1us, they set down on Iron Plateau.

Jan 1, 1971

Jan 1, 1964

By A. M. Skov, L. F. Elkins

Inclusion of anisotropic permeability in mathematical analysis of pressure transients observed during development of the huge Spraberry field indicates a major fracture trend which is in good agreement with that observed by fluid-injection tests spread over a 12- by 17-mile area. Delineation of this trend is important in selecting a pattern of injection for the pending large-scale water flooding in this field. Determination of reservoir parameters yielding best agreement between calculated pressures and observed reservoir pressures in newly completed wells was made using an IBM 650 computer. INTRODUCTION The Spraberry field covering 400,000 acres is a tight sand of less than 1-md permeability cut by an extensive system of vertical fractures. Primary recovery dominated by capillary retention of oil in the fractured sand matrix blocks is less than 10 per cent of oil in place. Strong forces of capillary imbibition of water into the sand, coupled with water flow under dynamic pressure gradient, indicate considerable increase in oil recovery can be achieved through water flooding. Best results will occur if the pattern of water injection is selected to force the water flow across the grain of the major fracture system. Existence of an oriented vertical fracture system in the Spraberry, observed first in cores, was highlighted more recently by the 144-fold contrast in permeability along and at right angles to the major fracture trend required to match relative water breakthrough times in Humble Oil & Refining Co.'s waterflood test there. Spraberry operators since have conducted two gas-injection tracer tests for further areal confirmation of the fracture trend. Re-analysis of early reservoir pressure transients for evidence of anisotropic permeability has permitted many more local determinations of major fracture trend without resort to further field tests. This paper is limited to updating analysis of reservoir pressure transients to include anisotropic permeability as a test for orientation of the major fracture trend in the Spraberry. The reader is referred to Refs. 1 and 2 for information about general Spraberry reservoir performance and to Refs. 3 and 4 for information about significance of fracture orientation in selection of the injection-well pattern for water flooding the Spraberry. RESERVOIR PRESSURE DATA—DRIVER AREA During early development of the Spraberry Driver area, Sohio Petroleum Co. made the extra effort to measure the initial pressure in each of the 71 wells in a 5-mile-long area immediately after completion. Progressively greater reductions in pressure ranging up to 400 psi were observed throughout the six-month development period. Detailed data are presented in Ref. 1. Since the reservoir oil was undersaturated some 300 psi initially, early reservoir performance involving 55 new well pressures is subject to analysis as flow of a single compressible fluid in a porous media. Assumption of uniform permeability in all directions yielded good agreement between calculated pressures and observed pressures of these wells in the earlier study,' but subsequent, additional, mathematical development to include anisotropic permeability in the transient pressure considerations and present availability of electronic computers to perform the much more extensive arithmetical calculations now yield even better agreement. The previous analysis, assuming uniform permeability, consisted essentially of calculating pressure reduction expanding circularly around each producing well and summing these effects at the time and location of each newly completed well for comparison with the measured pressure reduction. Permeability, effective fluid and rock compressibility, and permeability X thickness were varied until the best match with measured pressures was obtained. The present analysis, assuming anisotropic

By R. J. Colony

DEPOSITS of iron are widely scattered in the folded Cretaceous rocks and the associated igneous intrusives of Puerto Rico. Most of them are too small for commercial development, but a few have aroused some scientific and economic interest, among them the large body of residua] limonite at the west end of the island near Mayaguez1-6 (Fig. 1) and the mixed hematite and magnetite deposit on the southern slopes of the Sierra de Cayey, about four miles north of Arroyo.7-9 Neither of these orebodies has been developed, nor have investigations of the widely distributed deposits of magnetite, which include all the remaining occurrences of iron deserving of economic consideration, proceeded beyond the exploratory stage. With the possible exception of the mixed deposit near Arroyo, the magnetite is directly associated with andesitic and dioritic intrusives, which invade the Cretaceous rock section, and the bulk of it, occurring in calcareous sediments, is clearly of contact-replacement origin. The small deposit on Rio Portugues, north of Ponce, is found in a limestone band near its contact with an andesite dike.10,11 Two deposits of unde-

Jan 1, 1935

By C. Crussard, R. Tamhankar

It is the policy of The Metallurgical Society to provide, in the TRANSACTIONS OF THE METALLURGICAL SOCIETY OF AIME, a prompt and accurate medium for publication of reports of significant new research in both the scientific and engineering aspects of metallurgy. Papers submitted to the Society are judged by competent reviewers accord-ing to established criteria for technical merit, accuracy, originality, and presentation. STAFF: Editor, Gerhurd Derge Carnegie Institute of Technology Schenley Park Pittsburgh 13, Pa. Editorial Assistant, M. A. Redmerski Staff Coordinator, James J. Burke THE METALLURGICAL SOCIETY: W. R. Hibbard, Jr., President; J. C. Kinnear, Jr., Past-President; John Chiprnan, Vice President; T. D. Jones, Treasurer; R. W. Shearman, Secretary. PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE OF THE METALLURGICAL SOCIETY: A. W. Thornton, Chairman; Dennis Carney, John Chip-man, J. C. Fulton, J. H. Hollomon, H. H. Kellogg, A. E. Lee, R. Maddin, J. D. Sullivan, and D. Swan. Review and selection of manuscripts is under the supervision of the following Publications Committees: Extractive Metallurgy Division: T. B. King, Chairman; S. J. Dickenson, R. P. Hermsdorf, R. Schuhmann, Jr., and P. T. Stroup. Institute of Metals Division: Robert Maddin, Chairman, F. Lincoln Vogel, Jr., Vice-chairman, W. A. Backofen, R. W. Balluffi, J. H. Bechtold, M. B. Bever, R. S. Busk, C. G. Goetzel, Paul Gordon, C. D. Graham, .Jr., Robert F. Hehemonn, R. I. Jaffee, F. E. Jaumot, Jr., Irving R. Kramer, A. J. Lena, Harold Margolin, C. J. McHorgue, Russell A. Meussner, J. B. Newkirk, H. W. Paxton, G. E. Pellissier, I. S. Servi, Alan U. Seybolt, A. J. Shaler, and Jack Washburn. Iron and Steel Division: J. C. Fulton, Chairman; T. B. King, F. C. Langenberg, W. 0. Philbrook, and T. 0. Winkler. Published bimonthly by the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc., 29 West 39th Street, New York 18, N. Y. Telephone: PEnnsylvania 6-9220. Subscription $20 per year for non-AIME members in United States and North, South, and Central America; $25, foreign; $5 for AIME members. Single copies, $4.00, single copies foreign, $5.00. The AIME is not responsible for any statement made or opinion expressed in its publications . . . Copyright 1958 by the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Inc. . . . Registered cable address, AIME New York ... Indexed in Engineering Index, Industrial Arts Index, and Chemical Abstracts... Second class postage paid at New Yark, N. Y., and Ann Arbor, Mich. Volume 212, Number 6.

Jan 1, 1959

By Winthrop P. Haynes

The symposium on production for the year 1943 contains few papers on the foreign situation. It has always been the policy of officers in charge of the symposium to refrain from publishing information that might possibly injure national or private interests. At the close of the war we hope again to publish full and accurate records of production abroad. A noteworthy feature of the reports on Texas this year is the map on page 469, which shows the districts covered by the statistics. Excerpts from Circular to Authors In order to facilitate interpretation of the data in this chapter, we print the following excerpts from the Circular to Authors. The field is the unit in this tabulation. In cases of fields extending across State boundaries, such as Rodessa, it is suggested that each State author treat the section of the field in his State as a unit, and by a footnote indicate that the field extends into an adjacent State. Each place in the table may represent one of three possibilities; either the proper entry is determinable and can be supplied by the author, or an approximate figure can be supplied which is the author's best guess and should be entered followed by an x, or it does not apply to the particular field and the space is left blank. Contributions of great value may be made by the author in many cases where entries are not subject to precise determina-tion. In such cases the author should use his good judgment and make the best entry possible under the circumstances. The entry of a zero is a positive declaration, and it is an important declaration where it is in order. It is thought that the nearest whole numbers are suficiently accurate for our purposes except as to percentage of sulphur in oil. If an author desires to report any other figures to tenths, he may do so. The quantity of gas produced should include, where possible, gas sold or otherwise marketed, and gas blown into the air, burned as flares or otherwise wasted. Segregation of these figures would be interesting if the authors can make such segregation. In any event, the figures should represent as nearly as possible the total quantity of gas removed from the reservoir. Under the columns on ''Depth," the average depth to the top of the productive zones and to the bottom of the productive wells, when subtracted, should give the approximate thickness of the productive zone. For fields where this is not true because of unusually high dip or for some other reasons, it is suggested that the authors indicate in their text the approximate average thickness of the productive zone. The net thickness of the producing formation should be the thickness of the producing zone, less the estimated amount to cover the portions of the zone that do not yield oil, such as dense shales, etc. It is recognized that for some fields the authors can only make rough guesses; in such cases, they should enter their best estimate followed by an x. Average production per acre-foot need not be reported as it can be calculated by those interested from the figures given. In classifying wells as to producing methods, enter all wells that are not "flowing" in the column headed "Artificial Lift." If possible, add footnotes to indicate whether the lift is "pumping," "gas lift" or "air lift."

Jan 1, 1944

By Winthrop P. Haynes

The symposium on production for the year 1943 contains few papers on the foreign situation. It has always been the policy of officers in charge of the symposium to refrain from publishing information that might possibly injure national or private interests. At the close of the war we hope again to publish full and accurate records of production abroad. A noteworthy feature of the reports on Texas this year is the map on page 469, which shows the districts covered by the statistics. Excerpts from Circular to Authors In order to facilitate interpretation of the data in this chapter, we print the following excerpts from the Circular to Authors. The field is the unit in this tabulation. In cases of fields extending across State boundaries, such as Rodessa, it is suggested that each State author treat the section of the field in his State as a unit, and by a footnote indicate that the field extends into an adjacent State. Each place in the table may represent one of three possibilities; either the proper entry is determinable and can be supplied by the author, or an approximate figure can be supplied which is the author's best guess and should be entered followed by an x, or it does not apply to the particular field and the space is left blank. Contributions of great value may be made by the author in many cases where entries are not subject to precise determina-tion. In such cases the author should use his good judgment and make the best entry possible under the circumstances. The entry of a zero is a positive declaration, and it is an important declaration where it is in order. It is thought that the nearest whole numbers are suficiently accurate for our purposes except as to percentage of sulphur in oil. If an author desires to report any other figures to tenths, he may do so. The quantity of gas produced should include, where possible, gas sold or otherwise marketed, and gas blown into the air, burned as flares or otherwise wasted. Segregation of these figures would be interesting if the authors can make such segregation. In any event, the figures should represent as nearly as possible the total quantity of gas removed from the reservoir. Under the columns on ''Depth," the average depth to the top of the productive zones and to the bottom of the productive wells, when subtracted, should give the approximate thickness of the productive zone. For fields where this is not true because of unusually high dip or for some other reasons, it is suggested that the authors indicate in their text the approximate average thickness of the productive zone. The net thickness of the producing formation should be the thickness of the producing zone, less the estimated amount to cover the portions of the zone that do not yield oil, such as dense shales, etc. It is recognized that for some fields the authors can only make rough guesses; in such cases, they should enter their best estimate followed by an x. Average production per acre-foot need not be reported as it can be calculated by those interested from the figures given. In classifying wells as to producing methods, enter all wells that are not "flowing" in the column headed "Artificial Lift." If possible, add footnotes to indicate whether the lift is "pumping," "gas lift" or "air lift."

Jan 1, 1944

By Winthrop P. Haynes

The symposium on production for the year 1944 includes more foreign papers than any one of the past three years, because of a partial relaxation of the censorship in many Western Hemisphere countries. The committee was not successful, however, in securing papers from Europe and the Near and Far East at this time, with the exception of Saudi Arabia and Bahrein. Where possible, these papers include summaries upon production for the missing war years, so that we shall have no permanent gap in the records. At the close of the war, we hope again to publish the usual more complete form of report for all important oil-producing countries. EXCERPTS FROM CIRCULAR TO AUTHORS In order to facilitate interpretation of the data in this chapter, we print the following excerpts from the Circular to Authors. The field is the unit in this tabulation. In cases of fields extending across State boundaries, such as Rodessa, it is suggested that each State author treat the section of the field in his State as a unit, and by a footnote indicate that the field extends into an adjacent State. Each place in the table may represent one of three possibilities; either the proper entry is determinable and can be supplied by the author, or an approximate figure can be supplied which is the author's best guess and should be entered followed by an x, or it does not apply to the particular field and the space is left blank. Contributions of great value may be made by the author in many cases where entries are not subject to precise determination. In such cases the author should use his good judgment and make the best entry possible under the circumstances. The entry of a zero is a positive declaration, and it is an important declaration where it is in order. It is thought that the nearest whole numbers are sufficiently accurate for our purposes except as to percentage of sulphur in oil. If an author desires to report any other figures to tenths, he may do so. The quantity of gas produced should include, where possible, gas sold or otherwise marketed, and gas blown into the air, burned as flares or otherwise wasted. Segregation of these figures would be interesting if the authors can make such segregation. In any event, the figures should represent as nearly as possible the total quantity of gas removed from the reservoir. . Under the columns on "Depth," the average depth to the top of the productive zones and to the bottom of the productive wells, when subtracted, should give the approximate thickness of the productive zone. For fields where this is not true because of unusually high dip or for some other reasons, it is suggested that the authors indicate in their text the approximate average thickness of the productive zone. The net thickness of the producing formation should be the thickness of the producing zone, less the estimated amount to cover the portions of the zone that do not yield oil, such as dense shales, etc. It is recognized that for some fields the authors can only make rough guesses; in such cases, they should enter their best estimate followed by an x. Average production per acre-foot need not be reported as it can

Jan 1, 1945

air-lift and equipped with tapered tubing of proper design, we would have a gas input consumption of about 2500 cu. ft. per bbl., which at 3 to 4c. per 1000 cu. ft. would be 7 1/2 to l0c, per bbl., and there would be very infrequent loss of production due to stoppages. It has been demonstrated that with efficient design of air-gas lift, the production of wells can be increased much beyond that obtained with the former type of air-lift employed; also that small wells can be operated by air-lift with tapered tubing at a cost that places this method in competition with beam pumps in many fields. The next step in conservation that the writer expects to have an opportunity to demonstrate is that of restoring the pressure in a pool and producing by air-gas lift all of the oil possible to lift economically. This combined operation is probably the method toward which we shall eventually be working in recovering the maximum quantity of oil from pools where the oil is recovered through bore holes. General Discussion on the Air-gas Lift H. P. Porter, Tulsa, 0kla.—The papers presented at this meeting contain a great amount of valuable information. Wonderful progress has been shown in the development of air and gas-lifts. There has been nearly everything brought out that touches upon the subject. The real point that is lacking is exact knowledge of the velocity with in the flow column which will produce the best effect—that is the thing we must know more about. Velocity in Gas-lift Flow In other lines of industry the matter of velocity of fluids in pipe lines has been well analyzed and there are known laws by which to calculate velocity of flow; for instance, in irrigation work large pumps are designed with intake pipos to employ an intake velocity of 4 ft. per scc. By reduced cross-sect'ion the velocity is increased rapidly as it enters the pump and the discharge rate is at 12 ft. per src., which in turn is reduced in the discharge column to 4 ft. per sec. Crushed coal, grain and granular material is found to be best conveyed by air when a pneumatic conveyor is employed at 100 ft. per sec. As in the design of a pumping plant or a pneumatic conveyor, the velocity at the lower end of the column in the flowing well must be controlled within certain limits for best results. Mr. Griswold, I believe, stated that they had velocity as low as 15 it. per scc. and from that up to 78 ft. per sec. Mr. Pierce and Mr. Lewis showed an ideal flow column showing how the velocity increased as the fluid was carried up the column, hut did not give any figures as to the velocity. It would be well to take that sort of a diagram to establish an ideal velocity at the lower or intake end, and then calculate the velocity from expansion of the gas as it goes up. It may be that the, ideal intake velocity would vary, depending on the depth of the well, the quantity of liquid to be handled or the pressure which it may be desired to hold. The subject is one that might be worth much research.

Jan 1, 1928