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Institute of Metals Division - The Selective Oxidation of Chromium in an Iron-Chromium- Nickel Alloy (TN)By R. P. Abendroth
This study is concerned with the kinetics of selective oxidation of chromium in a commercial Fe-Cr-Ni alloy. Selective oxidation of chromium in this alloy, by use of a low oxygen-potential atmosphere, leads to the formation of a compact, protective layer of Cr2O3. This layer serves to protect this alloy from gross scaling when it is subsequently exposed to severe oxidizing conditions at high temperature. The interaction of low oxygen-potential atmospheres close to equilibrium with Fe-Cr and Ni-Cr alloys has been studied by others."' These studies werk concerned with the surface-structure variations under slightly oxidizing conditions. NO detailed study was made of the oxide scale formation kinetics, however. The alloy samples were cut from 0.012-in.-thick sheet, with an apparent surface area of 7.1 sq cm. These sheet samples were abraded through 4/0 metallographic paper, and washed in alcohol and acetone. The analysis of the sheet alloy is (in weight percent): 42 pct Ni, 5.5 pct Cr, 0.09 pct C, 0.18 pct Al, 0.36 pct Si, 0.26 pct Mn, balance Fe. The weight gain vs time data were obtained with a 2-g capacity fused-silica spring—cathetometer system. The spring deflection was optically magnified ten times before being read by the cathetometer. A sensitivity of about 0.01 mg was attainable. The spring was enclosed in a water jacket maintained at 60°C to minimize the effect of temperature changes. The sample was suspended from the spring with a fused-silica hangdown and was positioned in the thermal center of a mullite furnace tube. Sample temperature was read with the aid of a thermocouple placed outside the mullite tube and an inside vs outside temperature calibration. Temperature change during the course of a run was ±0.25°C, with a temperature gradient of less than l.O°C over the length of the sample. Total temperature uncertainty was no more than ±3.0°C. Alignment difficulties between the hangdown and radiation shields in the furnace tube required that the sample be positioned in the furnace when cold, and heated with the furnace until the temperature stabilized at the desired point. This required 5 to 6 hr, and was carried out in Matheson ultrahigh-purity hydrogen. Oxidation was started, after evacuation, by introducing a hydrogen-water vapor mixture, obtained by saturating hydrogen with water vapor at 31.00o ± 0.02oC. Oxidation was continued for 90 min. Gas flow was 300 ml per min during heat up and oxidation. Since only several milligrams of oxide are formed on each sample, chemical analysis of the oxide is difficult. A representative analysis is: 80 pct Cr2O3, 5 pct Fe2O3, 3 pct Al2O3, 4 pct MnO, 7 pct SiO2, 1 pct or less NiO. X-ray diffraction analysis of the oxide as formed on the alloy gives rhombohedra1 Cr2O3, and barely distinguishable amounts of a cubic spinel phase, and possibly AlZOs and SO2. The identification of these latter two compounds is by no means certain. The spinel phase could be based on iron or manganese as these elements are present in significant amounts in the oxide. The results of the kinetic studies using 31°C dew-point hydrogen-water vapor mixtures were found to conform to a parabolic rate law. In many cases the parabolic plot consisted of two intersecting straight lines, defining an early and a late rate for a particular run, and in the other cases the parabolic plot consisted of one straight line for the entire run. The slopes of the various straight lines were determined by the method of least squares. Reproducibility of the data was good enough for multiple runs at the same temperature such that the value given for the rate constant is the average for two or more closely similar values, rather than widely varying values of the rate, where more than one determination is indicated in Table I. The exhibition of only one or of two rate constants during a run can happen at the same temperature. Thus, Table I shows that at 11'74°C a single rate constant was obtained from one sample, while other samples oxidized at the same temperature gave an early and a late rate constant. It should be noted that the single rate constant corresponds very closely with the early rate constant. This is also true at 1153°C. The time at which the late rate started to appear was variable, usually occurring 20 to 40 min after oxidation had started.
Jan 1, 1964
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Iron and Steel Division - Experimental Study of Equilibria in the System FeO-Fe2O3-Cr2O3 at 1300°By Takashi Katsura, Avnulf Muan
Equilibrium relations in the system FeO-Fe2O3 Cr2O3 have been determined at 1300°C at oxygen pressures ranging from that of air (0.21 atm) to 1.5 x 10-11 atm. The following oxide phases have stable equilibrium existence under these conditions : a sesquioxide solid solution with corundum-type structure (approximate composition Fe2O3-Cr2O3); a ternary solid solution with spinel-type structure (approximate composition FeO Fe2O3-FeO Cr2O3) and a ternary wüstite solid solution with periclase-type structure and compositions approaching FeO. The metal phase occurring in equilibrium with oxide phase(s) at the lowest oxygen pressures used in the present investigation is almost pure iron. The extent of solid-solution areas and the location of oxygen isobars have been determined. ThE system Fe-Cr-O has attracted a great deal of interest among metallurgists as well as ceramists and geochemists. Metallurgists have studied the system because of its importance in deoxidation equilibria, ceramists because of its importance in basic brick technology, and geochemists because of its importance for an understanding of natural chromite deposits. Chen and chipman1 investigated the Cr-O equilibrium in liquid iron at 1595°C in atmospheres of known oxygen pressures (controlled H2O/H2 ratios). The main purpose of their work was to determine the stability range of the iron-chromite phase. Hilty et al.2 studied oxide phases in equilibrium with liquid Fe-Cr alloys at 1550°, 1600°, and 1650°C. They reported the existence of two previously unknown oxide phases, one a distorted spinel with composition intermediate between FeO Cr203 and Cr3O4, the other Cr3O4 with tetragonal structure. They also sketched diagrams showing the inferred liqui-dus surface and the inferred 1600°C isothermal section for the system Fe-Cr-O. Koch et al3 studied oxide inclusions in Fe-Cr alloys and also observed the distorted spinel phase reported by Hilty et al. Richards and white4 as well as Woodhouse and White5 investigated spinel-sesquioxide equilibria in the system Fe-Cr-O in air in the temperature range of 1420" to 1650°C, and Muan and Somiya6 delineated approximate phase relations in the system in air from 1400" to 2050°C. The present study was carried out at a constant temperature of 1300° C and at oxygen pressures ranging from 0.21 atm (air) to 1.5 x 10-11 atm. The chosen temperature is high enough to permit equilibrium to be attained within a reasonable period of time within most composition areas of the system, and still low enough to permit use of experimental methods which give highly accurate and reliable results. These methods are described in detail in the following. I) EXPERIMENTAL METHODS 1) General Procedures. Two different experimental methods were used in the present investigation: quenching and thermogravimetry. In the quenching method, oxide samples were heated at chosen temperature and chosen oxygen pressure until equilibrium was attained among gas and condensed phases. The samples were then quenched rapidly to room temperature and the phases present determined by X-ray and microscopic examination. Total compositions were determined by chemical analysis after quenching. In the thermogravimetric method, pellets of oxide mixtures were suspended by a thin platinum wire from one beam of an analytical balance, and the weight changes were recorded as a function of oxygen pressure at constant temperature. The data thus obtained were used to locate oxygen isobars. The courses of the latter curves reflect changes in phase assemblages and serve to supplement the observations made by the quenching technique. 2) Materials. Analytical-grade Fe2O3 and Cr2O3 were used as starting materials. Each oxide was first heated separately in air at 1000°C for several hours. Mixtures of desired ratios of the two oxides were then prepared. Each mixture was finely ground and mixed, and heated at 1250" to 1300°C in air for 2 hr, ground and mixed again and heated at the same temperature for 5 to 24 hr, depending on the Cr2O3 content of the mixture. A homogeneous sesquioxide solid solution between the two end members resulted from this treatment. A Part of some of the sesquioxide samples thus prepared was heated for 2 to 3 hr at 1300°C and oxygen pressures of 10-7 or 1.5 x 10-11 atm. Reduced samples (either iron chromite
Jan 1, 1964
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Producing-Equipment, Methods and Materials - Emulsion Control Using Electrical Stability PotentialBy J. U. Messenger
A technique is described whereby the resistance of an emudian to breaking can be quantitatively determined. Produced ailfield emulsions are usually the water-in-oil type and, accordingly, do not conduct an electrical current. However, there is a threshold of A-C voltage pressure above which an emulsion will break and current will flow. The more stable an emulsion, the higher the required voltage. A Fann Emulsion Tester, modified so that low voltages (0 to 10 v) can be accurately measured, is suitable. This technique has application in evaluating the effect of a demuksifier on the stability of an emulsion. Emulsions can, in essence, be titrated with demulsifiers by adding a quuntity of demulsifier, stirring, and measuring the voltage required to cause current to flow. Any synergistic effect of two or more materials added simultaneously can be followed accurately. A demulsifier that significantly lowers the threshold voltage (from 100 to 400 v to 0 to 10 v for the emulsions in this study) is effective and can cause the enlulsion to break. A demulsifier that will bring about this drop in the threshold voltage at low concentration ir very desirable. The technique is also well adapted for rapidly screening demulsifiers. INTRODUCTION Stable emulsions in produced reservoir fluids resulting from certain well stimulation and completion procedures are common problems. The use of suitable demulsifiers can often mitigate these difficulties. At the present time, a rapid and efficient method for selecting satisfactory demulsifiers is not available. It is badly needed. Reliance is now placed primarily on trial-and-error procedures. A new test method has been developed which permits a more rapid and precise selection of demulsifiers. It involves measuring the electrical stability potential of an emulsion before and after a demulsifier has been added. This paper describes this method and shows where it should have application in field emulsion problems. NATURE OF OILFIELD EMULSIONS Two immiscible components must be present for an emuhion to form; we are concerned here with crude oil and water. An emulsifier must be present for tin emulsion to be stable. J Emulsifiers can be substances which are soluble in oil and /or mter and which lower interfacial tension. They can be colloidal solids such as bentonite, carbon, graphite, or asphalt which collect at the interface and are preferentially wet by one of these phases. Unrefined crude oils can contain both types of emulsifiers, A popular theory is that, of the two phases in an emulsion, the dispersed phase will be the one contributing most to the interfacial tension.' Usually this phase contains the least amount of emulsifier. The stability of a water-in-oil emulsion is affected by the fol1owing: l) viscosity; (2) particle or droplet size; (3) interfacial tension between the phases; (4) phase-volume ratios; and (5) the difference in density between the phases. A stable emulsion is usually characterized by high-viscosity, small droplets, low interfacial tensions, small differences in density between its phases, and slow separatian of the phases. It also has low conductivity (high electrical stability potential). Water-in-oil and oil-in-water emulsions"' are both common; however, oil field emulsions are predominantly water-in-oil emulsions. The emulsions which commonly occur during oompletion and stimulation operations contain a combination of several of the following: acids, fracturing fluids (oil, water, acid), and formation water and oil. Produced emulsions usually contain formation water and oil. Emulsions form in oil wells because oil and water are mixed together at a high rate of shear in the presence of a naturally occurring or unavoidably produced emulsifier. During the completion and stimulation of productive zones, and while formation fluids are being produced, oil and water are very often commingled. These mixtures are formed into emulsions by agitation which occurs when the fluids are pumped from the surface into the matrix of the formation or produced through the formation to the surface. Restrictions to flow (such as perforations, pumps, and chokes)".'" increase the level of agitation; tight emulsions are more likely to form under these conditions. Often an emulsified droplet is an emulsion itself.'" Therefore, emulsion-breaking problems can be quite complex. The complexity can be even greater if a third phase (gas) is included. Demulsifiers operate by tending to reverse the form of the emulsion. During this process, droplets of water become bigger, viscosity is lowered, color becomes darker, separation of the phases faster and electrical stability potential approaches zero. Any of these effects could be followed as a means of determining emulsion stability. However, electrical stability potential is the most reproducible and most easily measured parameter for following the stability of a water-in-oil emulsion.
Jan 1, 1966
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Drilling–Equipment, Methods and Materials - Two-Dimensional Study of Rock Breakage in Drag Bit Drilling at Atmospheric PresureBy C. Gatlin, F. Armstrong, K. E. Gray
This paper presents some preliminary results of two-dimensional cutting tests of dry limestone samples at utmospheric pressure. Cutting tips having rake angles of + 30°, + 15", 0°, - 15" and - 30" were used to make cuts on Leuders limestone samples at six depths of cut ranging from .005 to ,060 in. at cutting speeds of 15, 50, 109 and 150 ft/min. The vertical and horizontal force components on the cutting tips were recorded with an oscilloscope equipped with a polaroid camera. Motion pictures of the cutting process at camera speeds of 5,000 to 8,000 frames/sec were taken at strategic points in the variable ranges. The movies provide considerable insight into the brittle failure mechanism in rocks. It appears that chip-generating cracks usually have an initial orientation which is related to the resultant of the externally applied forces. The latter part of the crack curves upward toward the free surface being cut, this part being governed by some type of cantilever bending or prying. The linear and angular motion of the loosened chips also indicate the tensile nature of brittle failure. Analyses of the forces on the cutting tips indicate that: (I) relatively small increases in vertical loading result in large cut-depth increases for sharp tips (rake angles 2 0"); (2) tool forces increase at an increasing rate as the rake angle decreases, particularly for rake angles < 0"; and (3), for the range of this study, rate of loading had little effect on the maximum forces. Both the movies and visual inspection of the cuttings indicated that the volume of rock removed by chipping was much larger than that by any grinding mechanism, even for tips having negative rake angles. Cutting size increases with increased cut depth and rake angles, and decreases slightly at high cutting speeds, the depth of cut having by far the most influence. The amount of contact between the rock and the cutting tip was always less than the depth of cut and rarely exceeded 0.010 in. even for cuts of 0.060 in. INTRODUCTION The planing (or slicing) of various materials with a fixed blade has long been practiced by workers in many industries. For example, the farmer's plow, the carpenter's plane and the housewife's paring knife all employ this basic action. The casual observer might suspect that something so common must be quite simple; however, as in all problems involving the failure of materials, such is not the case. Industries concerned with the machining of metals have long studied these problems, and their literature on the subject is voluminous. Despite these efforts, basic knowledge is not very advanced, as may be noted from recent and comprehensive analyses of their literature.12 Metals are more subject to analysis by classical theories of elasticity and/or plasticity than are rocks, since their elastic constants and strengths are reasonably well established in many cases. In spite of this relative "simplicity", Hill9 refaces his discussion with an admission that the mathematical solution to the machining problem is not known. Photoelastic studies of both machining and milling have been performed and are discussed thoroughly by Coker and Filon.4 Rotary drilling of rocks with fixed blade or drag bits has long been practiced by the mining and petroleum industries, and considerable study has been given to defining their cutting action in terms of the pertinent variables. Essentially all the published mechanistic research on drag-bit drilling has been performed by mining engineers and has been concerned only with rocks in the brittle state. Fairhurst5-7 has worked extensively in this area and employed photographic techniques quite similar to those reported here, except at much lower speeds. His studies showed the periodic or cyclical nature of the brittle failure mechanism, in which instantaneous loads on the bit varied from some maximum value to near zero. Goodrichs has presented further data on the subject as well as a qualitative description of the process. Again the postulated mechanism is cyclical, with alternate chipping and grinding periods. The ploughing of coal is a practiced method and has been studied in some detail by English mining engineers."" Their findings have considerable general application to drag-bit drilling. Evans," in particular, has extended Merchant's metal-cutting theory" to brittle materials with some success, although certain aspects of his theory are open to question. Fish13 has recently summarized nearly all the published works concern-
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Extractive Metallurgy Division - Preparation of Metallic Titanium by Film BoilingBy L. A. Bromley, A. W. Petersen
The van Arkel-deBoer method for producing ductile titanium by thermal decomposition of Til, vapor and deposition on an electrically heated filament is modified by film boiling Til liquid on a heated filament, resulting in similar titanium deposition on the filament and liberation of gaseous iodine. The deposition rate is higher and the energy requirement smaller than in the van Arkel process. Many problems must be solved before the process is commercially feasible. TITANIUM of 99.9 pct purity, called ductile titanium, has been produced by a modification of the van Arkel-deBoer' method. In the van Arkel-deBoer method, an electrically heated wire is suspended from two electrodes, which are placed in a container holding TiI, vapor at a low' vapor pressure (usually <5 mm Hg). The vapor diffuses to the hot wire, usually maintained at 1100" to 1600°C,' and decomposes according to the reaction liberating gaseous atomic iodine and depositing solid crystalline titanium on the wire. Estimations based on the data of Runnalls and Pidgeon,' indicate that the rate-control ling step is the diffusion of atomic iodine away from the wire. There appears to be nearly thermodynamic equilibrium at the wire with TiI, and iodine as the main gaseous species. TiI, is almost certainly an important gaseous species in the cooler regions.' The liberated iodine diffuses to a heated source of crude titanium and reacts to form more TiI, vapor, which again diffuses to the hot wire and completes the cyclic process. The foregoing process may be modified by suspending the hot wire in liquid TiI,, instead of the vapor, and obtaining film boiling. This type of boiling is characterized by the formation of a continuous film of vapor over the wire surface. Since only vapor contacts the wire sul.face, the temperature of this surface may be raised as high as desirable, within the limit of mechanical strength requirements for the wire. By properly adjusting the input voltage. the temperature of the wire may be maintained above U0C"C; and by evacuating the vessel holding the liquid TiI, and maintaining a suitable condenser temperature, the vapor pressure of TiI, may be held low. Thus, the conditions of operation of the van Arkel-deBoer method may be approximated with film boiling; and hence, it is postulated that ductile titanium may be produced by this method. Preparation of Til, There are many methods available for the preparation of TiI,; that used in this research was prepared by the direct reaction of titanium sponge in controlled amounts with liquid iodine. Although no difficulty was encountered with this reaction, it has since been pointed out that this method is sometimes dangerous and should be used with caution. The resulting TiI, was purified by distillation. First Film Boiling Experiments Apparatus: The apparatus shown in Fig. 1 was used for film boiling TiI, on short wire filaments. The current to the filament was supplied through a bank of three 5 kva transformers connected in parallel. The current was controlled by adjusting the voltage over a 0 to 67.5 v range with a 7 kva variable transformer on the low voltage side of the bank of transformers. The current and voltage were measured by Weston meters. The sealed-in-glass tungsten electrodes were hard-soldered to the filament for the film boiling of TiI,. The bottom part of the reactor, containing TiI,, was wrapped with ni-chrome heating wires to maintain the TiI, in the liquid state. An ice or liquid nitrogen trap, for solidifying I, vapor and any TiI, not condensed, was attached to the low pressure side of the air-cooled condenser. A Megavac vacuum pump was used. Procedure: A 0.010 in. diam tungsten filament was hard-soldered to the tungsten electrodes. TiI, was melted (mp 156°C) and poured into the reactor chamber; the top of the reactor chamber, containing the electrodes, was replaced. Freezing of the TiI, was prevented by controlling the current to the ni-chrome wires wrapped around the reactor with a 1 kva variable transformer. The mechanical vacuum pump was started and the system evacuated to about 2 mm Hg TiI, vapor pressure. The current to the filament was turned on and the impressed voltage slowly increased with the variable transformer. A sudden drop in current at nearly constant im-
Jan 1, 1957
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Institute of Metals Division - Internal Friction of Tungsten Single CrystalsBy R. H. Schnitzel
Internal-friction peaks have been observed in tungsten single crystals at about 300° and 400°C. The characteristics of these peaks are similar to interstitial peaks observed in other bee metals; therefore, the origin of these peaks appears to he the Snoek mechanism. The interstitial responsible for the peak at about 300°C has not been identified. Carburizing increases the magnitude of the peak at about 400°C; consequently, it appears reasonable to suppose that the specific interstitial associated with this peak is carbon. The activation energies associated with the 300° and 400°Cpeaks are about 35,000 and 45,000 cal per mole, respectively. INTERNAL - friction peaks resulting from the stress-induced diffusion of interstitials (Snoek relaxation peaks) have been frequently observed in bee metals.1-5 Attempts to detect Snoek relaxation peaks in tungsten have, however, not been fruitful.' Failure to find Snoek peaks in sintered tungsten can perhaps be attributed to one or more of the following difficulties: a) the relatively low purity of the sintered tungsten; b) the lack of extensive metallurgical knowledge about tungsten-interstitial alloys, such as suitable interstitial dosing and quenching procedures; and c) the inconsistency of some of the interstitial analyses of tungsten, which reflects itself in one's inability to be sure of the nature of the specimens. This present investigation did not overcome all of these difficulties for successful tungsten internal-friction measurements. Some of these difficulties still persist and new difficulties were encountered during the course of this investigation. Nevertheless, the use of electron-beam tungsten single crystals having somewhat greater purity levels than sintered tungsten combined with appropriate carburizing and quenching procedures permitted a reasonable attempt to be made. As a consequence, internal-friction peaks were observed in these tungsten single crystals at about 300° and 400°C. These peaks were found to be unstable, since they annealed rapidly away during a sequence of internal-friction measurements. Hence, it was necessary to construct an apparatus having a faster heating rate to study some of the details of these peaks. From the behavior of these peaks as well as our knowledge of similar peaks in other bee metals, one can reasonably conclude that these peaks are caused by residual interstitial impurities within these crystals. Further investigation of these peaks after the application of various metallurgical treatments lent credence to this supposition. EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUE The internal friction of tungsten single crystals was measured using two different pieces of apparatus both of which are of essentially the same conventional design, namely the KE type of torsion pendulum. The important difference between these two types of apparatus was in the attainable heating rate and method of protection of the specimen from atmospheric contamination. The apparatus designated "number 1" was enclosed in a vacuum chamber which was heated by an externally mounted furnace. It had a slow rate of heating which was estimated to be about 4°C per min from room temperature to about 350°C and then about 1°C per min to 600°C. The internal friction of tantalum was measured with this apparatus and the established Snoek peaks were found.' These tantalum peaks in the temperature range from room temperature to 400° C served as a check for the apparatus. The apparatus designated "number 2" having a faster heating rate than number 1 was not elaborate. It consisted of a mounted nickel tube to which split heating elements were attached. Argon was used as the protective atmosphere. The measured heating rate was about 12° to 15°C per min whereas the cooling rate was somewhat slower at about 10° C per min because of the increased difficulty encountered in stabilizing the temperature. No surface oxidation of the specimen was noted after any test. This apparatus was also checked with the known peaks of tantalum.1 The preparation of the single-crystal specimens for internal-friction measurements consisted of centerless grinding the crystals from an approximate 0.200 in. diameter to 0.030 to 0.040 in. in diameter, and then electropolishing them to about 0.020 in. in diameter. Single crystals processed in this manner are designated as being in the virgin condition. Since the length of crystal varied from 3 to 9 in., the test frequency varied from about 1 to 2 cps. The frequencies of measurement, axial orientations, and chemical analyses for the various crystals are listed in Table I. The controlled addition of carbon into tungsten is a difficult problem. Attempts to find the critical conditions necessary for an equilibrium treatment were not fruitful. Therefore, a simple nonequi-librium method was used. The addition of carbon to these crystals consisted of appropriately combining three treatments—carburizing to achieve a case, annealing to partially dissolve the carbon into the
Jan 1, 1965
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Institute of Metals Division - The Solubility and Precipitation of Nitrides in Alpha-Iron Containing ManganeseBy J. F. Enrietto
Internal friction measurements were used to determine the effect of manganese on the solubility and precipitation kinetics of nitrogen. Manganese, in concentrations up to 0.75 pct, has little effect on the solubility at temperatures above 250°C. On the other hand, at Concentrations as low as 0.15 pct, manganese inhibits the formation of iron nitrides, especially Fe4N, even though it may not form a precipitnte itself. The precipitation and solubility of carbides and nitrides have been extensively investigated in the pure Fe-C and Fe-N systems.1-3 In recent years, some effort has been ispent in studying the influence of substitutional alloying elements on the behavior of carbon and nitrogen in ferrite.4 -7 In particular Fast, Dijkstra, and Sladek have investigated the effect of 0.5 pct Mn on the internal friction and hardness during the quench aging of Fe-Mn-N alloys.', ' They found that at low temperatures (below 200°C) the presence of 0.5 pct Mn greatly retarded quench aging. For example, after 66 hr at 200°C very little precipitation had taken place in the iron alloyed with manganese, whereas precipitation was complete after a few minutes in a pure Fe-N alloy. The effect of varying the manganese content and the details of the precipitation process were not mentioned in these papers. Fast' postulated that manganese causes a local lowering of the free energy of the lattice with a resulting segregation of nitrogen atoms to these low energy sites. The segregated nitrogen atoms are bound so tightly to the manganese atoms that they cannot form a precipitate. The internal friction measurements of Dijkstra and Sladek tended to confirm the concept of segregation of nitrogen around manganese atoms, and the increase in free energy on transferring a mole of nitrogen atoms from a segregated to a "normal" lattice site was computed to be - 2800 cal. Dijkstra and Sladek9 distinguished between two types of precipitates: ortho, a nitride of appreciably different manganese content than that of the matrix, and para, a nitride with a manganese content essentially that of the matrix. With each type of precipitate a solubility, again designated ortho or para, can be associated. Since the internal friction maximum in alloys which were aged several hours at 600" C dropped almost to zero, Dijkstra and Sladek9 concluded that the ortho solubility must be very low. The effect of temperature on the ortho and para solubilities has no1: been investigated. There are obviously several gaps in our knowledge concerning the influence of manganese on the behavior of nitrogen in a-iron. It was the purpose of the experiments described in this paper to determine the following: 1) The ortho and para solubilities of nitrogen as a function of temperature. 2) The details of the precipitation process at elevated temperatures. 3) The effect of varying the manganese concentration on the above phenomena. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Internal friction is conveniently employed in studying the precipitation of nitrides and/or carbides from a -iron because it is one of the few parameters, perhaps the only one, which is not affected by the presence of the precipitate itself. For this reason, internal friction techniques were heavily relied upon in the present experiment. A) Preparat of -. All specimens were prepared from electrolytic iron and electrolytic manganese. Alloys containing 0.15, 0.33, 0.65, and 0.75 wt pct Mn were vacuum melted and cast into 25 lb ingots. After being hot rolled to 3/4 in. bars, the ingots were swaged and drawn to 0.030 in. wires. The wires wen? decarburized and denitrided by annealing at 750° C for 17 hr in flowing hydrogen saturated with warer vapor. To obtain a medium grain size, - 0.1 mm, the wires were then heated to 945oC, allowed to soak for 1 hr, furnace cooled to 750°C, and water quenched. Subsequent internal friction measurements showed that this procedure reduced the nitrogen and carbon concentrations of the alloys to less than 0.001 wt pct. The wires were nitrided by sealing them in pyrex capsules containing anhydrous ammonia and annealing them for 24 hr at 580°C, the nitrogen being retained in solid solution by quenching the capsule into water. Immediately after quenching, the wires were stored in liquid nitrogen to prevent any precipitation of nitrides. By varying the pressure of ammonia in the capsule, it was possible to produce any desired nitrogen concentration. B) Internal Friction. The internal Friction measurements were made on a torsional pendulum of the Ke type,'' a frequency OF 1. or 2 cps being used. For
Jan 1, 1962
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Extractive Metallurgy Division - Extraction of Alumina from Haiti and Jamaica BauxitesBy T. D. Tiemann
The chemical and mineralogical composition of Caribbean bauxite ores are described. Extraction of alumina by several processes from both Haiti and Jamaica bauxites is discussed and data presented. IMMENSE deposits of bauxite occur in the Caribbean islands of Hispaniola and Jamaica in the high plateau lands and have been excellently described by 0. C. Schmedeman.' The bauxite occurs as deposits in catchments or etched depressions in Tertiary limestone believed to have been deposited in the Eocene and Oligocene periods.' In appearance both the Haiti and Jamaica bauxites resemble a relatively high iron clay and have indeed been mistaken for such.' They are very soft and friable and disperse readily on vigorous agitation in water. The color range in general is light brown to red. Chemically, the outstanding characteristic of the bauxites is the low silica and high ferric oxide content. The extremely low silica makes them particularly valuable for the production of alumina in the Bayer plant since silica is responsible for the loss of both alumina and soda chemically combined as XNa,OYSiO2,ZAl2O2. The ferric oxide, only traces of ferrous iron are present, offers no interference in the production of high grade alumina. Typical oxide analyses of three types of ore are given in Table I2 and a list of the elements occurring in spectrographic quantities in Table 11." The size of the individual particles in the ore makes successful petrographic examination extremely difficult. The ores contain some relatively coarse grains of heavy minerals such as ilmenite, magnetite, and rutile, but other than occasional crystals of a few microns, the greater portion of the minerals are submicroscopic in size and approach colloidal dimensions. The mineralogic composition of the ores has been investigated by X-ray and differential thermal analysis.' These investigations indicate that the predominant mineral phases present are gibbsite (A1203.3H2O), boehmite (Al2O3.H2O), hematite (Fe2O3), and goethite (Fe2O3-H2O). There is no evidence of the occurrence of diaspore (Al2O3.H2O) in either the Haiti or Jamaica ores, but some type of "amorphous" alumina may be present in some of the bauxites of Jamaica." The temperature stability regions in the alumina-water system have been investigated and are given in recent literature. In the temperature range where the hydrated forms are stable, as determined by hydrothermal bomb methods," ibbsite is the stable phase to 155°C (311°F), boehmite from 155°C (311°F) to 280°C (536oF), and diaspore from 280°C (536°F) to 450°C (842°F). Although quite similar in many characteristics, the Haiti and Jamaica ore show a divergence in mineralogic composition that is reflected in the extractability of the alumina described in later paragraphs. Two principal differences occur in mineralogic composition. The iron-bearing mineral in the Haiti ores is predominantly hematite, while in the Jamaica ores goethite is predominant.4 Directly related to the extraction of alumina are the two minerals, gibbsite and boehmite. Boehmite is relatively high in the Haiti ores and in some of the less soluble Jamaica ores, while gibbsite predominates in the ores in Jamaica amenable to the American Bayer process of extraction. Pedersen and Related Processes In general, all processes for the extraction of alumina involving sintering or fusion of bauxite ores with limestone, soda ash, or a combination of limestone and soda ash followed by leaching, are based on the formation of alumina compounds that. yield alumina soluble in the subsequent leach. The principal idealized reactions in respect to alumina and silica for the three types of processes are as follows: Soda Ash Sinter: A12O3 + Na2CO3 = Na2O-Al2O, + CO2 SiO2 + Na2CO3 = Na2O . SiO2 + CO2 A12O2 + SiO2 + Na2CO3 = Na2O.Al2O8. SiO2 + CO2 Leach (with excess water): H2O + Na2O-A12O3 = 2 NaOH + A12O3 (insolution) H2O + Na2O-SiO2 = 2 NaOH + SiO2 (in solution) Soda Ash— Limestone Sinter: Na2CO2 + A12O3 = Na2O.A1203 + CO2 2CaCO3 + SiO2 = 2CaO . SiO2 + 2CO2 Leach (with excess water): Na2O' A1208 + H2O = 2NaOH + A13O3 (in solution) These latter reactions are the basis of the sinter process currently used for the recovery of soda and
Jan 1, 1952
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Extractive Metallurgy Division - Free Energy of Formation of CdSbBy Richard J. Borg
The vapor pressure of Cd in equilibrium with CdSb in the presence of excess Sb has been measured using the Knudsen effusion method over the temperature range 276° to 379°C. The free energy of formation of CdSb is given by AF° = -1.58 + 1.53 x l0-4 T, kcal per mole. The enthalpy and entropy are obtained from the temperature coefficient of the .free energy. CADMIUM and antimony have almost imperceptible mutual solid solubility but form a single stable intermediate phase, CdSb. This phase, according to Han-sen,l extends from about 49.5 at. pct to 50 at. pct Cd at 300°C and has the orthorhombic structure. The free energy of formation of CdSb can be calculated from the vapor pressure of Cd for compositions which contain less than 49 at. pct Cd. The appropriate reaction and formulae are given by Eqs. [I] and [2]- CdSb(s, ~ Cd(g)-, +Sb(s) [1] Since Sb is in its standard state, Af - N,,AF'-,, = NcdRT In a,, = NcdRT InP/PO [2] In Eq. [2], P, is the vapor pressure of Cd in equilibrium with the alloy, and Po is the vapor pressure in equilibrium with pure solid Cd. It is implicit in this calculation that the free energy only slightly changes within the narrow limits of the single phase field. Thus, the value obtained from the antimony-rich boundary is truly representative of the stoi-chiometric compound. The results reported herein are obtained from a mixture near the eutectic composition, i.e. 59 at. pct Sb. Only two previous investigations" of the free energy of formation of CdSb have been made. Both relied upon the electromotive force method, and measurements were made over relatively narrow temperature ranges which strongly influences the reliability of the values of AH and aS. EXPERIMENTAL The eutectic composition is prepared by fusing reagent grade Cd and Sb by induction heating in vacuo with the starting materials held in a graphite crucible having a threaded lid. The material obtained from the initial melt is pulverized, sealed under high vacuum in a pyrex capsule, and annealed at 420°C for two weeks. X-ray analysis"gives the following lattize parameters: a = 6.436A, b = 8.230& and c = 8.498A using Cu Ka radiation with A = 1.54056. These values are in fair agreement with the result? previously reported by Al~in:4 i.e. a = 6.471A, b = 8.253A, and c = 8.526A. Vapor pressures are measured using an apparatus which has been described elsewhere,= however, with a single important modification. Knudsen effusion cells are made of pyrex with knife-edged orifices made by grinding the convex surface of the lid on #600 emery paper. Photographs taken at known magnifications using a Leitz metallograph enable the determination of the orifice area. Numerous calibration measurements of the vapor pressure of pure Cd give close agreement with values previously reported5,= thus indicating that no significant error can be ascribed to the substitution of glass cells for metal cells used in previous work. Because the vapor pressure of Cd is reliably established and because it is difficult to obtain Clausing factors for the glass cells, the final values used for the orifice areas are calculated from the calibration measurements of the vapor pressure of pure Cd. Effusion runs are started in an atmosphere of purified helium which is quickly evacuated as soon as the cell attains thermal equilibrium. Less than one minute is necessary to obtain high vacuum after evacuation begins, and the temperature seldom varies by more than 0.5oC from the value obtained prior to pumping out the helium. RESULTS The results of this investigation along with other pertinent data are tabulated in Table I. Fig. 2 is the familiar graph of log P against T-10 K. At least mean squares analysis of the data presented in Table I yields the following equation: log1DJP = 8.790 - 6472 x T"1 [3] The deviations of the individual measurements from the values calculated with Eq. 131 are given in column six of Table I; the average deviation is 4.0% of the calculated value. Although the partial molal properties change significantly with composition within the single phase region, the integral thermodynamic value should remain relatively constant. Hence the results of the following calculations, which use the data obtained for the eutectic composition, are probably representative of the equi-atomic compound. Eq. [4] describes the vapor pressure of pure Cd as a function of temperature and may be combined with Eq. [3] to
Jan 1, 1962
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Technical Papers and Notes - Institute of Metals Division - Hydrogen Embrittlement of Vanadium By Catalytic Decomposition of Water with ManganeseBy P. D. Zemany, G. W. Sear, B. W. Roberts
Vanadium metal is embrittled by hydrogen at a temperature as low as 250°C when held in the presence of manganese metal and water vapor in a rough vacuum. It is established that the property changes are caused by the catalytic decomposition of water vapor at the vanadium surface and the diffusion into and solution in the vanadium of the resultant hydrogen. It is found that manganese is a necessary component of the catalyst. The manganese is transported in the vapor phase by an unknown molecule. A deuterium tracer experiment demonstates the role of water vapor in the embrittle-ment process. VANADIUM metal foils were observed to become embrittled' at a temperature of about 300 °C when held in the presence of manganese metal and a small amount of moist air, This paper describes the investigation to find the embrittling agent and an understanding of the relatively low temperature reactions that are involved. Experimental The vanadium metal foil used was prepared by cold-rolling and pack-rolling 32 mil sheet" in a series of steps down to 1 mil foil. The original observation was confirmed by sealing vanadium foils of 3 x 10 sq cm into individual Pyrex tubes with manganese powder† and a con- trol tube containing only the vanadium foil. These tubes were evacuated to 10 -5 mm Hg without baking and sealed. After heat treatment for 200 hr at 300°C, the control foil showed no change in duetility, whereas the foil contained in the manganese— containing tube was embrittled. The visual appearance of each was unchanged. A series of Pyrex sample tubes, about 2.5 cm diam and 25 cm long, were prepared, each containing a 3 x 10 sq cm piece of foil and 5 g manganese powder at the lower end of the tube. By reducing the time of anneal and the temperature of these samples, it was found that embrittlement could be created at 250°C in a time as short as 1 hr. Since the vanadium metal used here has been drastically cold-worked by rolling, it is assumed that it contains a maximum number of dislocations. To check the possible necessity of dislocations in this low temperature reaction, a vanadium foil sample was annealed in Vycor for 2 hr at 800°C to re crystallize and reduce the dislocation concentration. Metallographic examination showed grains which were not visible before annealing. The embrittlement procedure was carried out at 300°C and 3 hr. Upon checking the foil no embrittlement was observed. Further experiments demonstrated that about 6 hr at 300°C are required to create embrittlement in the foil. This delay in the onset of embrittlement in the vanadium foil suggests but does not prove that dislocation channels play a role in the embrittlement phenomena. If manganese metal is necessary for this low temperature embrittlement, do other elements in the transition metals group yield the same result? To check this qualitatively, a group of elements of similar atomic radii were obtained and sealed as before into Pyrex tubes with a sheet of vanadium foil. These tubes were annealed at 250°C for 6 hr and included (with radii)-2 A1 (1.4A), As (1.25A), Be (1.2A), Co (1.25A), Cr (1.45A), Cu (1.25A), Fe (1.25A), Ga (1.2A), Ge (1.25L%), Mn (1.3A), Ni (1.25A), Si (1.2A), Ti (1.45A), Zn (1.3A), air, H,O, 10 cm Hg of dry hydrogen, and MnO, powder. Upon testing the above sample foils for brittleness, only the manganese-containing tube yielded a brittle foil. Manganese Transport—To eliminate contact of manganese metal powder and vanadium foil, sample tubes were prepared with fritted glass barriers. The embrittlement reaction was still found to occur. Thus, the mode of transfer of manganese is certainly vapor transport. A vanadium foil was embrittled by this mechanism in an evacuated Pyrex tube for 8 hr at 300°C. By means of X-ray fluorescence analysis,' the amount of manganese added to the surface was established at 5 ±2 x 10 -6 g per sq cm. Since the average rate of manganese deposition is known, an effective average pressure of an assumed carrier compound can be computed. ___ P = M/T v2p mkT
Jan 1, 1959
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Institute of Metals Division - Deformation Modes of Zirconium at 77°, 575°, and 1075°By K. E. J. Rapperport, C. S. Hartley
The only slip system observed in zirconium crystals deformed at 77", 575", and 1075OK was (1010) [1210] with a critical resolved shear stress in tension of 1.0 kg per sq mm at 77°K; 0.2 kg per sq mm at 575 °K; and 0.02 kg per sq mm at 1075 OK. The active twin planes were {1012}, (1121}, (11221, and (11233) with varying temperature dependence. A detailed analysis for the slip direction using Laue spot asterism is appended. NeARLY all metals of the hexagonal close-packed structure exhibit basal slip, i. e.,(0002)<1120>- type slip. This is true of magnesium,' zinc,' cadmium,3 beryllium,4 titanium,= yttrium,6 and rhenium.Many of these such as titanium 5'8-'0beryllium,4'" magnesium, and zinc13'14 display other slip modes even at room temperature, and nearly all have been reported to slip on other systems under particular loading or temperature conditions of testing. As is shown in this paper, basal slip was not found at any of four test temperatures from 77" to 1075°K in hexagonal close-packed zirconium under the simple loading conditions of tension and compression, even though in one case the resolved shear stress on the inactive (0002) <llgO> system was twenty-five times higher than the critical resolved shear stress on the active (1010) [1210] system. This result is consistent with prior studies on the active deformation processes in zirconium deformed at room temperature. ''-I7 SPECIMEN PREPARATION A) Material—The zirconium used in this work was of two types: 1) as-deposited reactor grade crystal-bar, and 2) arc-melted and forged reactor grade crystal-bar. Typical chemical and spectrographic analyses of these materials as received, and after hydrogen removal and crystal growth are given in Ref. 17. Crystals of type 1) above have the letter prefix (A) and those of type 2) have the prefix (B) throughout this paper. B) Crystal Growth— he zirconium was machined into rectangular parallelepipeds about 0.2-in. scl in cross section and 2 in. iong. These were hand polished through 4/0 abrasive paper, electropolished, given a hydrogen removal anneal, and subjected to long-time anneals at 840 °C in vacuo to produce usable crystals.'7 A second technique used to obtain large crystals was to cycle the samples two or three times between 1200" and 840°C, allowing them to remain at the higher temperature for about 4 hr and at the lower temperature for 5 days.17 These techniques yielded some grains which occupied the entire cross section of the bar and were as long as 3/4 in. C) Orientation Determination—After the growth of large crystals by thermal cycling, the samples were repolished with extreme care through 4/0 abrasive paper and electropolished. Metallographic examination after polishing showed the surfaces to be free of visible deformation traces. Standard Laue back-reflection X-ray techniques were used to find the crystallographic orientations of selected large grains with respect to a specimen face and edge. Fig. 1 shows the stereographic projections of the stress axes for the crystals used. The sharpness of the spots on the Laue photographs indicated that the crystals were of good quality. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS Nine crystals were deformed in tension at 77"K, nine in tension and five in compression at 300°K in previous tests,17 fifteen in tension at 575"K, and eleven in tension at 1075°K. All specimens were stressed by load increments. After a predetermined load was applied, the specimen was removed from the loading appratus and metallographically examined for deformation traces. An attempt was made to initially stress each bar so that some crystals slipped a small amount and others not at all. This was done to bracket the critical resolved shear stress. One bar of special orientation (B-11) was repolished and annealed at 1075°K for 1 hr after lower temperature deformation, before final deformation at 1075°K. In the other bars the loading by increments, followed by metallographic examination, was continued until the surface distortion would interfere with analysis, or until fracture. One example of a crystal pulled to fracture is shown in Fig. 2. This photograph shows a crystal (B-14C) which was pulled at 1075°K and failed by slip on two (10i0) planes. The approximate orientation of this crystal is illustrated in the figure. Specimens were deformed at 77°K in liquid nitrogen on a tensile machine using an insulated bucket with an internal hook to accept a clamped specimen.
Jan 1, 1961
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Iron and Steel Division - Stress and Strain States in Elliptical BulgeBy G. Sachs, A. W. Dana, C. C. Chow
A great number of the investigations on the plastic flow of metals have been concerned with the establishment of a "universal" stress-strain relation. In such a relation some stress function when plotted against a strain function should yield identical curves for the various stress states. In the first investigation of this type, Ludwik and Scheu1 plotted the maximum shearing stress as a function of the maximum principal strain. Later Ros and Eichinger2 introduced two universal stress-strain relations, the one relating the maximum shearing stress to the maximum shearing strain, and the other relating a stress invariant, suggested by von Mises and Haigh, to the corresponding strain invariant. (In more recent investigations the stress and strain invariants are frequently supplemented with some factor to render their meaning more lucid.) A further suggestion which has not attracted appreciable attention is that by Baranski³ who used stress and strain deviators. The most common means of experimentation to determine the relation between stress and strain consists in subjecting thin walled tubes to combined internal pressure and axial tension.4a,4b,4c This method allows the study of plastic flow under stresses which are variable in two directions. However, the plastic flow which can be obtained in this manner is comparatively small, being limited by either tension failure or instability. For copper,'. only the relation between maximum shearing stress and maximum shearing strain yielded good agreement. On the other hand, tests on a stee14b and on an aluminum alloy4c. resulted in systematic deviations if any of the discussed universal stress-strain relations were used. It would seem, therefore, that the agreement mentioned above for copper is only incidental and explained by its high rate of strain hardening compared to that of other metals. Much larger strains than experienced in the tube tests can be obtained by subjecting a thin membrane of a ductile metal, which is restrained at its periphery, to a uniform hydraulic pressure. The thin sheet forms a deep bulge before it fails. The stresses and strains in such a bulge increase with increasing distance from the edge of the clamping "die," the maximum stresses and strains occurring at the pole (crown) of the bulge. While the stress and strain states are determined by the contour of the bulge, the absolute magnitude of the stresses and strains depends upon the hydraulic pressure. The bulge contour is in turn correlated with the geometry of the die opening. The deformation and fracture characteristics of circular bulges, that is, bulges formed with circular clamping dies, have been the subject of numerous experimental and analytical investi-gations.5,6,7 It has been shown that plastically deformed circular bulges develop large and comparatively uniform strains before failure by instability"6b,6c,6d and closely assume a spherical shape.6d Also the distribution of strains across the contour of the bulge is dependent on the metal being investigated and is correlated with, but cannot be predicted from, the metal's stress-strain characteristics. On the other hand, oblong or elliptical bulges, that is, bulges formed with elliptical clamping dies, are not as susceptible to analytical analysis and have not been investigated to the extent that circular bulges have. The few available data6c,7c indicate that stress states are obtained at the poles of the bulges, varying between plane strain and balanced biaxial tension, depending upon the geometry of the die opening. In this paper, the strain state and curvatures exhibited by three bulge shapes, a circular and two elliptical bulges, Fig 1, are analyzed experimentally using methods described in previous publications.6a,6c An attempt is made to derive the stress-strain relations for these bulges, which represent strain states in which the ratio of the two positive principal strains varied between 1.0 and 0.35. In addition, tension tests yielded data for a value of —0.5 for this strain ratio. Such an analysis should indicate the applicability of the various laws correlating stress with strain to the stress and strain states occurring in bulged shapes. Definitions and Nomenclature The definitions of the major stress and strain quantities used in this paper are as follows: s1, s2, s3 = principal normal stresses Sl > s2 > S3 t = shear stress e = conventional (unit) strain e = In (1 + e) El, E2, E3 = principal natural strains 7 = shear strain The maximum shear stress: , _ S1 — S3 lmax = 2 Frequently, the flow stress, s1 — s3 = 2lmax rather than the maximum shear stress is used.
Jan 1, 1950
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Institute of Metals Division - Microstructure of Magnesium-Aluminum EutecticBy A. S. Yue
The movphology of the Mg-32 wt pct Al eutectic has been studied as a function of freezing- rate and temperature gradient. At slow freezing rates a lamellar eutectic was formed; whereas, a rod-like eutectic was generated at fast rates. The inter-lamellar spacing increased as the freezing rate decreased in aggreement with theoretical predictions. Lamellar faults, morphologically similar to edge dislocation models in crystals, were responsible for the subgrain structures in the eutectic mixture. A linear increase in fault density with freezing rate was observed. Fault concentl-ations of the order of 10 per sq cm for a range of freezing rates from 0.6 to -3.0 x 10 cm per sec were estimated. The transformation from lamella?, to rod-like morphologies was determined experimentally to be dependent on the freezing rate and independent of the temperature gradient. Moreover, the number of rods formed per- unit cross-sectional area increased exponentiallv with increasing freezing rote. BRADY' and portevin2 classified eutectic structures into lamellar, rod-like, and globular according to the morphology of the solid phases present. Although this classification is quite descriptive, very little has been reported on the details of the mechanism by which the eutectic structures are formed. Recent work by Winegard, Majka, Thall, and chalmers3 and by chalmers4 on lamellar eutectic solidification suggest that the maximum thickness of the lamellae decreases with increasing rate of solidification due to inadequate time for lateral diffusion. scheilS and Tiller' have shown theoretically that the lamellar widths indeed depend on the solidification rate. However, there has been no experimental evidence to support the theory. Chilten and winegard7 have studied the interface morphology of a eutectic alloy of zone-refined lead and tin. They found that the lamellar width decreased as the freezing rate increased in agreement with the theoretical predictions of scheils and Tiller.' More recently, Kraft and Albright' have investigated the microstructures of the A1-CuA12 eutectic as a function of growth variables. They observed lamellar faults present in the lamellar eutectic, similar to edge dislocation models in crystals. Furthermore, Kraft and Albright reported that they could not designate which extra lamellar was responsible for the formation of a lamellar fault even under electron microscopic magnification. In this paper, the morphology of the Mg-A1 eutectic structure is described. The effects of freez- ing rate on the interlamellar spacing and on the lamellar fault density are presented in detail. The transformation from lamellar to rod-like eutectics is discussed in terms of the freezing rate and the temperature gradient. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The experimental details of alloy preparation, the decanting mechanism and the determinations of the freezing rate and the temperature gradient have been reported elsewhere. Measurements of plate-edge angles were made with a microscope. The true angles used to determine the interlamellar spacings were determined by a two surface analysis technique.'' Since the decanted interface structure does not represent the true eutectic morphology on the solid,g all measurements were made from an area in the solidified bar behind the interface. Measurements of the apparent interlamellar spacings between the two phases of the eutectic were made on a photographic negative by means of a calibrated magnifier. Each value listed in Table I represents the average of thirty measurements on one negative. In general, these measurements are approximately equal with an error of less than pct. The average rod diameter for each specimen was also measured on a magnified photomicrograph. Each value of the diameter represents the average of fifty measurements. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The experimental observations and their discussion to be presented here are restricted to the morphology of the eutectic structure and to the effects of the freezing rate and the temperature gradient on the solidification of eutectics. INTERLAMELLAR SPACING It has been shown previouslyg that the micro-structure of the decanted interface and the longitudinal section of the Mg-A1 eutectic is characterized by the presence of both lamellar and rod-like morphologies. The lamellae become more regular as the freezing rate is decreased. A three-dimensional photomicrograph representing a perfect lamellar morphology is illustrated in Fig. 1. The lamellae of the top and longitudinal sections of the specimen are regularly spaced while those in the transverse section are not quite straight and parallel. Their parallelism is slightly distorted because fault lines producing a discontinuity are present. A method for calculating the interlamellar spacings A, is described in Appendix 1. The true
Jan 1, 1962
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Institute of Metals Division - The Effect of Alloying Elements on the Plastic Properties of Aluminum AlloysBy P. Pietrokowsky, T. E. Tietz, J. E. Dorn
The amount of solid solution hardening in aluminum alloys was found to be dictated by two factors: the lattice strain, and the change in the mean number of free electrons per atom of the solid solution. To obtain this correlation it was necessary to assume that aluminum contributes two electrons per atom to the metallic bond. WHEN the modern scientific method of analysis was first being formulated, Francis Bacon recorded in his "Essays" (circa 1600) that "an alloy . . . will make the purer but softer metal capable of longer life." During the intervening centuries voluminous data have been reported which demonstrate that the additions of alloying elements do in fact increase the hardness and strength of the pure metals. Nevertheless, the significant details of this problem on the unique effect of each element toward enhancing the mechanical properties of alloys only recently have been subjected to systematic scientific scrutiny. The major objective of this investigation is to determine how minor additions of alloying elements affect the plastic properties of polycrystalline aluminum alloys. By means of such studies it is hoped to provide not only data on the solution strengthening of aluminum alloys, but also a body of facts which will supplement the knowledge already available on the factors responsible for solution hardening in general. A review1"10 and analysis1' of the existing data on the effect of solute elements on the plastic properties of solid solutions reveal that our current knowledge on solid solution hardening is somewhat meager, inconsistent, and inconclusive. Many of the inconsistencies are undoubtedly attributable to the influence of unsuspected factors, such as purity; or uncontrolled factors, such as grain size, on the plastic properties of alloys. Nevertheless the following conclusions might be tentatively accepted: 1. Addition of solute elements invariably increases the yield strength, tensile strength, and hardness of the host element. 2. The rate of strain hardening, in general, increases with the concentration of the alloying element. 3. The strengthening effect in ternary alloys is the sum of the individual strengthening effects of the two solute elements as measured in their binary alloys. 4. The lattice strain is one factor that affects the strengthening of the alloy but it is not the only factor. 5. A second factor might be the difference in valence between the solute and solvent metals. All of the available evidence is in complete agreement with the first conclusion; the remaining conclusions, however, are not in agreement with all of the published data, but, in each case, the major weight of the existing evidence favors these deductions. Additional investigations will be required before most of these tentative conclusions can be accepted without reservation. In the following report an extensive investigation of the plastic properties of binary aluminum alloys is described. This work was undertaken in an attempt to shed more light on the general problem of solid solution hardening. Materials for Test: Aluminum was selected as the solvent metal for the present investigation on the effect of solute elements on the plastic properties of alloys. This choice was made for several reasons: (1) There appears to be little fundamental data in the published literature on the effect of solute elements on the properties of high-purity aluminum alloys. In view of the ever increasing economic importance of aluminum, such data would be of basic interest to the metallurgists concerned with the development of new aluminum alloys. (2) Aluminum is thought to be only partially ionized in the metallic state1' and consequently it might provide more complex relationships of the mechanical properties with the concentrations of the solute elements than more simple fully ionized solvents would reveal. (3) The data on aluminum alloys will provide a broader basis for correlations between the mechanical properties of metals in general and the concentration and atomic properties of the solute elements than is now available. Some complications, however, attend the selection of aluminum: The solubility of the various elements in the alpha aluminum phase are quite restricted, and not always well known. Consequently, only dilute solid solutions are available for study. This, however, may be somewhat advantageous because the dilute solution laws presumably are simpler than those applying to concentrated solutions. In addition, strain-hardened pure aluminum is known to recover at atmospheric temperatures. Very likely its alloys exhibit slower recovery rates. Thus, the secondary factor of effect of alloying elements on recovery might complicate the data. Such compli-
Jan 1, 1951
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Part IX – September 1968 - Papers - Precipitation Phenomena in Binary Zinc-Aluminum Alloys: Heterogeneous Precipitation at DislocationsBy G. Baralis, P. Gondi, I. Tangerini, G. Scandola
The precipitation behavior of Zn-0.5 pct A1 alloy single crystals was studied by means of electrical resistivity measurements and by optical and electron microscopy. The single crystals for the resistivity measurements were prepared by an original method in - 100-p -thick sheets. The order of the precipitation kinetics ranged between 1 and 1.5. The dislocations play a relevant role in the first-order kinetics. Precipitation always occurs both on dispersed particles and on dislocations. Statistical examinations have shown that the first-order kinetics can have two different activation energies; i.e., the precipitation can have dz;fferent mechanisnrs which could not be identified, however, in the course of the research. During the tnetallographic exanzination of the precipitation structures a specific process of dislocation decoration was obsereed. The main purpose of this work was to study the contribution of dislocations to the precipitation. A number of authors have observed precipitation on dislocations and reference might be made to several monographs on the ubject.'' The possibility that dislocations also accelerate precipitation has been considered by Turn-bull3 and Fischer et al.4 The studies described in the present paper were carried out on zinc, chosen as a base metal owing to the ease with which dislocations can be introduced into it and because of the absence of excess vacancies after quenching in conditions where phenomena of accelerated precipitation still occur. Aluminum was preferred as alloying element because of the accelerated precipitation phenomena that resulted in a preliminary reearch. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS The observations refer to a Zn-0.5 pct A1 alloy. The zinc was 99.995 pct pure; a typical spectroscopical analysis is given in Table I. As a rule the alloy was subjected to homogenization, quenching, or slow cooling and annealing. Homogenization was carried out by heating at 390" to 410°C for 24 hr. From the homogenization temperature, some specimens were quenched and some slowly cooled at a rate of 2°C per sec. At this rate no precipitate was detectable under the optical microscope just after cooling. Quenching was carried out simply by dropping the specimens into water, aqueous ethylene glycol solution at -30" c, or liquid-nitrogen baths placed close to the homogenization oven. Vaseline oil baths were used with a thermal stabilization of 10-20 for both the aging treatments and the measurements; aging was generally carried out at 90" or 130°C. To avoid oxidation phenomena during heating, the vaseline oil baths had to be frequently renewed. The precipitation kinetics were studied by means of electrical resistivity measurements, using ans potentiometric method (reproducibility ± 5 x 10 5 v, that is 0.5 pct of the total voltage decreases on the specimens during precipitation). First, various types of specimens were tested, i.e., polycrystals, single crystals grown in capillary quartz tubes, and thin single-crystal sheets prepared by means of an original method requiring no container except for the natural oxide. Even if fully annealed, the polycrystals and the capillary grown single crystals showed resistivity in -creases, most probably due to dislocations introduced in the course of the measurements. Similar resistivity increases in pure zinc were noticed by another author. Only the single-crystal sheets showed no resistivity change; thus they were chosen for the subsequent tests. As already mentioned, these single crystals were obtained by using, as a container, the natural oxide on the zinc surface; the oxide strength is sufficient to maintain the original shape during melting with sheets up to 500 p thick. An initial zone melting and subsequent zone leveling, which led also to formation of the single crystals, were thus carried out on rolled sheets of the required thicknesses (- 100 p) and shape, lying on a flat silica surface. The resistivities were first evaluated by measurements at the liquid-nitrogen temperature. This method gave poor reproducibility, however, and this was attributed to the thermal cycles which had to be operated. To avoid cycles and handling, it was therefore decided to make measurements directly in the annealing oil baths; this required thermal stabilization at ilo-' "C. In this way only the resistance changes were measured. Specimens of pure zinc and of completely annealed alloy were always examined as controls together with those under consideration; only those measurement runs were taken into account where the reference samples showed no resistance increases. Again, the main inconvenience was due to oxidation and this was avoided by renewing the oil baths; even so data reproducibility was poor and the observations were therefore carried out on a large number (many hundreds) of specimens so as to provide indications of statistical value. For the transmission observations under the elec-
Jan 1, 1969
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Iron and Steel Division - Phase Equilibria in the System FeO-Fe2O3-SiO2By A. Muan
Liquidus data are presented for mixtures in the ternary system FeO-Fe2O3-SiO2 in equilibrium with a gas phase with O2 pressures ranging from 10-10.9 to 1 atm. Data obtained are combined with previously published data to construct lines of equal 02 pressures and lines of equal CO2/H2 mixing ratios along the liquidus surface. Courses of crystallization of selected mixtures under conditions of constant total composition, constant O2 pressures, and constant CO2/H2 mixing ratios are discussed. PHASE equilibrium studies of silicate systems where iron is one component are complicated by the fact that iron readily occurs in three different states of oxidation: Fe3+, Fe2+, and Fe0. Success or failure in work with iron silicate systems is to a large extent dependent on control of the oxidation state of iron and all investigations therefore must be carried out under carefully controlled atmospheric conditions. Silicate systems containing only strongly electropositive metals (like Na+, Ca2+, Mg", etc.) can, for simplicity, be treated as condensed systems, that is, the gas phase can be neglected and the phase relationships discussed in terms of the phase rule written in the well known simplified form P + F = C + 1. In the case of iron silicate systems, however, the composition of the condensed phases varies with the gas composition, and a complete picture of phase relationships can be obtained only by varying the gas composition over a wide range. In order to understand the phase relationships in the more complicated multicomponent silicate systems with iron oxide as one of the constituents, a knowledge of the ternary system FeO-Fe2O3-SiO2 is essential, since it constitutes a bounding portion of all such systems. It was with this in mind that the present study was undertaken. Previous Work A considerable amount of work has been done on various aspects of the chemistry and metallurgy of systems containing silica and iron oxides. The two bounding binary systems FeO-Fe2O3 and FeO-SiO2" The first attempt to obtain information on phase relationships of iron oxide-SiO, mixtures at different 0, pressures was made by Greig.' Darken" determined the melting points of iron oxide on solid silica under various atmospheric conditions. Darken did not determine experimentally the composition of the melts at liquidus temperatures but discussed very ably the principles involved in applying the phase rule to the system. In a recent study Schuhmann, Powell, and Michal8 determined experimentally the liquidus surface of a portion of the ternary system and combined the new information with data in the literature to construct a phase diagram. Their method was briefly as follows: Homogeneous mixtures with various contents of SiO2, FeO, and Fe2O3 were made up by melting together stock mixtures in various proportions. Samples of the homogeneous mixtures, the compositions of which were determined by chemical analysis, were then heated in platinum crucibles in an inert atmosphere until equilibrium among the condensed phases was achieved. The samples were quenched to room temperature and the phases present determined by microscopic examination. Assuming that no change in composition takes place during the equilibration run in inert atmosphere, the liquidus surface can be determined, but no information is obtained regarding the partial pressures of 0, of the gas phase in equilibrium with the condensed phases. The author's method, to be described in the next section, permitted the location of points at the liquidus surface as well as a calculation of the corresponding partial pressures of O2. Experimental Method General Procedure: The standard quenching technique was adapted for a study under controlled variable atmospheric conditions. Premelted mixtures of silica and iron oxides in platinum envelopes were held at constant temperature under chosen atmospheric conditions until equilibrium was reached among solid, liquid, and gas phases. The sample was then quenched to room temperature, the phases present identified, and, for the most significant runs, the composition was determined by chemical analysis. The corresponding partial pressure of 0, was calculated from known equilibrium constants of the gas reactions occuring in the furnace atmosphere. Materials: Starting materials were oxides of commercially highest available purity; cp silicic acid was dehydrated by heating to 1350°C for 6 hr and cp Fe2O3 was dried at 400° C for the same length of time. Samples of 10 g were made up by mixing
Jan 1, 1956
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Reservoir Engineering-General - Oil Recovery from Watered-Out Stratified Porous Systems Using Water-Driven Solvent SlugsBy A. K. Csazar, L. W. Holm
This paper describes our investigation of a post-water-flood, oil recovery process which consists of injecting a slug of propane followed by water. Also described are the results obtained by applying a modification of the process in which gas was injected ahead of the water. Under the conditions of the latter experiments, misci-bility was not achieved between the propane and gas. Preliminary experiments or) uniform, watered-out sandstone cores showed that an oil bank could be formed and produced by applying this recovery process. However, since reservoirs are not uniform in structure, the process also was applied to porous media containing irregular porosity and to stratified sand systems. As a supplenzerrt to the experinlental work, a mathernatical procedure was developed for calculating the performance of the recovery process in a bounded, layered, porous system with crossflow between layers. As a specific example, the method was applied to predict the perforrnance of the recovery process in a 6-ft long, two-layer, stratified, unconsolidated sand model for comparison with experinlental data. The calculations were programed for the ZBM 704 computer. The equations and calcula-tional procedure presented can be extended to systems containing any number of randomly distributed permeability variations or any number of parallel layers. INTRODUCTION The problem of recovering the oil that remains in a reservoir which has been waterflooded is receiving considerable attention now as an increasing number of water floods reach an economic limit. A large number of the waterflood projects are in shallow reservoirs which are at pressures below 1,000 psi. It has been demonstrated in the laboratory that post-waterflood oil can be recover-ered by miscible displacement, but the LPG-gas, miscible flood and the enriched gas drive cannot be applied effectively at pressures below 1,000 psi. Only a few reports have appeared in the literature2-4 on low pressure, partially miscible recovery methods. However, it is possible to use LPG in a partially miscible displacement process in a reservoir where pressures of 200 to 1,000 psi can be achieved. Under these Pressures and at normal reservoir temperatures, propane is miscible with the oil; but, of course, gas or water used to drive the propane slug would not be miscible with the propane. Because of the lack of complete miscibility, it has generally been concluded that excessive amounts of propane would be required to recover oil and that such a recovery method would not be economical; however, we have found that under conditions present in certain reservoirs, an imrniscible recovery process can be applied effectively. The oil saturation in reservoirs at the economic limit of waterflood projects is usually in the range of 20 to 35 per cent of the pore space." A certain portion of this oil is left trapped by water in various size pores of the rock, but a good part of this so-called "residual" oil can be present in the less permeable lenses or layers of the reservoir rock which were by-passed to some degree by the water. The oil in these permeability traps can be produced only if favorable pressure gradients are formed in the reservoirs between adjacent zones of high and low permeabilities. A low viscosity liquid, miscible with the oil in place, which is driven by water through a stratified or heterogeneous porous system can aid in the development of these favorable pressure gradients. The oil that is released thereby from the permeability traps can be recovered by the subsequent water flood. Studies were made to determine how much oil could be recovered from homogeneous and stratified cores and models, which had been water flooded, by injecting a slug of propane and driving it with water. The effect of injecting a slug of gas ahead of the water was also determined. Most of the work described herein was done with the propane-water combination; unless otherwise specified, no gas was injected. The principal objectives of the investigation were to determine (1) if an oil bank could be formed and (2) what ratio of oil recovered to propane injected would be obtained. A further objective was to develop a method for calculating fluid-flow performance in stratified systems which would account for fluid transfer between zones in hydrodynamic communication but of different permeabilities. THEORETICAL ANALYSIS In a theoretical study of the recovery process, analytical expressions were derived to calculate the pressure distribution, the fluid flux in longitudinal (parallel to layers) and transversal (across the layers) directions, and the fluid distribution at any point in the system. The equations were developed for a two-layer porous system in which it was assumed that the fluids in the system were incompressible and that capillary and gravity effects were
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Part VII - Papers - Fatigue Crack Nucleation in a High-Strength Low-Alloy SteelBy Raymond C. Boettner
The present work had for its purpose: 1) the identification of crack nucleation sites in AISI 4340, quenched to martensite and tempered over a range of 'temperatures; and 2) the comparison of fatigue processes in AISI 4340 with processes observed previously in pure metals From constant def1ection-bending fatigue tests, martensite boundaries were identified as the favored crack nucleation sites in quenched and tempered AISI 4340. It, also, was concluded that the fatigue processes operating- in this lous-alloy steel were similar to Processes observed in pure tnetals. ALTHOUGH much engineering data has been accumulated on the fatigue properties of quenched and tempered martensitic steels,' fatigue as a process is not as well understood in martensite as it is in pure metals.' Important features of the fatigue process, such as the identity of the nucleation sites, have not been determined in the commercially important high-strength low-alloy structural steels. The present work had for its purpose: 1) the identification of crack nucleation sites in a low-alloy steel, i.e., AISI 4340, which had been quenched to martensite and tempered over a range of temperatures; and 2) the comparison of fatigue processes in the AISI 4340 with processes observed previously in pure metals. This comparison of the fatigue processes in the different tempers was restricted to the high-strain low-cycle part of the S-N curve. Under these test conditions, previous work on a number of metals has shown that a large number of cracks are nucleated in less than 30 pct of the fatigue life.3 Furthermore, crack nucleation sites are not restricted to inclusions but are also associated with intrinsic structural characteristics of the metal. MATERIAL A 20-lb ingot of vacuum-melted AISI 4340 (for composition see Table I) was hot-rolled to 1-in.-diam rod and then cold-rolled to a 1-in.-wide strip, 0.08 in. thick. Fatigue specimens, see insert of Fig. 1, were machined from the strip with the long dimension parallel to the rolling direction. m this orientation, the stringers of 1 to 2 p inclusions present in the sheet lay parallel to the stress axis in the specimens. The specimens were austenitited at 2050°F in order to obtain a large prior austenite grain size, i.e., 2 mm, which facilitated the subsequent identification of the prior austenite boundaries. A helium atmosphere was used to minimize decarburization. After austenitiza-tion at 2050°F, the specimens were transferred to a 1450°F furnace so that specimen distortion was held to a minimum in the subsequent oil quench. Previous work4 indicated that refrigeration in liquid nitrogen prior to tempering reduced the percentage of retained austenite in the quenched specimens to less than 5 pct. Tempering was carried out in air over the temperature interval of 200°to 800°F to produce a range of mechanical properties, Table I. The preparation of the fatigue specimen was completed by grinding about 0.005 in. from each surface and electropolishing in a chrome trioxide-acetic acid solution for 30 min. Examination of etched cross sections of specimens prepared in this fashion showed the foregoing specimen preparation to be adequate for the removal of the decarburized layer present after the heat treatment. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the as-quenched microstructure of this alloy consisted of a mixture of martensite plates containing either a high density of dislocations or microtwins. Previous work5'6 indicated that in the course of oil quenching autotem-pering resulted in the formation of E carbide on the martensite and microtwin boundaries. Tempering for 2 hr at temperatures up to about 400°F resulted in further precipitation of the E carbide. Finally, at about 400°F, cementite began to replace the E carbide on the martensite and microtwin boundaries in addition to forming a Widmanstatten structure within the plate matrix. EXPERIMENTAL S-N curves were obtained using electropolished specimens cycled at 1800 cpm as cantilever beams in fully reversed bending at selected constant deflections. The deflections were translated into surface strains by means of a calibration curve obtained through the use of strain gages. An argon atmosphere was used to minimize environmental effects. To investigate the development of fatigue slip bands, the specimens of the different tempers were unidirec-tionally bent to a surface strain of 0.005 to 0.007, photographed to record the location and appearance of slip bands so introduced, and then cycled to failure
Jan 1, 1968
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Reservoir Engineering - General - Maximum Reservoir Worth – Proper Well SpacingBy G. T. Davis, C. C. Mattax, M. O. Denekas
The effects of crude oil cornponents on the wellabil-ities of sandstone and limestone were investigated. Fractions containing cornponents differing in molecular weight and molecular structure were obtained from crude oils by distillation, extration and chromatography. Individual fractions were then tested for their effects on rock wettability. Tests indicate that sundstone wetta-bility may he changed by a complex variety of surfactants varying both in molecular structure and molecular weight. Limestone appears to be particularly sensitive to basic, nitrogenous surfactants. INTRODUCTION Investigations in recent years have shown that petroleum reservoir rock wettability can exert a significant influence on the efficiency with which oil can be produced by water flooding. While most reservoirs are presumably water-wet, they niay range in their degree of water-wettability from near-neutral to strongly water-wet.'" Reservoir wettabilities other than strongly water-wet are likely to be induced by adsorption of surface-active components froni the crude oil on the pore walls of reservoir rock.:' Little is known, however, about the nature of the surface-active materials which are likely to be adsorbed by the reservoir rock. Due to the complexity of crude oils. attempts made in the past90 isolate these surface-active components have met with only limited success. It is probable that many different types of surface-active materials arc indigenous to crude oils and that many of these may be adsorbed to varying degrees by reservoir rock. This was cxolored in the studies discussed in this paper. The over-all objective in these studies is to ascertain whether the wettability of a given reservoir can be determined by examining the surfactant content of the reservoir crude. To this end, crude oils were examined to determine the variability of indigeneous surfactants with regard to chemical type and molecular weight. Crude oils were separated by distillation into fractions differing principally in molecular weight, by chroma-tography into fractions containing compounds differing in polarity, and by solvent extraction into nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous fractions. Individual fractions were then tested for their effects on the wettabilities of sandstone or limestone rock samples. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES Fractionation of the Crude Oils Samples of Miocene, Eocene and Jurassic crudes were distilled at temperatures not exceeding 200°C. The final stages of distillation were completed in a molecular still at pressures down to three microns of mercury. Fifteen to 30 fractions were obtained from each crude oil. These cuts were sufficiently broad that separation can be considered to have been effected principally on the basis of the molecular weights of the constituents of the crude oil. A considerable portion (20 to 40 per cent) of the crudes would not distill under these conditions. The residues were recovered and tested with the other fractions. Fractions differing in polarity were separated from a crude of Pennsylvanian age and an extracted sample of Miocene oil by chromatography, using a solid adsorbent. Since surfactants are, for the most part, polar compounds, chromatography should separate many of the surfactants from the crude oil. Such a separation should provide fractions containing compounds differing in molecular structure. Nitrogeneous compounds were extracted from Miocene crude oil with a solution of sulfuric acid in meth-anol. The residual oil was further processed by chonia-tography. Each of the fractions obtained by thesc procedures was dissolved in a non-polar solvent (xylene) and diluted to its original concentration in the crude oil. No attempt was made to maintain an anaerobic atmosphere above the samples while they were being dissolved. These solutions of the fractions were then tested for their effects on the wettability of sandstone and limcstone as discussed in the next section. Measurement of the Effects of Crude Oil Fractions on Rock Wettability No entirely satisfactory method for measuring rock wettability has yet been developed. All methods used are empirical. The imbibition test was used in these studies. This test is based on the tendency of a rock to imbibe the wetting phase spontaneously. For example, if a strongly water-wet rock is first saturated with oil and then placed in water, the water will quickly invade the rock by capillarity and much of the oil will be displaced. If the rock is slightly water-wet, water irnbibition will proceed more slowly and, in many instances, considerably less oil will be displaced. A water-saturated, oil-wet rock will imbibe oil. The initial rate with which water (or oil) imbibition takes place indicates, qualitatively, the degree of water (or oil) wettability of the rock.
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Fluid Injection - Properties of Linear Water FloodsBy L. A. Rapoport, W. J. Leas
The original Burkley-Leverett theory has been extended and a more detailed formulation of the waterflood behavior in linear horizontal systems is presented. Particular consideration has been given to the evaluation of capillary pressure effects and differential equations permitting an explicit evaluation of these effects have been derived. On the basis of the developed theory it is recognized that the flooding behavior is dependent upon the length of the system and the rate of injection. At the same time it has been determined that systems of different lengths yield the same flooding behavior if the injection rates and or the fluid viscosities are properly adjrrsted or "scaled." It has also been found that the sensitivity of the flooding behavior with respect to rate and length decreases as any one of these {actors increases in value and that for sufficiently long systems and high rate.; of water injection the flooding behavior becomes independent of rate and length. or "stabilized." To such stabilized conditions the theory formulated by Buckley and Leverett is applicable. A number of laboratory flooding tests have been made and good agreement Iraq been found between theory and experimental observations. The experimental results are discussed and it is shown that under field conditions the flooding behavior is usually stabilized. As a result of these finding; a procedure is indicated for evaluating field performances either on the basis of tests performed with commonly available core samples or by means of calculations using relative permeability data INTRODUCTION In recent years the development of methods for evaluating oil recovery by waterflooding has been the object of considerable research. A theoretical analysis of the mechanisms involved in the displacement of immiscible fluids was originally established by Buckle!- and Leverettl and experimental investipatio~~s have been made by numerons workers." Many of the experimental results are in mutual agreement and bear out several significant features of the flooding mechanism as predicted by theory. Thus it lias been generally recognized that a flood corresponds to the movement of a steep saturation hank or "front" (primary phase), followed by additional gradual oil displacement (subordinate phase). It has also been found that for any porous medium the flooding behavior is largely dependent upon the oil-water viscosity ratio and that for increasing values of this ratio the relative importance of the primary displacement phase decreases while that of the subordinate phase becomes more pronounced. Although the studies to date have clarified certain aspects of the flooding process. they have given rise to observations of a somewhat contradictory nature that cannot he explained in terms of the original theory. These observations pertain mainly to the effect of injection rate or pressure gradient upon recovery. Some investigators report laboratory tests that indicate incresing oil recoverieq with increasing rates of water injectill, others find the flooding behavior to be independent of and other. mention lower oil recoveries with increased injection rates.3 The conflicting evidence indicated above creates considerable uncertainty with respect to laboratory testing procedures and the utilization of the resulting data for field evaluations. The principal purpose of this paper, then, is to resolve these Uncertainties by means of a comprehensive theoretical and experimental investigation of the flooding meanism. THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENT Derivation of Flooding Equations The mathematical description of transient flow phenomena is based upon the consideration of the various processes occurring during an infinitesimal time interval in an infinitesimal volume element and upon the correlation of these processes with those occurring in the adjacent elements. The volume elements are defined as being infinitesimal in comparison to the overall dimensions of the porous system, yet each sufficiently large so aS to encompass the full range of pore openings encountered throughout the system. If a porous system can arbitrarily be subdivided into an infinite number of volume elements all possessing the same distribution of pore openings and if this distribution is unformly continuous. the system may be said to be homogeneous. Such a homogeneous porous medium is considered in the present studivs. It is furthermore postulatecl that only oil and water are present in the pornu wediu. that they act a- totally incompressible and immiscible fluids. and that gravity effects are negligible. In n linear flow system of unit cross sertional area. as treated here. the infinitesimal volume element.; to he considered are cylindrical ".slices" of thickness dx. oriented perpendicularly to the direction of flow. The equations applicable to any such volume element. at my time. describe the movement. of oil and water across the element:
Jan 1, 1953