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By Martin A. Mayers

Five-sixths of all the coal that is mined in the United States is burned, without previous treatment other than screening, for the production of heat and power, so that its value is fixed by its suitability for this purpose. Nevertheless, the characteristics of individual coals that determine their fitness for use in particular pieces of combustion equipment are not yet well known. This condition is due not only to the small extent of our knowledge concerning coal itself, but also to our comparative ignorance of the nature of the combustion process. The following paper is an analysis of the combustion process as it occurs in industrial furnaces, based largely on the results of laboratory research on combustion rates. From this analysis it is possible to determine the characteristics of the fuel that limit the capacity of a given piece of combustion equipment. Limitations imposed by other factors than the attainable speed of combustion will not be considered, since they are subject to a different type of analysis involving the balancing of maintenance costs against fixed charges. In order to observe the relations among the various factors that affect the speed of combustion, representative particles of fuel will be followed through two types of furnaces. A pulverized-coal furnace will be considered first, because the independence of the individual particles facilitates the analysis of the effect of furnace conditions. The second example will be a grate-fired furnace in which ignition of the fuel takes place on the underfeed principle. This includes both underfeed and chain grate stokers, (8)† but does not include hand-fired furnaces and some overfeed stokers. The furnace will be considered to be large enough, the temperature high enough, and enough air provided, to burn the fuel completely, without, for the moment, specifying these quantities more completely. Furnaces Burning Pulverized Coal In a pulverized-coal furnace, the fuel particle is carried, in a stream of air, into the furnace, where it is subjected to radiation from the flame and from the hot walls of the furnace. The increase of particle tempera-

Jan 1, 1936

By Richard D. Divine

In the Parkes process of extracting precious metals from lead, zinc is added to the molten lead containing gold, silver, copper, and some antimony. These metals, with the exception of antimony, form an alloy with the zinc by reason of their greater affinity for it than for the lead, and this alloy, being lighter than lead, rises to the top, carrying the precious metals with it, whence it can be removed by skimming. These skimmings are further treated for the separation of the zinc therefrom, and the recovery of the precious metals, the zinc being driven off by heat and again used for another operation. In addition to the zinc that combines with the silver, etc., a certain amount is necessary to saturate the lead, and it is therefore necessary to treat the desilverized lead to free it from this residual zinc. TO do this it is heated again in a reverberatory furnace and air or steam is blown through it. This oxidizes the zinc together with a small amount of lead and antimony, leaving the lead free from zinc and antimony, and forming oxides of these metals, which rise to the top and are skimmed off. This process relates to the separation of the metals in these oxides or skimmings. The skimmings are cooled, crushed, and mixed with carbonate of soda and pulverized oil coke. The mixture is heated in a reverberatory furnace on a bath of lead, to about 1,000" C. The metals are reduced by the coke, the lead and antimony go into the lead bath, while the zinc is volatilized and burned to oxide. This impure oxide is at the present time treated at Omaha by the Hall process of electrical precipitation, making a very pure metallic zinc. It can also be very easily refined by the old Schnabel process of using ammonia and carbon dioxide as a solvent. It seems to be in an ideal form for this purpose, and very few changes from the original method are required to obtain the zinc oxide practically C. P., leaving the lead and antimony as residues. There has been considerable difference of opinion regarding the effect

Jan 1, 1915

By AIME AIME

THE graduating class whom I am particularly addressing are going into the world at least a month earlier than normal, because of the war. You have been free to choose your work. You have chosen to be mining engineers. The principal importance of your engineering education to date has been in teaching you how to think and how through books to have ready access to the accumulated experience of previous generations, as well as the current experience of the day. You should by now have acquired something of the engineering point of view, the open skeptical mind. the power to observe, experiment, and draw conclusions, form theories and test these by further experiment, and weigh the inherent probability of conclusions drawn by others. I am asking you today to consider certain facts and the conclusions I am drawing from those facts.

Jan 1, 1942

By AIME AIME

THE following compilation of State bureaus and officials that deal with mineral resources is compiled in part from a new "Check List of State Agencies and Officials Concerned with the Management of Natural Re- sources," compiled for the National Resources Committee, Washington, D. C., by Clifford J. Hynning. Alabama-Geological Survey of Alabama, University. Walter B. Jones, State Geologist. Chief Mine Inspector: W. B. Hill- house, 614 Lincoln Life Bldg., Birmingham.

Jan 1, 1939

By J. W. Spretnak, V. Kandarpa, G. W. Powell, R. A. Erickson

Neutron-diffraction pattens were obtained at room temperature from two austenitic manganese steels, oxc wth n carbon content of 1.23 zct PC/ and the olher 0.63 wt pct. Analysis of the data showed that the curOan atols (ions) occupy tile octaheadral site. any of the cavbon is in the tetahedral site, tile concentration is too strzall lo be detecled by tzeulr-on d$facton. AS part of a long-range investigation of eutectoid decomposition, a study of the structure of austenite has been undertaken in order to characterize as best as possible the parent phase in the Fe-C system. Austenite is a solid solution of carbon atoms in fcc iron, the carbon atoms being located in interstitial positions. Of the two kinds of interstitial sites, octahedral (0, +, +) and tetrahedral (4, a, $), in this lattice, the larger octahedral sites are usually considered as the probable position of carbon. The strain energy involved in pytting a neutral carbon atom (covalent di; ameter 1.54)' into a tetrahedral site (diameter 0.56A) is considerably greater than that associated with p2tting carbon into the octahedral site (diameter 1.08A). Dayal and arkeen' observed the migration of carbon in iron under the influence of an electric field indicating tha tye carbon is ionized. pe ionic radius of C'4 is 0.15A and that of C" is 0.29. Consequently, it is conceivable that carbon ions could occupy the tetrahedral sites if one considers only the strain energy. Size considerations alone do not provide a complete explanation for the formation of the interstitial solid solutions, however. because metals such as copper, zinc, and cadmium do not appear to form interstitial solid solutions in spite of their large interstitial sites. Evidence which suggests partial ioni-zation of the carbon in austenite has also been obtained by Speiser, Spretnak, and alor who derived formu- lae relating the observed change in lattice parameter to the effective diameter of the solute atom. Assuming the carbon occupies the octahedral site. they computed the effective diameter of carbon to be 1.33A whereas the covalent diameter is 1.54A. petch5 concluded from powder X-ray diffraction experiments that carbon atoms occupy the octahedral sites. His conclusion was based on the general trend observed in the intensity of the diffraction lines as the carbon content of the austenite was increased. However, the major difficulty associated with application of X-ray diffraction to this particular problem is the relatively poor scattering power of carbon. Williamson and smallman' utilized X-ray diffraction to study the line broadening caused by the strain field about carbon atoms inferrite: these investigators concluded that at least 85 pct of the carbon in ferrite occupies the octahedral (0: 3, B) site rather than the larger

Jan 1, 1967

The pressure of the gas in equilibrium with sphalerite has been determined in the temperature range of 680' to 825°C, using the Knudsen orifice method. A comparison of these experimental pressures with those calculated from thermal data and from other equilibrium measurements shows that the vapor above sphalerite is predominantly dissociated ZnS. Equations have been given for correctly calculating dissociation pressures using the Knudsen orifice method. It has been shown that the experimentally determined pressure is the same, whether the zinc sulphide is sphalerite or not, or a mixture of wurtzite and sphalerite. CONFLICTING points of view appear in the literature on the constitution of the vapor in equilibrium with solid zinc sulphide in the vicinity of 800°C. By comparing the dissociation pressure calculated from thermodynamic data and the vapor-pressure determination of ZnS by Veselovski,1 Lumsden2 has concluded that the vapor consists largely of dissociated ZnS. Sen Gupta,' however, concludes from his spectroscopic determinations that the vapor is largely ZnS molecules. In view of the fact that the thermodynamically calculated' dissociation pressure is higher than that experimentally measured by Veselovski, it seemed in order to repeat Veselovski's measurements. Experimental Procedure The method used for the determination of the pressures in this papel- is the Knudsen effusion cell. The apparatus and procedure were described in a previous paper- from this laboratory on the determination of the vapor pressure of silver. The only difference is that the Knudsen cell in this work is made from platinum and there is no external cover around the cell. The cell is an ordinary platinum crucible of 2.2 cm top diameter with a capsule cover. It was thought that platinum might stand up at these temperatures to the solid and gaseous ZnS, since it was found that the weight of the platinum cell itself did not change appreciably on heating ZnS in it at the working temperatures. To insure that reaction of the zinc sulphide with the cell was not giving' a false value, a stabilized zirconia cell was employed for check runs. Fig. 1 shows the comparison, which is satisfactory. Veselovski previously had measured the vapor pressure of ZnS using a silica Knudsen effusion cell. On repeating his experiment in this laboratory, it was found that ZnS at-tacked the silica cell, giving it a marked frosty appearance. This led to the belief that Veselovski's result:; may be in error. Also, he was operating at pressures above the range ordinarily considered safe for the Knudsen method. The effusion rate was measured by weighing the cell before and after each run. The weight loss during heating to temperature and cooling down was measured and subtracted from the weight loss during the actual run. The zinc sulphide used in this investigation was from two sources: Fisher cp grade, and a sample of pure sphalerite supplied by Mr. E. A. Anderson of the New Jersey Zinc Co. Before and after the series of runs with Fisher ZnS, X-ray analysis showed that both wurtzite and sphalerite were present. However, the ratio of sphalerite to wurtzite increased. All measurements were made below the transition temperature which has been reported" to be 1020°C. The data obtained in this investigation are tabulated in Table I. The pressure was calculated by the usual Knudsen formula" on the assumption that ZnS molecules were effusing. From these data, using pure sphalerite in the platinum Knudsen cell, the vapor pressure of ZnS, in mm of Hg, as a function of temperature is given by the solid line in Fig. 1. The best straight line, as determined by the method of least squares, is given by 14405 logpzns =-14405/T +11.032. A comparison of these results with Veselovski's shows that his results are about 50 pct lower. Discussion The vapor in equilibrium with solid zinc sulphide in the temperature range of this study will consist of Zn, S2, and ZnS mol, since other species of zinc and sulphur' are relatively unstable. The question to be settled is whether or not ZnS is largely dissociated. The derivation8 which follows gives the method of calculating the pressure of zinc and sulphur over solid ZnS, assuming complete dissociation, from Knudsen cell data. The free energy of the reaction 2 ZnS(solid) ? 2 Zn(gas) + S2(gas) is given by ?F?° = -RT In K = —RT In p12p2 where p1 is the zinc pressure and p is the sulphur pressure. If dissociation occurs in a closed system,

Jan 1, 1955

By AIME AIME

THREE of the addresses presented at this interesting and important session are printed in full else- where in this issue. The fourth, Mr. Hewett's paper, on "Cycles In Metal Production" has been issued as Technical Publication 183, and an abstract of it was published on page 162 of last month's issue. The general discussion that followed these four important papers is given in full below. S. A. TAYLOR: I would like to ask Mr. Veasey whether the control of oil in pools includes royalties, and, if so, in case of a new pool how are you going to control, or rather how are you going to describe the limits of that pool?

Jan 1, 1929

ABERDEEN, ESTHER, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. ALLEN, VICTOR T., Director Geology Department, Institute of Technology, St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri. BATES, THOMAS F., Associate Professor of Mineralogy, Department of Earth Sciences, School of Mineral Industries, The Pennsylvania State College, State College, Pennsylvania. BOLGER, ROBERT C., Geologist, Pennsylvania Topographic and Geologic Survey, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. BRIDGE, JOSIAH, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. BURST, JOHN F., Geologist, Exploration and Production Research Division, Shell Oil Company, Houston, Texas. CAMPBELL, IAN, Executive Officer, Division of Geological Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California. FLINT, DELOS E., U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. FREDERICKSON, A. F., Associate Professor of Geology (Geochemistry), Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri. GLASS, HERBERT, Illinois State Geological Survey, Urbana, Illinois. GORDON, MACKENZIE JR., Geologist, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. GRIM, RALPH E., Research Professor, Department of Geology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois. HARDER, E. C., Aluminium Secretariat Limited, Montreal, Que., Canada.

Jan 1, 1952

By R. S. Dean

BLUE HEAT PHENOMENA IN constructing a theory of the flow and hardening of metals, we necessarily make use of such phenomena as seem to be, universally observed in metals. It is, therefore, a matter of. concern to the constructors of such mnemonic systems if one or two of the group classified as metals show anomalous behavior. Such egregious phenomena are observed in pure or nearly-pure iron in the reaction of its mechanical properties to low-temperature annealing after cold work and to increased temperature of testing. In short it has been generally observed that iron," as an outstanding exception among metals, increases its hardness and strength by low-temperature annealing. after cold work,1 and also by increase of testing temperature to the range of 150° to 300° C. The investigation here recorded was made then with the object of ascertaining if similar phenomena were observed in high purity iron and, if not, to the presence of which impurities these phenomena could be traced.

Jan 1, 1929

By L. Cichowicz, K. K. Millheim

The constant-rate drawdown test performance for a low-permeability, verticany fractured gas well was investigated. A series of gar wells were tested by flowing each well at constant rate until the data could be analyzed using con-ventional radial flow theory. Each well was then shut in to build up. After a sufficient buildup was obtained, another flow Iest commenced but at a higher flow rate than Ihe first test. Again, the well was shut in when radial fiow was obtained. his procedure was repeated for three to four different flow rates. Two wells in the San Juan basin were tested using this procedure. Both wellere fractured after completion, cleaned up and then shut in until flow testing commenced. Test designs of both wells permitted investigation of the most realistic values of egective permeability, wellbore radius and turbulence factor. Also, being able to determine the eflective fracture flow area and vertical fraclure efficiency was inherent with this testing approach. It was observed that fractures in both wells influenced the Pressure behavior for approximately Is to 40 hours (depending on the flow rate) before radial flow was evident. After this time, drawdown data were analyzed using radial pow theory. When a low-permeability gas well has vertitally oriented, induced fractures, the early flow geometry ic. essentially linear. It will be shown how to determine when a flow test has been conducted long enough so lha' the most representative values of effective permeahiiity. wellbore radius and turbulence factw can be calculated. From the linear pressure data, valuable information about The fracture treatment, such as the effective flow area and vertical fracture efficiency, can be determined for vertically froctured wells. Introduction During tests on gas wells in the Sari Juan basin7 initial transient behavior lasted for many days because of the low permeability of some porous media. As a result, stabilized flow performance could not be obtained. If these wells received some type of stimulation treatment, early pressure behavior deviated from conventional theoretical radial Row. When conventional radial flow theory was used to analyze these low-permeability fractured gas wells, larger values of flow capacity and absolute open flow potentials (AOF) sometimes resulted. Wells were assigned open flow poten- tials that proved to be 3 to 10 times higher than the well would sustain over a longer period of production. In some cases where the wells had flowed for longer periods of time during a constant-rate drawdown test, it was noticed that the effective flow capacity appeared to be decreasing with time until a certain value was reached. The early nonradial pressure behavior can be explained If linear flow is assumed. Rusell and Truitt mathematic. ally investigated the vertically fractured well in a bounded area. They showed that early flow behavior was essentially linear and, for x,/x. approximately less than 0.10 radial flow was obtained after short periods of time. Then realistic values of effective permeability and skin could be determined. Scotta experimentaliy studied the vertically fractured well with a heat flow analog. He showed that earb flow was linear, Both studies indicate that, for small values of x,/x,, linear flow approaches radial flow if the well is tested long enough, To help prove this concept of early linear flow caused by induced vertical fractures, two low-permeability gas wells were tested. Both wells received large fracture treatments prior to testing. A vertical fracture was indicated from the analysis of fracture treatments, As anticipated, tests of both wells indicated early linear flow that was later followed by a period of radial flow, Data collected from each well were analyzed. From the well tests, plus other information on each well, the effective permeability, wellbore radius and turbulence factor were calculated. Effective fracture flow areas calculated from test analyses for each well proved to be approximately one-fourth the created area calculated from classic hydraulic fracturing theory: other fractured wells that were tested but not presented in this paper also indicated that the effective fracture flow area was one-fourth to one-third the created area predicted from hydraulic fracturing theory. The vertical fracturing efficiency was estimated from the calculated values of effective wellbore radius and fracture flow area. For the two wells tested, calculated fracture lengths x, were 112 and 105 ft, and the vertical fracturing efficiencies E, were 122 and 183 percent. Development of Flow Model Agnew' showed that most induced fractures below 1,500 ft are vertical. Anderson and Stah15 indicated that most of the fractures they studied were vertical. Thc model proposed for early flow in most vertically fractured gas wells is shown by Fig. 1. This model should approximate early flow behavior until radial flow is reached, at which time a radial model with an effective wellbore radius of 0.5 they will

Jan 1, 1969

By K. F. G. Hosking

I read Professor Gaudin&apos;s paper with great interest and pleasure because for some time I have held that the chemical aspect of comminution is a subject of considerable importance to the mineral dresser and deserves to be thoroughly investigated. It does seem appropriate, however, to emphasize the fact that "fresh" edges and corners produced by the grinding of solids display enhanced reactivity has been recognized and utilized in the development of certain mineral identification techniques. Some of these techniques are worth noting, not only because they might facilitate research in the aspect of mineral dressing under discussion, but also because they emphasize the fact that many mineral species commonly regarded as being very inert can display a surprising reactivity when in the freshly ground state. In 1951 Isakov6 published a number of tests for the components of certain mineral species which depend essentially on grinding in a mortar a mixture of the material under investigation with a solid reagent. Thus when stibnite, 4(Sb2S3), is ground with sodium or potassium hydroxide. the antimony is revealed by a momentary development of a yellow color which changes in air to orange-red. Other antimony minerals need a preliminary treatment before the test can be carried out. This consists of grinding with aluminium sulfate, ferric sulfate or potassium bisulfate, and breathing upon the resultant mixture. I have employed a similar technique to determine the approximate magnesia content of certain limestones.&apos; The method depends essentially on the fact that when a sample of limestone is ground under controlled conditions with solutions of sodium hydroxide and Titan yellow the color of the final product is, within limits, a function of the amount of magnesia present. I have also shown that the components of a wide range of minerals can be identified by applying chemicals to their streaks on portions of vitrified, unglazed floor tiles, etc. Under such circumstances the diversity of the reactions which take place in the cold (because of the reactivity of fresh corners and edges) is surprising. Thus, for example, if a garnierite, (Ni,Mg)3Si2O5(OH)1, streak is treated first with a drop of 0.880 ammonia and then with a drop of a 1 pct alcoholic dimethyl-glyoxime it immediately becomes red, indicating the presence of nickel.&apos; Stevens and Carron9 have evolved a simple field test for distinguishing minerals by "abrasion pH." A soft nonabsorbent mineral is scratched in a drop of water on a streak plate until a milky suspension is formed. A piece of pH indicator paper is dipped into the suspension, after which it is removed and the maximum deviation from neutrality noted. When a hard mineral or one which absorbs water is being tested, fragments are first ground for 1 min with a few drops of water in a mortar to make a heavy suspension. The importance of the findings of such tests to mineral dressing may be judged by the abrasion pH values, Table 11, recorded by Stevens and Carron for certain species usually regarded as comparatively inert. The combined results Of the above researches clearly indicate that comminution is capable of altering the pH of a pulp and of causing the chemical nature of the surfaces of some of the components to be profoundly changed&apos; Depending On circumstances such surface alterations may have a beneficial or an adverse effect if these products are subsequently subjected to flotation. The tests also suggest that by grinding "inert" minerals with appropriate solid or liquid reagents "reactive" surfaces may be developed which might facilitate separations by flotation. It is an interesting and instructive problem to determine the reactions that are likely to take place when dry solid substances are subjected to comminution and to the unavoidable heat liberated during the process. To do this it is theoretically necessary to know the free energy values of the reactants and possible resultants, but unfortunately there is a dearth of such data! However, the heats of formation of many substances are known, and generally speaking, if in a reaction of the type AB + CD = AD + CB the sum of the heats of formation of AB and CD is less than that of AD and CB the reaction will probably proceed to the right. Thus, according to a note I have (the author of which I cannot name) if PbS (black) is warmed with CdSO, (white), PbSO., (white) and CdS (yellow) are formed, and that the reaction does, in fact, take place is indicated by the change in color of the mixture. The reaction is expected, as the sum of the heats of formation of PbS and CdSO, is less than that of PbSO, and CdS (as shown below). PbS + CdSO4 = PbSO4 + CdS 22.2 + 218.0 < 216.2 + 33.9 Finally, certain other aspects of the chemistry of comminution, which are neither mentioned by Professor Gaudin nor referred to by me are to be found in a paper by Welsh" and in the printed discussion thereof. A. M. Gaudin (author&apos;s reply)—The observations contributed by Dr. Hosking are indeed welcome, as they add to our experimental knowledge of a topic which is believed to be of the first importance. In connection with the experiments cited it should be kept in mind that oxidation, hydration, and carbonation at various rates should always be deemed to be possibilities when grinding is done in water or in air, even in "industrially dry" air. Special precautions might lead to sufficient minimizing of these reactions and to the assertion, instead, of deliberately-created reactions. The author wishes to thank Dr. Hosking for his contribution.

Jan 1, 1957

By Oliver Bowles

Two striking events marked the year 1871-the establishment of the A.I.M.E. and the beginning of the portland cement industry, the most spectacular of all the nonmetallics in its development. Just as David Saylor&apos;s first portland cement, made in a little mill at Allentown, Pa., in that year was the forerunner of a mighty industry, the products of which in 1942 were made in 155 plants scattered throughout the country (having attained a value of nearly $300,000,000), so the Institute from its small beginning has attained a membership of many thousands, likewise decentralized into a series of individual sections of wide geographical distribution. Concurrent with the establishment of the Institute was also the invention of the steam drill, followed by the compressed-air drill about 1904. These mechanical drills were so immeasurably in advance of the hand drill and hammer used previously that quarrying and mining of present-day magnitude could never have been attained without them. Some outstanding occurrences have marked this eventful three quarters of a century. The concrete age, with its enormous demands for cement, aggregates and steel, is of primary importance. Of interest also is the shift of fertilizers from the organic to the mineral field. Nitrates, primarily obtained

Jan 1, 1947

IN comparing the living conditions of the worker or peasant of the past with those existing today, his-torians might point out many strange contrasts. From the Doomsday Book we learn that at the time of Wil-liam the Conqueror the 1,375,000 inhabitants of Eng-land and Wales owned less than 1000 horses and 5000 oxen. Even as recently as 1871 when England and Wales had a population of 31,845.000, the total number of horses in the country was estimated at 1,110,000. Compare the necessary drudgery of labor in those days with conditions in Canada today where a population of less than ten million people own 3,500,000 horses. Re-member that there is also a turbine installation in` this country of more than four million horse-power, besides steam boilers and locomotive and automobile engines which reduce the traction and hand labor of the farm and factory. Frequently, poetic license has glossed over the poverty and hardship of the common people in the "good old days," and the imagination has created an idyllic world, far from being justified by the condi-tions which actually prevailed. Simon Patten&apos;s de-scription of the Middle Ages as "A Thousand Years Without an Ice Box" came nearer portraying the true situation. No one is likely to forget that the discovery of America was an incident in Europe&apos;s attempt to find a short route to the Indies, but the fact is usually for-gotten that the summer diet in Europe in 1400-an ice-less age-was such that spices were more precious than gold. Though the glamor of the Indies may never sur-round the modern refrigerator, certainly the modern housewife is likely &apos;to feel that the applied art called "cookery? may attain to higher levels with the assist-ance-6f such an adjunct. Those who have spoken slightingly of the uniformity of the modern apartment and have eulogized some of the exceptional hand-made furniture which has been bequeathed by former generations, have failed to com-pare modern house furnishings with those in the typical peasant&apos;s hovel. Machine-made furniture, though with-out particularly good lines, contrasts quite favorably with the pile of rags in the corner, and the poorest gas or oil stove is better than an open fire on a dirt floor. The scientist&apos;s application of the theories of physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics .to practical prob-lems has brought about a series of kaleidoscopic trans-formations in agriculture, industry and commerce. Large scale production, improved means of communica-tion and the prevailing higher standard of living are terms which imply a very human meaning when in-terpreted as actual changes in individual living. Though the student and the teacher may deprecate the influence of commercialism upon science, humanity as a whole has received great benefits from the close relationship which has developed between science and industry, and industry in turn has done much for science through the building and endowment of laboratories and by supply-ing funds to maintain research workers.

Jan 11, 1927

By A. E. Dwight, A. F. Berndt

ThE published U-Ru equilibrium diagram indicates the existence of six intermetallic compounds in this system.&apos; The structure of only two of the compounds, u2Ru2,3 and URU3,4 have been identified. This communication reports on the crystal structure and density of Uau3, which is formed by a peritectoid transformation at 1025° ± 5°C: U3Ru4 + U3Ru5 = U2Ru3. An alloy with the stoichiometric formula U2Ru3 was prepared by arc melting electrolytic uranium and ruthenium of 99.9 pct purity on a water-cooled copper hearth under an argon atmosphere. After homo-genization at 1000°C for 3 days, a metallographic examination revealed that the peritectoid transformation was complete and less than 5 pct of a second phase was present. A powdered sample, obtained by crushing the brittle compound, was annealed for 1 hr at 1000°C and air-cooled. Debye-Scherrer patterns were obtained with filtered CrKa, FeKa, CoKa, or CuKa radiation. The X-ray patterns of U2Ru3 weFe indexed as an fcc structure with a. = 12.895 0.00lA. The unit-cell constant and its standard deviation were calculated by a computer program described by Mueller, Heaton, and Miller.5 The density, measured by an immersion method, was 14.45 g cm-3. A calculated density of 14.48 g cm-3 was obtained on the assumption that twenty-four formula units (120 atoms) comprise a unit cell. The space group is either oh7 Fd3m, or the less symmetric, T4h, Fd3, since reflections indexed as hk0 with h + k + 4n are absent. All values of h2 + k2 + 12 permitted by both space groups are listed in Table I together with dc, do, and I. values. The calculated d spacings were obtained by the computer program of Mueller, Meyer, and simonsen.6 The observed d spacings above 0.77A were obtained from X-ray" patterns prepared with CuKa radiation, above 0.90A with CoKa radiaaion, above 0.98A with FeKa radiation, and above 1.16A with CrKa radiation. An attempt was made to identify the crystal structure of U2Ru3 by comparison with published data on other A2B3 compounds. A recent compilation7 of intermetallic compounds lists thirty-two structure types with the A2B3 stoichiometry. Only two of the structure types are fcc and they are Sb2O3(r), senarmontite, with 16 Sb2O3 per unit cell, and In2Te3 for which several structures have been proposed.8 However, the two cases cited do not have twenty-four formula units in the unit cell. We therefore, cannot identify UPRU3 with any of the other known A2B3 compounds. Ternary alloys were made in which 5 at. pct Os, Rh, or A1 were substituted for 5 pct of the Ru in U2Ru3. The osmium substitution increased the unit cell constant to 12.899 * .001A, which is to be expected since the atomic volume of osmium is slightly larger than

Jan 1, 1969

By R. H. Olds, B. H. Sage

The formation volume and volume of the liquid phase of oil and gas obtained from four fields in the San Joaquin Valley have been investigated at pressures, temperature, and gas-oil ratios comparable to those encountered in underground reservoirs. All the fields covered in this investigation yielded a product of a gas-oil ratio in excess of 5000 cu ft per barrel and the gravity of the tank oil for the four fields in question varied between 52° and 63&apos; API. The results of the investigation, together with analytical data concerning the composition of the oil and gas, are submitted in tabular form. Rough correlations of the formation volume as a function of pressure, temperature, and gas-oil ratio and of the retrograde dew-point pressure as a function of gas-oil ratio, temperature, and gravity of tank oil are presented. It was not found feasible to correlate simply the formation volume of the liquid phase as a function of the applicable variable. It is desired to emphasize that these correlations are considered applicable only to the range of conditions covered in this investigation and for systems of similar nature and composition. Introduction Information concerning the physical properties of mixtures of oil and gas from particular fields have often been employed in predicting the situations obtaining in underground reservoirs. One of the earlier studies of this nature was the work of Beecher and Parkhurst,1 while a more recent study of the Dominguez Field2 presented detailed volumetric data in the two-phase as well as in the single-phase regions. Although these studies were confined to individual fields, their results proved of value in application to other fields. It has recently been shown 3,4 that it is possible in the region of low gas-oil ratios* to correlate the volumetric behavior of naturally occurring hydrocarbon mixtures from a single geographical area with sufficient accuracy to be of industrial value. For this reason it is considered of interest to submit information concerning the volumetric behavior of oil and gas mixtures from four different fields in the San Joaquin Valley and, in combination with similar published data5 concerning mixtures of oil and gas from the Paloma field in the same area, to show rough correlations between the composition and the behavior of materials from these fields. This effort seems particularly worth while since all of the

Jan 1, 1947

By R. H. Olds, B. H. Sage

The formation volume and volume of the liquid phase of oil and gas obtained from four fields in the San Joaquin Valley have been investigated at pressures, temperature, and gas-oil ratios comparable to those encountered in underground reservoirs. All the fields covered in this investigation yielded a product of a gas-oil ratio in excess of 5000 cu ft per barrel and the gravity of the tank oil for the four fields in question varied between 52° and 63&apos; API. The results of the investigation, together with analytical data concerning the composition of the oil and gas, are submitted in tabular form. Rough correlations of the formation volume as a function of pressure, temperature, and gas-oil ratio and of the retrograde dew-point pressure as a function of gas-oil ratio, temperature, and gravity of tank oil are presented. It was not found feasible to correlate simply the formation volume of the liquid phase as a function of the applicable variable. It is desired to emphasize that these correlations are considered applicable only to the range of conditions covered in this investigation and for systems of similar nature and composition. Introduction Information concerning the physical properties of mixtures of oil and gas from particular fields have often been employed in predicting the situations obtaining in underground reservoirs. One of the earlier studies of this nature was the work of Beecher and Parkhurst,1 while a more recent study of the Dominguez Field2 presented detailed volumetric data in the two-phase as well as in the single-phase regions. Although these studies were confined to individual fields, their results proved of value in application to other fields. It has recently been shown 3,4 that it is possible in the region of low gas-oil ratios* to correlate the volumetric behavior of naturally occurring hydrocarbon mixtures from a single geographical area with sufficient accuracy to be of industrial value. For this reason it is considered of interest to submit information concerning the volumetric behavior of oil and gas mixtures from four different fields in the San Joaquin Valley and, in combination with similar published data5 concerning mixtures of oil and gas from the Paloma field in the same area, to show rough correlations between the composition and the behavior of materials from these fields. This effort seems particularly worth while since all of the

Jan 1, 1947

By J. J. Rutledge

THE first method of working coal mines in the middle western states, more particularly in Illinois, Indiana and Missouri, was by means of the so-called single-entry method. In this method a single main passageway, or entry, was driven in the coal seam. with no parallel passageways, and from this pas-sageway or entry there were turned at intervals sim-ilar cross-passageways or entries, and from these cross-passageways, if the coal seam worked lay fairly horizontal, rooms were turned right and left. These crude methods of working were followed when the com-panies opening the mines were small and of very limited capital, and when the demand for coal was small and irregular. The principal desire was to produce coal in the short-est possible time and at the cheapest price. The chief evil resulting from such method of working was de-fective ventilation, although there were other serious drawbacks. There were then few or no good mining laws and no restrictions on those operating the coal mines. The hours of labor were long, the wages low, and the miners accordingly worked hard. All the coal was either sheared or undercut with a pick by hand. Very little solid shooting and no machine mining was done. What little air entered the mine, openings was introduced through the entries or. headings and thence conducted through the rooms by means of curtains; in many cases, as the workings became more exten-sive, the number of curtains added so materially to the mine resistance that ventilation was extremely in-efficient. Shots were fired by the miners at any time during the working shift and consequently there was more or less powder smoke or fumes in the mine work-ings all day long. Moreover, the working days were much longer than at present. The fine, dry coal-dust falling from the miners&apos; picks while they were shear-ing or undercutting the coal filled the mine atmosphere and was taken into the lungs of the mine employees.

Jan 2, 1927

By R. P. Laforce, ZJ. R. Low, A. M. Turkalo, D. F. Stein

The interaction of the crlloying eletnenls, nickel and chromium, with the impurity elements, antimony, pIzosphorus, tin, and arsenic, to producse reversible temper brittleness in a series of high-purity steels containing 0.40 wt pct C has been investigated. The alloyed steels contained approximately 3.5 pcl Ni, 1.7 pct Cr, and 0.05 to 0.08 pct of the particular irnpurity to be investigated. Susceptibility to teirlper embrittlement was measured by comparing the notched-bar transition temperature of each steel after quenching from the final temper and after very slow cooling (step cooling;) following the final temper. A plain carbon steel without alloying elements, bu/ ud/h 0.08 pel Sh, does not embrittle when step-cooled through the emzbrittling range of temperatures. The same embrittling treatment, applied to a steel with about the same antinzony content but with nickel and chvonziunz added, causes a 700°C increase in transition temperature. If chromium or nickel is the only alloying element, the increase in transition temperature is only 50%, again with antimony present. A carbon-free iron containing nickel, chromium, and antimony shou~s a 200°C shift in transition temperature for the same thermal treatment. Specific alloy-impurily interactions are also observed for the other impurity elements, phosphorus, tin, and arsenic. Additional investigations involving electron microscopy, trzicrohard-ness tests of vain boundaries, minor additions of zirconiutn and the rare earth and noble metals, nzainly with negative results, are also described. HE particular type of embrittlement investigated is that which is encountered in alloy steels tempered in the temperature range from about 350" to 525&apos;C or slowly cooled through this range of temperatures when tempered above this range. This type of embrittlement is sometimes called reversible temper brittleness to distinguish it from the embrittlement indicated by a minimum in the room-temperature V -notch Charpy energy vs tempering-temperature curve encountered in the range 28 0" to 350°C. Temper brittle-ness seriously restricts the use of many alloy steels since it precludes tempering or use in the embrittling range of temperatures and may significantly raise the ductile-brittle transition temperature of heavy-section forgings and castings tempered above the embrittling range, since such sections cannot be sufficiently rapidly cooled after tempering to avoid embrittlement. The very voluminous literature of temper brittle-ness up to about 1960 has been reviewed by woodfine&apos; and LOW.&apos; Of particular significance to the present investigation was the demonstration by Balajiva, Cook, and worn3 that high-purity Ni-Cr steel does not exhibit temper brittleness and the subsequent detailed and systematic study by Steven and Balajiva~ of the effect of impurity additions on the susceptibility to embrittlement of Ni-Cr steels. Steven and Balajiva showed that, of the impurities which may be found in commercial steels, Sb, As, P, Sn, Mn, and Si could all produce temper brittleness in a high-purity Ni-Cr steel. The principal purpose of the present investigation was to study the effects of particular alloy-impurity combinations on susceptibility to temper embrittlement. The steels used were high-purity 0.30 to 0.40 wt pct C steels containing 3.5 wt pct Ni and 1.7 wt pct Cr, separately or in combination. The susceptibility of these steels was then determined when approximately 500 ppm by weight of antimony, arsenic, phosphorus, or tin were added as an impurity. The melting, casting, and forging practices used in the preparation of the materials investigated are described in Appendix A. Table A-I in this appendix shows the analysis of all steels to be discussed. The steels were produced as 20- or 2-lb heats. The smaller heats were used after it had been demonstrated (see Appendix B) that a small, round, notched test specimen could be used to measure the shift in the ductile-brittle transition temperature caused by temper brittleness with about the same result as that obtained by Charpy testing. HEAT TREATMENT Unless otherwise noted, all steels were tested for embrittlement in the tempered martensitic condition. A typical heat treatment for a 0.40 C, 3.5 Ni, 1.7 Cr steel was: 1 hr at 870"C, in argon, quench into oil at 100"C, quench into liquid nitrogen, temper 1 hr at 625"C, and water-quench. The warm oil quench was used where quench-cracking was encountered; otherwise the initial quench was into room-temperature oil or water. For other compositions austenitizing temperatures were 50°C above Acs with the remainder of the thermal cycle the same. Steels in this condition, with no further heat treatment, are designated as non-embrittled. The above quenching and tempering cycle for the 0.40 pct C steels resulted in as-quenched hardnesses of 48 to 53 RC and as-tempered hardnesses of 24 to 31 Rc except in the case of the plain nickel or plain carbon steels. In these, the as-tempered hardness was as low as 80 to 90 Rg. No attempt was made to adjust the tempering temperature to obtain the same hardness in ali steels since it was felt that a uniform thermal cycle was more important than exactly equivalent hardness values. Pro- the standard quench and temper described above, the standard embrittling treatment was "step-cooling". For this the thermal cycle was: 593"C, 1 hr; furnace-cool to 538"C, hold 15 hr; cool to 524"C, hold 24 hr; cool to 496"C, hold 48 hr; cool to 468&apos;C, hold 72

Jan 1, 1969

By J. R. Campbell

The need for standardizing methods of arriving at definite conclusions regarding the cleanability of a given coal, and for measuring the performance of coal-cleaning equipment, is constantly increasing. Earlier notes by the author on this subject are amplified in this paper, because he believes that better preparation of bituminous coal is a partial solution of the coal operators&apos; troubles. Washability Studies The term "washability" of coal was coined when washing was the universal method of separating coal from its impurities by utilizing their difference in specific gravity. This and analogous terms are still used in their broad sense although pneumatic or air separation is now used to clean coal. These terms are so used in this paper. Too much time or money can hardly be spent on "feed surveys&apos;) to get a "picture" of the coal that is to be cleaned. There have been too many "rule of thumb" methods used. Screen analyses and "sink-and-float" tests on the raw coal enable the coal operator and washery man to predict within reasonable limits the results that may be expected from any efficient cleaning apparatus. The sizes to be examined to get the picture are optional to the investigator. In modern wet washing, the range is from 4 to 0 in. Hand-picking on properly constructed belts is perhaps the standard for cleaning above these sizes. A good picture of the coal may be obtained by the following screen analysis: 3½ to 1¼ in. 1¼ to 3½ in. ½ to 5/16 in. 5/16 in. to 14 mesh 14 to 28 mesh 28 to 48 mesh and for very complete data on the fines: 48 to 100 mesh 100 to 200 mesh and through 200 mesh

Jan 1, 1930

By H. H. Rachford, D. S. Howard

In the withdrawal of fluids from tilted aquifers it is of value to be able to predict pressure patterns during the course of the pressure decline. As an example of this, in the displacement of fluids from oil reservoirs being produced by water-drive, prediction of the reservoir pressure is an important factor in fixing production rate. The prediction of pressure patterns in the depletion of an inclined aquifer has conventionally been made by solving the well known flow equations for the pressure Patterns in a horizontal aquifer, and correcting these patterm for the pressure difference due to the hydrostatic head associated with the vertical distance between a point in the horizontal aquifer and the corresponding point in the tilted aquifer. Inasmuch as the equation describing flow in tilted strata is different from that for horizontal flow. there was question as to the validity of the simple corrective procedure current1y in use. To examine the magnitude of error made using this procedure, an inclined aquifer was chosen for which the error was expected to he large, and the equation for flow in this tilted stratum was solved numerically. The results of the conventional procedure of correcting the solution of the equation for horizontal flow was compared with the solution of the correct equation by studying the difference between predicted pressures by the two methods. Three forms of the hydrostatic head correction were studied. The results for all three forms of the head correction are similar. The error in the approximate solution is quite dependent on the position of the horizontal aquifer with respect to the inclined one. The error is greatest at the producing end ad increases with amount of fluid withdrawn. The magnitude of the errors is not large if a good choice is made for the position of the horizontal datum. The most satisfactory position for the datum in all cases is near or slightly about the mid-point of the inclined stratum. Use of the best approximate method studied with the best datum tested yielded predicted pressures in error no greater than 7 psi. INTRODUCTION The movement of water by expansion from an aquifer to displace fluids from a contiguous oil reservoir was first recognized over 20 years ago.9 Since that time much work has been done to relate this mechanism to reservoir behavior mathematically. The result of this effort on the part of many workers has led to an understanding of underground fluid movement which has enabled us to follow and predict the behavior of the water-drive reservoir. One reason that good progress has been made in the application of mathematics to the study of pressure patterns and water movements in aquifers has been that the differential equation which describes this process is of a relatively simple form. The equation for the isothermal, horizontal, viscous flow of water through homogeneous sandstone is identical with that for the diffusion of heat through homogeneous solids, and this equation and means of obtaining solutions for it with many types of boundary conditions have been studied extensively. That this work has been highly successful is clearly emphasized by the large number of solutions developed for problems of interest both by methods of formal mathemat-

Jan 1, 1957