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By R. L. Dalton, L. A. Rapoport, C. W. Carpenter

Procedures have been developed to study the performance characteristics of unconfined pilot water floods using scaled laboratory models. The effects of operating conditions on pilot performance for variozrs well patterns have been investigated. The limitations of the laboratory model studies are outlined. Relationships between the oil recoveries of pilots and large-scale floods have been established. The applications of model studies to the prediction of large-scale waterflood performance and pilot flood design are discussed. INTRODUCTION Pilot water floods are undertaken to evaluate operational procedures and to gain advance information about the performance of an extensive water flood. In general, however, the performance of a pilot flood is not directly indicative of what can be expected from a large-scale pattern water flood. This difference stems from the fact that the over-all flow configurations are not the same for the two systems. A water flood normally consists of an array of identical well patterns. In such an array, the perimeters of the well patterns are axes of symmetry and act as impermeable boundaries. Thus, an extensive, pattern water flood can be visualized as a repetition of "confined" floods. In contrast, a pilot water flood involving only one or a few well patterns is "unconfined". Here the well patterns are not balanced by other flood units; hence, the perimeter of the pilot area does not act as an effective boundary. Accordingly, only a portion of the fluids injected (and also of those originally contained within the pilot area) is captured by the producers of the pilot. The rest escapes into the surrounding reservoir. This usually causes the amounts of oil and water produced in the pilot to be different from those recovered by a producer in an extensive water flood. Moreover, the recovery observed in the pilot can be expected to be greatly influenced by operating conditions, i.e., by the bottom-hole pressures at the injection and producing wells. The above considerations show that full utilization of pilot test results and reliable prediction of large- scale water floods require a knowledge of the relationship between the recovery performance of confined and unconfined well patterns. To date, only limited basic information is available on the behavior of pilot water floods. Craig, et al,' have investigated the effects of initial gas saturation, oil-to-water mobility ratio, and well damage on the oil recovered from a single, "normal" five-spot pilot pattern (Fig. 1). Rosenbaum and Matthews2 studied the effect of initial gas saturation and mobility ratio on the ratio of production rate to injection rate for various groupings of five-spot patterns. Paulse113 investigated the effect of mobility ratio and distance from the pilot to the edge of the reservoir on the areal sweep in a single "inverted" five-spot (Fig. 1). However, none of these studies considered the effect of operating conditions on pilot flood behavior. Moreover, hardly any of the work to date dealt explicitly with the oil-recovery performance of the pilot floods. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of interrelation between pilot flood behavior and operating conditions, to illustrate this interrelation by means of experimental data and to compare the recovery performances of dif-

By J. Hudy

An investigation has been made to determine the applicability of the Cendrex X-ray instrument for the measurement of the ash contents of washed bituminous coal products. The results obtained for selected products from five preparation plants in the northern Appalachian region are described. Emphasis of the study was placed on low-ash bituminous coals suit-able for utility or metallurgical markets. There was good agreement between the results obtained by conventional ash determination methods and by the Cendrex for all the products tested. A principal disadvantage of coal in competition with other fuels has been its inconsistent quality, especially with respect to ash content. Mine rnechanization and production from coalbeds of inferior quality have accentuated this failing. Present quality control methods in coal preparation plants are inadequate because (1) control samples taken over a production shift only serve to give the average quality of the product, (2) conventional sampling and analysis data are usually not available at the time a shipment is scheduled, and (3) the plant operator does not have the use of such data when the coal is being processed so that operating conditions may be adjusted for correcting variations in quality. Thus, the development and use of continuous-control monitoring instruments is of prime importance. The Federal Bureau of Mines arranged to investigate an instrument using x-rays for rapid continuous ash determinations. Developed by the Dutch State Mines and first described in 1958,' this instrument, which has found widespread acceptance in Europe, is designed to provide ash analysis of any desired coal feed or product stream with only a five-minute time lag between sample collection and analytical results. With limit controls, this unit could be used to feed back signals to preset the separating gravity of coal washers, control the ratio of various coals needed to produce an acceptable blend, and permit the sorting of a washed product into two qualities, one which is below and the other which is above a prescribed ash content. This unit can also be used discontinuously for rapid determination of coal samples taken in the usual manner. THEORY Di jkstra and Sieswerda of the Dutch State Mines studied the effect of chemical composition and ash content on the absorption coefficient of coal with the transmitted radiation method.' They found that with an X-ray wavelength of 1.79 A and values calculated for the absorption coefficients of ash and combustibles, the absorption coefficient of coal gave a linear relationship when plotted against the ash content. Thus, a method of measuring the absorption coefficient of coal could also be used to measure the ash content. However, practical attempts to measure the ash content of coal by comparing the intensities of the transmitted X-rays failed. The absorption coefficient of coal can also be obtained by irradiating a layer of coal with x-rays and measuring the intensity of the diffused reflection (backscatter method). The relationship between the diffused reflection and the ash content is actually hyperbolic but approximates a straight line over a narrow range. A measuring circuit that balanced the difference in intensity of the reflected radiation from a standard surface against that from a coal sample was used. By plotting this difference of reflected radiation against the ash content, a curve which approximated a straight line over a range of 8 percentage points of ash was obtained. DESCRIPTION OF EQUIPMENT The apparatus performs two distinct functions: (1) the preparation of the sample to a suitable size consist and moisture content for delivery to the x-ray element, and (2) the measurement of the ash content by the x-ray element. In a continuous operation the coal sample is delivered to a conditioner where it is dried to a maximum of 1% surface moisture and pulverized in a high speed mill to -48-mesh. This material is fed, at a rate of 250-300 gpm onto a rotating disk, shown in Fig. 1, where it is mixed with material already present. The mixture is rotated on the disk and

Jan 1, 1969

By E. T. Turkdogan, L. S. Darken

Using the quadratic formalism, thermodynamic equations are derived for the composition dependence of the heat and entropy of mixing. The applicability of these equations is confirmed by available experimental data on the activities and heats of mixing for binary metallic systems of Group ZZB elements. In a recent paper arkeen' introduced a quadratic formalism describing the composition dependence of the activity coefficient in the terminal regions of binary metallic solutions. That is, in the terminal region, which may extend to as much as 60 at. pct, the logarithm of the activity coefficient, log y,, of component 2 is a linear function of (1 - N,)' where N2 is the atom fraction of component 2. Similarly, for the other component, log yl is a linear function of (1 - N,)'. A number of iron-base binary liquid alloys were shown to obey this quadratic formalism. arkeen' extended this formalism also to any corner of a ternary system and showed that the activity coefficients of the components 1, 2 and 3 (1 is taken as the solvent) can be represented by quadratic terms involving five parameters, four of the binaries and one for the ternary system. Numerous examples given by arkeen' demonstrated the general applicability of the quadratic formalism to iron-base systems over a wide composition range. In this paper further examples are given of binary liquid systems (Group IIB elements, Zn, Cd, and Hg) and of several solid solutions, again demonstrating the appropriateness of this concept. A further purpose of this paper is to extend the quadratic formalism to the enthalpy and excess entropy of binary metallic solutions and to test the equations so found using available experimental data. QUADRATIC FORMALISM FOR HEATS AND ENTROPIES OF MIXING OF BINARY METALLIC SOLUTIONS The following equations, reproduced from Darken's paper, are for the two terminal regions of binary systems. at infinite dilution and a's are temperature dependent parameters to be determined from the experimental data. Although the quadratic formalism is an assumed representation of the data, Eqs. [I] to [4] are thermo-dynamically consistent with the Gibbs-Duhem relation and satisfy Raoult's and Henry's laws as limiting cases. As pointed out previously,' the following form of the Gibbs-Duhem equation facilitates the integration in general but particularly in regions I and 11, where each of the derivatives is constant. The partial molar enthalpy of solution i, (and i; the value of i, at infinite dilution) are related to the activity coefficients y, and y," by the thermodynamic relation Differentiating Eq. [l ] with respect to 1/T and substituting the above thermodynamic relation gives for region (I) It is reasonable to assume that over a temperature range of experimental interest, the enthalpy of mixing is essentially independent of temperature, implying from Eq. [7] that the derivative da,,/d(l/) is also independent of temperature. On the basis of this argument, the temperature dependence of a has the form where £ and S have the units of enthalpy and entropy respectively; they are characteristic parameters for a terminal region of a binary system, e.g. for region (I), C12, S12 and for region (II), d:,,, S2,. Using this equation gives for dff ,/ d(l/), From Eqs. [7] and [9] an expre_ssion is obtained for the composition dependence of L,. Similar calculations are made for El and the results are summarized below for the two terminal regions. For region (I), The corresponding expressions for the molar heat of solution, AHM, are readily obtained from the above equations for the two terminal regions: For region (I),

Jan 1, 1969

By W. W. Vaughn, R. H. Barnett, E. E. Wilson

Soon after the search for uranium ores on the Colorado Plateau began in earnest, thousands of feet of drill core ranging from 1 1/8 to 2 1/8 in. diam became available for study. Although significant advances had been made in the technique of quantitative gamma-ray borehole logging, instrumentation was in the development stage, and complete reliance could not be placed on gamma-ray logs alone to interpret quantitatively the meaning of radioactivity in a drillhole. A method that would be faster than chemical analysis and still give reproducible and reliable results for various drill core sizes was desirable to provide additional information on the enormous footage of drill core being accumulated. A solid phosphor scintillation drill core scanner was designed and constructed. Basically the instrument was developed to measure radiation from a drill core which would not be clearly recorded by a gamma-ray logger using a Geiger tube as the sensitive element. Such data would be beneficial in constructing isorad maps to delineate ore-bearing zones. A calibration in the range 0.01 to 0.1 pct eU.,O, was provided; above 0.1 pct eU3O8 gamma-ray logs were available and were being used to calculate grade and tonnage of ore reserves. The core scanner, however, has been used to estimate equivalent uranium content of ore-grade materials containing as much as 2.2 pct eU3O8 with an accuracy of ± 10 pct, the sample being in the form of a BX drill core. Actually, an apparent calibration of eU3O8 vs counts per unit time is a straight line with a slope that is a function of the sensitive element and the geometry of the counting assembly. A true calibration that will show the expected departure from a straight line is due principally to the random nature of the pulse from a radiation source and the nonlinearity of the electron circuitry. Design and Construction: Three methods of detecting radioactivity were considered and applied in developing the core scanner now in use: 1) the Geiger tube, 2) liquid scintillation phosphors, and 3) solid scintillation phosphors. The desired sensitivity and long-term drift characteristics needed for this operation could be attained only by using solid scintillation phosphors. All three methods are discussed. Before scintillation counters were common, nine beta-gamma sensitive Geiger tubes 7/8 in. diam by 12 in. long were used, arranged to surround the drill core with tube axes parallel to the axis of the core. This arrangement of Geiger tubes was en- closed in a lead shield 1 in. thick, and provision was made to slide a 6-ft length of drill core manually into the counting chamber, one foot at a time. A count for each segment was taken with a scaler while the core remained stationary. The equivalent uranium content of the different sections of drill core could then be estimated with the aid of a calibration curve of counts per unit time vs percent equivalent uranium (eU). In rare cases the effects of the radioactivity concentrated in small areas within the core introduced errors in the readings made with the Geiger tube arrangement owing to the geometry of the measurement. The variability of counting rate due to a localized concentration of radioactivity in a spot in the wall of a drill core is illustrated in Fig. 1. This effect and the inherent low efficiency of the Geiger tube were considered major disadvantages of this counting arrangement. When liquid scintillation phosphors became available the core scanner in Fig. 2 was constructed to make a more accurate measurement of the equivalent uranium content of a sample. This instrument contains about 4 liters of liquid phosphor in a stainless steel coaxial cylinder 1 ft long, with inner and outer walls 0.060 in. and 0.125 in. thick, respectively. Four end-window type photomulti-plier tube with cathodes of 2 in. diam, immersed in the solution at right angles to the axis of the core, were used to observe light flashes in the phosphor. The liquid phosphor offered equal sensitivity to radiation originating at any point in the enclosure and represented geometrically the optimum in design. However, providing a semi-permanent leak-proof seal between the glass envelope of the phototube and the metal walls of the container proved to be a serious problem in constructing the equipment. The most effective seals were especially machined O-rings from sections of large tygon tubing. The tygon took a permanent set owing to cold flow characteristics and in most cases sealed completely. The light absorption characteristics of the liquid phosphor changed gradually with time, and after one month the counting rate had decreased to half the original value. The most sensitive liquid phosphor tested proved to be a solution containing 4 g of 2.5-diphenyloxazole and 0.01 g of 2-(1-naphthy1)-5-phenyloxazole per liter of toluene. With fresh solution in the chamber and with all photomultiplier tubes operating in parallel, the counting rate contributed by any one of the four photomultiplier tubes was about 85 pct of the counting rate from a single tube operated individually. From these observations it was concluded that owing to coincident loss and light attenuation within the liquid phosphor, the apparent sensitivity could not have been materially increased by additional phototubes. However, this approach to core

Jan 1, 1960

By J. Stuart Warner

The reaction COSO4(c)?CoO(c) + So3(g)was investigated from 950° to 1170OK by two different methods. The sulfate was decomposed in a previously evacuated space and Pso3 calculated from the measured total pressure on the assumption that Pso2 = 2P02. The sulfate was also decomposed under conditions of controlled oxygen pressure. The difference in the results obtained by these experimental techniques is attributed to the effects of thermal diffusion. The standard free energy change for the reaction is given by ?F° = 66,292 + 17.273T log T — 102.57 T (±300 cal/mole). It was found by DTA and X-ray diffraction studies that CoS04 undergoes a transformation at 617°± 4°C. THE metal sulfates may decompose directly to the oxide or pass through one or more intermediate basic sulfates. Provided the oxidation state of the cation does not change in the course of the reaction, the decompositions may be described in general as follows: One of the major objectives of this work was to determine the validity of Eq. [3] as much of the existing sulfate data has been calculated from decomposition pressures by Eq. [5]. The type of apparatus generally used for these measurements consists of a reaction vessel at high temperature which communicates with a manometer at room temperature. A temperature gradient is thus imposed on the gas phase causing thermal diffusion which brings about a partial separation of the different gaseous species present in an initially uniform mixture. The basic theory and experimental facts associated with this phenomenon are summarized elsewhere1 and it will suffice to state here that the heavier gaseous species diffuses down the temperature gradient. Since thermal diffusion destroys the homogeneity of the gas phase, it is not necessarily true that Pso2 = 2Po2 in any particular volume element of the gas phase even though there are twice as many molecules of SO, as of 0, in the gas phase considered as a whole. Under these conditions, the decomposing sulfate gives off SO, which dissociates to SO, and 0, and all three species are distributed throughout the system by thermal diffusion. However, the sulfate will continue to dissociate until the equilibrium value of PSo3 is established on the hot zone. Thermal diffusion may distribute SO2 and O2 throughout the gas phase in any way so long as Eq. [2b] is satisfied in the hot zone; i.e. Pso2(Po2)1/2=K3pso3. When a steady state is reached, we can characterize Pso2 in that

Jan 1, 1962

By Harvey T. Kennedy, Charles R. Olson

In many investigations of the performance of petroleum reservoirs the assumption is made that the liquid, if below its bubble-point pressure, is at all times in equilibrium with gas. On the other hand, observations by numerous investigators have indicated that gas-liquid systems including hydrocarbon systems, may exhibit supersaturation to the extent of many hundred psi in the laboratory. Up to the present, there has been no reliable data on which ti judge the actual extent of supersaturation under conditions approaching those existing in petroleum reservoirs. The work reported here deals with observations and measurements on mixtures of methane and kerosene in the presence of silica and calcite crystals. Bubbles were observed to form on crystal-hydrocarbon surfaces in preference to the glass-hydrocarbon interface or to the body of the liquid. Statistically, it was found that the number of bubbles formed per second per square centimeter of crystal surface was a function of the supersaturation only. and the function was evaluated graphically. Supersaturations were observed up to 770 psi, under which condition bubbles formed quickly and with considerable violence. With decreasing degrees of supersaturation, the frequency of bubble formation became less, until at 30 psi supersaturation and lower, no bubbles were observed to form, even though the observation at 30 psi was continued for 138 hours. It was found that silica and calcite crystals had identical effects, within experimental error, in accelerating the formation of bubbles, and that small amounts of water and crude oil had no effect on the results. It is shown that the maximum supersaturation that can exist in a reservoir may be calculated from the data presented and from the area of the rock surface. It is also shown that the number of bubbles formed in the reservoir, in order of magni- tude, may be calculated for any rate of pressure decline imposed on the reservoir by production. The bearing of the number and distribution of bubbles on reservoir performance is discussed. INTRODUCTION A liquid system is supersaturated with gas when the amount of gas dissolved exceeds that corresponding to equilibrium at the existing pressure and temperature. The degree of super-saturation may be conveniently expressed as the difference between the bubble-point of the mixture and the prevailing pressure. Thus, if a mixture having a bubble-point of 1,000 psi at a given temperature exists in single liquid phase at 700 psi at the same temperature. it is supersaturated to the extent of 300 psi. There are many examples of high supersaturations, mostly in aqueous solutions, reported in the literature. Thus, Kenrick, Wismer and Wyatt1 showed that water may be saturated with oxygen, nitrogen or carbon dioxide at 100 atmospheres, and the pressure reduced to one atmosphere without producing bubbles immediately. When liquids are in a state of tension, they may be considered as supersaturated at least to the extent of the tension. The tensile strength of water has been reported as 30 atmospheres by Meyer,1 60 atmospheres bv Budgett. 30 to 50 atmospheres by Temperley and Chambers,4,5 200 atmospheres by Dixon6. and 223 atmospheres by Briggs.7 Vincent8,9 determined the tensile strength of a mineral oil as 45 psi. Gardescu1 maintained pressures for short times in a model reservoir at 115 psi below the bubble-point. It should be noted that the high supersaturations observed were obtained on systems carefully purified to remove particles or surfaces which might promote the formation of bubble; These "nuclei" were considered as contaminants which interfered with the determination of a property of the liquid. In

Jan 1, 1952

By AIME AIME

MECHANIZATION of operations and the development of much more refined preparation practices have been conspicuous achievements in coal-mine engineering in the last two decades. To both, Paul Weir was an outstanding contributor during his seventeen years' service with the Bell & Zoller Coal & Mining Co. and its aliates, the Centralia Coal Co. and the Crescent Mining Co. From 1920 to the end of 1936, when he resigned to go into consulting work in Chicago, he was successively chief engineer, general superintendent, and vice-president of Bell & Zoller. He changed its Zeigler mines from hand to mechanical loading, and planned and built a central mechanical cleaning plant.

Jan 1, 1939

By R. L. Bleifuss

The object of this study was to evaluate the oxidized taconites of the western Mesabi iron range and to establish a correlation between the various basic taconite types and their concentratability. The initial work included a study of the original mineralogical and stratigraphic facies of the fresh taconite and traced the oxidation and leaching patterns developed during the conversion of this material to oxidized taconite. Subsequent studies have extended this work to include the semitaconites and also the wash and heavy media ore types widely developed in the area. Each basic original mineralogical facies or taconite type produces during alteration an equivalent secondary oxidized facies which has a unique mineralogical composition and texture. These control the concentratability of the oxidized taconites. Actually the influence of the original mineralogical composition of the iron formation extends even further and determines whether the most likely product of oxidation and leaching will be a wash ore or a heavy media ore and even to the direct shipping ores where the ratio of hematite to goethite is largely determined by the original taconite type. The relationship between original taconite, oxidized taconite, semitaconites, and wash and heavy media ores is briefly summarized in Table I. The terms are not precise and in some instances tend to overlap. The table is intended to point out only the essential differences between the various materials. The original taconite was dominantly composed of mixtures of magnetite, iron carbonate, iron silicate, and quartz (chert). In a few thin stratigraphic units, hematite was present as an original constituent. The alteration of the original taconite to oxidized taconite has resulted from the circulation of ground waters through an initial fracture system related to minor structures in the iron formation. The chemical reactions have involved the oxidation and decomposition of original minerals such as magnetite, iron carbonate, and iron silicates to hematite or goethite. The alteration at this early stage is characterized by pseudomorphic replacement of the original minerals by oxidation products although retaining the major textural features of the original taconite. There was very little secondary migration of iron at this stage and the total iron content of the rock has been only slightly increased. Further alteration of this material to form a semi-taconite, a wash or a heavy media ore, involves extensive removal of silica in solution and significant redistribution of iron units. Wash and heavy media ores are developed by the growth of coarse secondary iron layers, dominantly goethite, coupled with the removal of silica in solution and decomposition of the cherty layers. This paper is concerned primarily with the materials classified as oxidized taconites which are characterized by oxidation of the original mineral constituents with little secondary enrichment. The area studied, shown on the index map, Fig. 1, extends some 30 miles along the strike of the Biwabik formation roughly from Hibbing to Coleraine. This study was greatly facilitated by the basic stratigraphic and mineralogical studies of Gruner1 and white2. The bulk of the material in this presentation represents a portion of the author's contribution to a study sponsored by the Great Northern Railway on the oxidized taconites of the western Mesabi.3 METHOD OF APPROACH A total of 106 drill holes, representing some 30,000 ft of drilling, were examined and sampled. The drill holes were logged and some 1500 composite samples were prepared for chemical analysis and bench scale metallurgical tests. These samples were analyzed for total iron and ferrous iron; and magnetite iron was determined by a standard Davis tube test at minus 200 mesh. Standard reduction roast tests using 150-gram samples of minus 10 mesh material were made on these 1500 composite samples with a mixture of H2, CO2, N2, and H2O at a temperature of 650°C. This roasted material was pulverized through 150 mesh and concentrated in the Davis tube. The iron recoveries and concentrate grades obtained on the roasted products were used to assess the concentratability of the oxidized taconites. Detailed mineralogical work was done on thin sec-

Jan 1, 1964

By W. J. Shearer

A COMPARISON of statistics relating to coal min-ing in Great Britain and the United States leads one to suspect widely differing conditions and practice. A brief review of some of the conditions may enable American mining men to appreciate more fully the difficulties with which British engineers are faced, and to some extent explain why American, coal can be sold f.o.b. mine at the present time at about 50 to 60 per cent of the cost of British coal at the mine, and why British man-shift outputs fall far below American at present being less than 30 per cent. Bulman gives the average depth of 6-ft. seams. in Britain at 1350 ft., and of 2-ft. seams at 517 ft. George S. Rice states that 90 per cent of American coal 'is taken from less than 600 ft. Much English coal is taken below 2000 ft. and some below 3000 ft. The total influence of depth on cost is not always evident. Room work as known in America becomes less advisable with increasing depth, as pillars crush badly if left -for any length of time. A limited amount of bord and pillar work, taking very small amounts of coal in the first working, takes the place of room work, with rapid working of the pillars as soon as the panels are broken. Ventilation difficulties increase tremendously with depth and thinning coal. In America the chief use of air underground is to dilute gas. In Britain it serves a dual purpose, in many cases the amount of air cir-culated being far in excess of the quantity necessary to dilute gas to reasonable proportions. At great .depths rock temperatures exceed-95 deg. F., and great volumes of air are necessary for rock cooling. At these high temperatures humidity becomes an important factor. At present a great deal of research is under way to find methods of overcoming the troubles experienced with high temperature and humidity in deep mines.

Jan 8, 1928

The total crude production from the Dutch East Indies, and the British Protectorates of Sarawak and Brunei for 1932 is given in the following table: Production, which had shown a rapid increase from 1921 to 1929, has since been reduced. Exploitation drilling in the majority of the larger fields was suspended and existing production kept within predetermined limits by beaning. Most of the smaller fields were shut down entirely. The depth of producing levels varies widely in the different fields. Shallow fields with drilling depths to 500 meters (1650 ft.) are still numerous as well as those with depths between 500 and 1000 m. (3300 ft.). A few of the newer fields reach greater drilling depths up to 1600 m. (5250 ft.). The deepest exploration well drilled to date (Djambi field, South Sumatra) reached a, depth of 2332 m. (7650 ft.) before abandonment in March, 1930. The specific gravities of the various crude oils produced range between 0.65 (86.2° A.P.I.) and 0.95 (17.5° A.P.I.). The lighter crudes have a high gasoline content and fuel oils are derived from the heavier crudes, which usually are rich in paraffin. Producing companies are: De Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij (Royal Dutch-Shell combine in Dutch territory); The Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co. Ltd. (Royal Dutch-Shell combine in British territory); De Nederlandsch-Indische Aardolie Maatschappij (De Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij-Dutch East Indian Government combine); De Nederlandsche Koloniale Petroleum Maatschappij (Standard Oil Co. of

Jan 1, 1933

By Joseph A. Norden, A. R. Willson

Much has been written concerning the hoisting equipment of various mines throughout the country, but most of the literature on the subject, if not all, describes equipment of extraordinary capacity and the small and medium-sized outfits have been neglected. The hoisting equipment here described is capable of handling about 1200 tons per day. It has not been worked to capacity, but 600 to 700 tons, together with men and materials, have been handled in two shifts without any great effort. Only one shaft extends from the surface to the lowest levels of the mine; see Fig. I. It is composed of three compartments, two of which are used for hoisting, and the third for water, air, and electrical lines, and for sinking purposes. In 1909, this shaft was raised from the 1000-ft. (304-m.) level to the 700-ft. There a station was cut and an air hoist installed. At this time all mining operations were confined to the upper levels of the mine; that is, above the 700-ft. The ore was dropped to this level through chutes from the 300-, 400-, 500-, and 600-ft. levels and then lowered in cars on cages to the 1000-ft., which is the main haulage adit, the mill and railroad bins being about 3000 ft. from the shaft. Orebodies were, in due time, developed on the 1000-ft. level and below. Therefore, in 1913,the shaft was sunk to the 1150-ft. level and thereafter sinking was continued at regular intervals until the 1500-ft. level was reached. But, hoisting from the 1300-ft. level was a difficult and slow process with the antiquated air hoist, so, in 1916, it was decided to raise the shaft to the surface and install a modern, electrically operated hoist. This was completed early in 1917 and the hoist was in operation in March of that year. The Hoist Figs. 2, 3, and 4 show various features of the hoist and electrical equipment. A Nordberg engine of the double-drum, geared type, designed for a 10-ton load, including rope, at a speed of 1500 ft. per min., is used. The drums are 7 ft. (2.1 m.) in diameter, with a 54-in. (137-em.)

Jan 1, 1922

The authors have done a very thorough job in analyzing the factors affecting turndown sulfur performance at Inland's No. 4 B.O.F. While many of the results are not unexpected, it is helpful I am sure to have quantified many of the relationships that the operators rely upon daily. On the other hand, however, the results shown for ladle skimming are very surprising. I do not doubt the statistical relationship shown but I feel, based on our experience at Youngstown, that some other parameter has been ignored in the data on ladle skimming. It was our experience that by skimming our hot metal transfer ladle we could reduce our lime consumption by eleven percent while obtaining sulfur removal comparable to that shown by the authors. I would like the authors comment of similar adjustments on the lime charge that were made on skimmed heats at Inland. If not, it would seem that one could gain more desulfurization in the B.O.F. by raising the hot metal manganese than by installing a skimmer. The author's state that no comparisons are valid between the data sets for the two time periods involved because of the difference in the consumption of No. 2 Bundles. I feel this in fact is one of the important conclusions to be drawn from the paper, as there seems to be approximately a 10-20 percent difference in percent of heats that are under 0.020 percent sulfur for similar conditions, which is an extremely important difference with today's demands for low sulfur. I would like the author's comments on the difference in the amount of 82 bundles consumed. Along this same line I was quite surprised by the relatively low number of heats that had a first turn down of 0.020 percent sulfur or less. Also rather disconcerting are the conditions necessary to achieve a first turn of 0.020 percent sulfur, 50 - 60 percent of the time, as required by today's specifications. It is a problem which we are well aware of, but the numbers are still shocking.

Jan 1, 1972

By L. J. Kashar

By means of a continuum-mechanics approach, the following equation for calculuting the pressure for axisymmetric cold forging has been derived: where P is the extrusion pressure; K and n are the strength coefficient and the strain-hardening exponent of the steel, respectively; a and b are strain factors, primarily dependent on the die design; and R is the extrusion ratio. Data from compression and backward-extrusion tests performed at a crosshead speed of 0.5 in. per min on a nonwork-hardening material pure lead) and on a work-hardening material (1018 steel) indicate that the predicted extrusion pressures obtained from the derived equation agree very closely with the actual extrusion pressures. Therefore, the equation can be used to predict backward-extrusion pressures from standard mechanical-test data. The decision to cold-forge a part is based on several considerations, most of them related to economics. However, the production feasibility is usually determined by the pressure needed to extrude the part and the availability of tooling that can repeatedly sustain this pressure for over several hundred thousand cycles. A major contribution to the cold forging of steel would result from the development of steels that could be forged at reduced pressures and from the development of techniques that permit the accurate prediction of the pressure necessary to cold-forge the part. The ability to predict extrusion pressures is necessary to properly design the tooling required for the cold-forging process. Attempts to theoretically predict the cold-forging pressure, especially for work-hardening materials, have been unsuccessful in previous investigations of the cold-forging process.1-3 Many empirical relations have, therefore, been proposed relating the extrusion pressure to the chemical composition,' the extrusion ratio,2 the tensile strength,273 and hard- ness, 2 and the yield strength3 of the material being extruded. However, these empirical relations are valid only for the specific conditions used in their development, and, in some cases, the empirical relations had a scatter band greater than * 10 pct. A study of the extrusion process was undertaken with the objective of developing predictor equations for extrusion pressure by using a continuum-mechanics approach to the problem of metal flow. The derivation of such an equation is summarized in this paper, and data are presented that confirm the validity of the derived equation. DERIVATION OF THE EXTRUSION EQUATION If the extrusion of a material through a die is considered in terms of a work balance, it has been shown that it is possible to derive an equation relating the work necessary to move the material through the die to the deformation work undergone by the material. The work done, W, in moving the material is given by where F is the extrusion force, I, is the distance the material was moved, A, is the original cross-sectional area of the material, P is the extrusion pressure acting on A,, Ap is the cross-sectional area of the extrusion punch, and Pp is the punch pressure acting on Ap. The deformation work, WD, is given by where V is the volume of metal deformed, ay is the flow stress of the metal, and E is the total strain undergone in the extrusion. If there are no frictional losses, the work done, W, is equal to the deformation work, WD; therefore, Since the volume of a metal does not change during deformation,

Jan 1, 1968

By S. Razi

Injection luminescence of single crystals of rare-earth-activated CdS was investigated. Crystals of CdS:Nd, CdS:Er, and CdS:Yb, grown by the vapor transport technique, were suitably etched and hetero-junctions of Cu2S-CdS were fabricated on one side of the CdS substrate by chemical reaction. The device was then heated to 200°C in an inert atmosphere for 5 min. Static V-I measurements show that at low voltages (V < 1 v) the current is controlled by the junction, while at higher voltages the bulk Properties of the CdS substrate effectively control the current. Because of the large thicknesses no negative resistance was found. Reverse breakdown voltage varied from 5 v, for junctions that were not heat-treated, to 100 v, for diodes that received the proper heat treatment. The rectification ratio, measured in the range of 2 to 10 v, varied from 300 to 3000. Capacitance- voltage measurements indicate a weak dependence of the junction capacity on applied voltage. The capacity was found to increase appreciably with room light illumination. The variation of capacitance with frequency is indicative of a p+-i-n structure. An open-circuit voltage of 0.4 v was measured under an illumination of 100 mw per sq cm. Under forward bias, the bluish-green edge emission characteristic of CdS was observed. No sharp rare earth emission line was observed, which is in contrast to our results using ZnS:Tb, where, under high-voltage excitation, the rare earth emission was dominat over the lattice emission. The absence of rare earth emission implies that either the nature of the rare earth ion is different at the het-erojunction than in the bulk or the probability of energy transfer to the rare earth ion is small. RARE earth elements are playing an increasingly important role in the Synthesis of materials for a variety of purposes, e.g., solid-state lasers, color television screens, and so forth. Interesting systems result when wide-band-gap photoconducting lattices are activated with rare earths. A study of the lumines-

Jan 1, 1969

By Robley D. Evans, Gerald L. Schroeder

Advanced techniques for control of radon (Rn) daughter product concenrrations (working levels, WL) in the uranium mines are discussed. Understanding the physical laws which govern the flux of radon into a mine, the growth and decay of the radon daughters, and the particulate nature of the daughters when suspended in air allows ventilation personnel to improve the quality of mine air with no increase in ventilation rate. The task of controlling, in a mine atmosphere, the short-lived nuclides produced in the decay chain of radon is a unique problem and as such should be approached with ventilation techniques specific to the problem. For most mines this has not been the case. Rather, procedures for removing these airborne radioactive nuclides have been borrowed directly from ventilation experience in mines where dilution ventilation was the traditionally accepted approach for air purification. With radon daughter products, this has often led to frustrating difficulties and expense. Primary origin of the airborne radioactivity is the a-ray-emitting noble gas, radon (222Rn, Rn), a nuclide formed by the decay of radium (226Ra, Ra). Radon, being a gas, may escape from its parent crystal and diffuse through the parent mineral into the interstices of the rock body. In a sandstone structure, about 20% of all the radon formed may find its way into the interstices of the rock. If a cavity such as a mine is nearby, the radon may diffuse through the rock interstices into the mine. While radium is usually highly concentrated in uranium ores, it is also found in varying concentrations in all minerals. Radon is therefore present in all minerals. In normal glacial till, the equilibrium interstitial radon concentration often equals 5000 pCi (picocurie, also uuCi) Rn per liter of pore volume.&apos; In normal granitic rocks, the interstitial radon concentration often approaches 30,000 pCi per 1. Considering these typical, high-radon concentrations, radioactivity from airborne of daughter products is a potential problem unique not only to the uranium mining industry and should be considered as a potential hazard in all underground environments.

Jan 1, 1970

By L. C. Michels, O. G. Ricketts

The disorientations between s?nall grains, whose growth has been arrested at an early stage of recrys-tallization, and the deformed matrix in cold-rolled aluminum single crystals were determined using transmission Kikuchi line and electron diffraction patterns. The orientations of the recrystallized grains were found to be random, and the disorientations of these grains with the matrix weve found to be intermediate to large. This leads to the conclusion that the observed vecrystallization began in small areas of large disorientation present in the cold-worked structure. heavily cold-worked thin sections of aluminunz single crystals and of polycrystalline aluminum and nickel were produced directly by a mechanical technique. The specinlens thus prepared were heated with the electron beam to bring about vecrystallization during observation in the electron microscope. Motion pictures taken du.ring heating and the electvon, microg.raphs taken both before and aftev heating allowed the recrystallization process to be traced to its ovigin. Re cvystallized grains originated in very s,mall regions of the cold-worked structure and developed through rapid migration of high-angle boundaries. The boundaries either were present as such in the matrix or were formed out of dense dislocation networks. SIGNIFICANT advances have been made in recent years in the study of nucleation of recrystallization using the technique of transmission electron microscopy of thin metal foils. Bollman1 in a study of heavily rolled polycrystalline nickel found support for the Cahn-Cottrell2,3 theory of nucleation. According to this theory nuclei form by the initially slow growth of subgrains formed through polygonization. During this initial period of slow growth (the incubation period) the migrating boundary of the subgrain increases its disorientation with the cold-worked matrix and thereby increases its mobility to become a rapidly migrating high-angle boundary. Bailey4,5 investigated the annealing behavior of several metals deformed both in tension and by rolling and concluded that recrystallization took place through the migration of high-angle boundaries. With low deformations these boundaries were present in the metal before deformation. With high deformation it was not possible to tell whether the boundaries were pieces of the original grain boundaries or were produced either during deformation or by polygonization during ameal- ing. Direct observation during heating of metal foils indicated that subgrains form by polygonization and grow at an uneven rate. The grain size obtained decreased with decreasing foil thickness indicating that the foil surface resists boundary motion. Votava,6 in heating stage experiments on rolled copper, observed nuclei to appear suddenly and grow in jumps of differing magnitude. However, he found no special dislocation configurations where the nuclei appeared. Fujita,7 as a result of a study of subgrain growth in heavily worked aluminum, concluded that the boundary of a recrystallized grain initially forms from the boundary of a group of subgrains. This occurred by a process of deposition of vacancies and dislocations in the group boundary as the boundaries within the group disappear. HU8,9 directly observed a similar process in heating stage experiments on 70 pct rolled Si-Fe single crystals. The growth of subgrains appeared to proceed by a coalescence mechanism. The observed fading away of the boundary between two subgrains was explained by the moving out of dislocations from the disappearing boundary into the connecting or intersecting boundaries around the subgrains. The subgrain size and degree of disorientation with the surrounding structure were thus increased. With the increase in disorientation occurred a corresponding increase in boundary mobility, which eventually allowed the boundary to migrate rapidly. This process was observed to occur within "microbands" consisting of parallel narrow segments disoriented by a few degrees present in the as-rolled structure. The conclusion of Rzepski and Montuelle10 that growth is preceded by the coalescence of blocks through disappearance of their common boundaries supports this view. In contrast to Hu&apos;s coalescence model for nucleation were the conclusions of Walter and ~och.""~ Working with the same material as Hu, of the same orientation and rolled to the same reduction, they concluded that nucleation occurred by the Cahn-Cottrell mechanism. They observed, in agreement with Hu, that recrystallization began in the "microband" regions which they referred to as "transition" bands. Bartuska13 studied subgrain growth in heavily rolled nickel using a beam heating method in the electron microscope. He concluded that nuclei for recrystallization form from the largest most perfect subgrains present in the cold-worked structure by rapid intermittent migration of parts of subboundaries. In rare instances he observed subgrain growth by coalescence. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The materials used in this study were 99.999 pct A1 supplied by A.I.A.G. Metals, Inc., and 99.999 pct Ni supplied by Johnson and Matthey and Co., Ltd. The Hitachi HU-11 electron microscope, with uniaxial

Jan 1, 1968

By Marston G. Fleming

CRITICAL pH has been defined by Wark1 as that pH value below which a mineral will float and above which it will not float in solutions containing a given concentration of collector but free from other depressants or activators. - The relationship between mineral, collector concentration, and pH is expressed in the form of a critical pH curve determined by the captive bubble method and is generally regarded as being fundamental to the system involved. The mechanism of alkali depression is currently in dispute, two general theories having received authoritative support. The view expressed in Taggart&apos;s chemical theory of flotation2 is that in the presence of a critical concentration of hydroxyl ions, all the metal ions available at the surface of the mineral are present as anions of the form [M (OH)x]-y. The formation of the necessary metal xanthate is thus precluded and, furthermore, any metal xanthate coating previously formed, at a lower pH, will be dissolved. Gaudin3,4 and the Melbourne school under Ware hold that alkali depression is caused by the preferential adsorption of hydroxyl ions by the mineral surfaces. This paper describes an investigation of the mechanism of alkali depression in each of the three systems: cerussite-aqueous carbonate-xanthate, cerussite-xanthate, and galena-xanthate. Alkali Depression of Cerussite by Control of Carbonate Ion Concentration Wark and Cox6 have shown that in the presence of Na2CO3 a higher concentration of xanthate is required to effect bubble contact with a cerussite surface than in carbonate-free solutions. To examine this depression of cerussite by sodium carbonate, a series of captive bubble tests was carried out on cerussite specimens in solutions containing 100 mg per liter of potassium ethyl xanthate and varying concentrations of sodium carbonate. The pH was adjusted by the addition of dilute hydrochloric acid. For purposes of comparison a standard critical pH curve was determined for cerussite with potassium ethyl xanthate in solutions containing no added carbonate. In the latter case pH adjustment was made with sodium hydroxide. The experimental method employed in both series was broadly similar to that described by Wark and Cox;7-9 a number of refinements suggested by Sutherland10 were adopted, and the procedure was further developed and modified to suit the particular requirements of the investigation. The relationship between pH and the concentration of potassium ethyl xanthate necessary to induce bubble contact at cerussite surfaces is shown in Fig. 1. The relationship between pH and the concentra- [ ] tion of sodium carbonate necessary to prevent bubble contact at cerussite surfaces in the presence of 100 mg per liter of potassium ethyl xanthate is shown in Fig. 2. Comparison of the. two curves shows that at a collector concentration of 100 mg

Jan 1, 1952

Swedish mining companies are noted for their excellence in underground mining practice, and this classification certainly has to be applied to their design of crushing plants also. All these mines are highly mechanized with either rail or truck haulage, and typical examples of underground crushing plants designed for each of these haulage practices are presented here. Almost all the primary breakers are of the overhead eccentric, single- toggle jaw crusher type with units as large as 55 by 71 in. (1400 by 1800 mm) being used. In contrast to North America, where jaw crushers are almost always preceded by apron or vibrating feeders, many of the. Swedish crushers are choke fed with the dump pocket being located directly above the crusher. This practice results both from excellent knowledge of the ore characteristics and the ability of the overhead eccentric crusher to also act as a feeder. An excellent example of a crushing plant of this design is shown by the sketch of the LKAB Alliansen Crusher No. 64 at Malmberget, Sweden. Forty-six st (42 mt) trucks dump magnetite ore into a 91.6 cu yd (70 m3) dump pocket mounted over a 55 by 71 in (1400 by 1800 mm) Morgards- hammar overhead eccentric crusher using a 180 hp (132 kw) motor and belt drive. Crushed ore at 10 in. (250 mm) size drops onto an air- operated tipping chute which diverts the ore to either of two 1962 cu yd (1500 m3) pockets equipped with 3 ft 11 in. by 7 ft 11 in. (1200 by 2000 mm) Schenk vibrating feeders. Dust is drawn into a wet scrubber and exhaust air is combined with mine exhaust air. Because the crusher must be assembled underground, a 45/5 ton crane is installed over the crushing installation. A crusher above ground such as at Sacaton can easily utilize a smaller crane. Capacity of this &apos;most interesting crushing installation is 1653 st (1500 mtph) .

Jan 1, 1978

By R. S. Knappen, D. V. Carter

In the states east of the Mississippi River, oil field operations were generally restricted during 1927. Active drilling was chiefly confined to the flood district of Bradford, and to the new areas in western Kentucky, Michigan, and southwestern Indiana. In spite of the general depression, production increased in every state, except Illinois. This unexpected increase is. due to several factors. First, in 1926 there was little flush production outside of Illinois, and the decline &apos;curves in all states are exceedingly flat. Second, the floods in Bradford, Pennsylvania, and Allegany County, New York, proceeded normally and increased production in those states for the fourth consecutive year. Third, new pools in Kentucky, Indiana and Michigan gave important flush production. Fourth, the general unsatisfactory market forced the operators to scrutinize carefully all their operations and improve efficiency and production in all possible ways. Increases amounted to approximately 2,000,000 bbl. Illinois lost, 900,000 bbl., leaving a net gain for the states east of the Mississippi River amounting to 1,100,000 bbl., or a total 40,268,000 barrels. Pennsylvania and New York In northern Pennsylvania and southern New York, the principal activity centered in the districts where flooding is being used to increase the recovery from the old districts. Once started, the flood cannot be shut off. The producer must drill wells and take his oil on schedule, or irrevocably lose it. Accordingly, in face of an adverse market Bradford and Bolivar operations increased 24 per cent. This area furnished more than 40 per cent. of the oil wells completed east of the Mississippi River last year, although the average initial production was less than 2.5 bbl. Unlike all normal fields, this production increases for several months until water appears in the well. For this reason, these wells will produce much more oil than would appear probable from the statement of initial production. During the year, air or gas pressure was applied to several new properties. Surplus gas is rarely available and air has been more commonly used. Two explosions occurred as a result of recycling air-gas

Jan 1, 1928

By Raymond Mancha

THE number of installations of propeller mine fans completed during the years of 1936 and 1937 is evidence of the increasing popularity of the propeller fan with the American mining industry. During the period from 1931 to 1936, there were several different low-pressure, low-efficiency propeller fans available, which filled a definite need in replacing inefficient centrifugal fans operated at comparatively low pressure by means of purchased power. Since 1936, however, the trend toward the propeller fan has greatly increased, as propeller fans are now available practically without pressure limitations and capable of efficiencies high enough to warrant replacement of efficient centrifugal fans in many instances. Few manufacturers of propeller mine fans base their fan-operating characteristics upon similar test methods, primarily because of inadequate facilities for testing in the factory and the need of a test code incorporating a calibrated duct or nozzle that makes possible the testing of large propeller fans quickly, accurately and without prohibitive expense and space requirements. As a result, fan manufacturers have resorted to various methods for testing large propeller fans in the factory, and different yardsticks have produced uncomparable and often inaccurate performance data. It is the purpose of this paper to describe and discuss in detail the test procedure of the Jeffrey Manufacturing Co., which has been proved both accurate and practical. Fig. 1 shows a plan, a side elevation and two end elevations of the test duct with a propeller fan of the exhaust type in place. Testing propeller fans exhausting permits greater accuracy than testing these fans blowing, because in the former uniform flow conditions are more easily established at Pitot tube stations where fan pressure and air-volume measurements are desired. Any residual rotation remaining in the air discharged from a propeller fan blowing into a test duct must be removed before an attempt is made to obtain accurate pressure and volume readings. Although various devices for straightening the air may be placed between the blowing fan and the volume-measuring station without resulting complications, uniform flow so obtained at the pressure-measuring station necessitates corrective calculations to compensate for duct resistance

Jan 1, 1939