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By James B. Cathcart

The potash mine of the International Minerals and Chemical Corp. is about 18 miles east of Carlsbad, New Mexico, in sec 1 and 12, T 22 S, R 29 E, N.M.P.M. Potash is produced from two zones in the Salado formation of late Permian age. The lower zone, consisting of a mixture of sylvite (KCl) and halite (NaCl), lies at a depth of about 900 ft, and the upper zone, in which the principal potassium mineral is langbeinite (K2S04.2MgS0d), lies at a depth of about 800 ft. Because of the plastic nature of the material, fractures in the Salado formation are extremely rare and have been noted only on the 800 ft level of the International mine. The open fracture described below is almost unique. Only one other open fracture has been noted, and it was on a working face in the same general area as the one described, but was destroyed before the writer had a chance to examine it. According to J. E. Tong, foreman on the 800 level, this fracture was similar to, but smaller than, the one herein described.

Jan 1, 1949

By C. E. LAWAL

WITH the object of adapting high-school vocational courses to the industrial needs of the community, a few high-school officials in West -Virginia working with the School of Mines of the State university decided to try an innovation this year. The purpose of this experiment was to teach coal mining in two high schools situated in mining communities. We thought that if a course in coal mining would be included in the list of optional courses offered in the high school, it might interest some of the boys, and if the course were properly taught it would undoubtedly be of inestimable value to those boys who later decided to take up mining work as their vocation. This coal-mining course was started last September in the Berwind and Gary high schools in West Virginia. The high-school officials in their conferences with' us decided that we should work up the outline of this course and they would assign the science teachers of the schools as instructors, with ,the understanding that we would help 'these instructors with this work. We consented to all this and submitted -an outline to the school officials which they are following this year.

Jan 1, 1929

By AIME AIME

N OW THAT the war is over it is possible to release data and correct some erroneous statements and impressions relative to the use of manganese-steel armor and helmets, which heretofore have been carefully guarded. The material of the helmets furnished to the English, American, and Belgian armies was invented by Sir Robert Hadfield, Bart., F.R.S., and was described in a paper read by him at the International Engineering Congress in August, 1893. The French helmet was 2 oz. lighter than the English but had a greatly inferior resistance. Tests showed that it was perforable at as low a velocity as 350 ft.- sec. impact of the standard shrapnel bullets. Helmets made of the Hadfield "Era" manganese steel kept out standard shrapnel bullets of the same quality at no less than from 750 to 950 ft.-sec. impact velocity. The respective energies were, in the case of the French helmet, only 0.021 ft.-tons, 46 ft.-lb., and in the British 0.095 ft.-tons, 213 ft.-lb. The German helmet was made of nickel-chromium steel and, although 12 oz. heavier and 12 per cent. thicker than the Hadfield, was not only perforate

Jan 1, 1920

By Gerald, Sherman

INCREASED production and con¬sumption of all metals, indicate the progress of industry toward that condition formerly thought to be normal. With no market limitations on silver and gold the two new precious-metal mines, the Silver Queen (now the Golden Queen), in southern California, and the Sunshine, at Kellogg in northern Idaho have made progress toward a high routine production. The Golden Queen 300-ton mill is finished and ready. The Sunshine mill has been enlarged and production is now at the rate of 500 tons per day of high-grade silver ore. The Hecla Mining Co. is developing the Polaris vein, which should be the extension of the Sunshine to the east. Some rich ore is reported. The developments of the' East African Gold Fields, Ltd., in the Lupa gold field of Tanganyika Territory, have made good progress, but operation in an isolated locality is not rapid and a large plant will be required. There have been no other discoveries reported that can be compared with the three mentioned, but production has increased, with greater capacity in dredging equipment and underground mines more adequately prepared for production.

Jan 1, 1936

By J. Parke Channing

ALTHOUGH the original thought of investigating waste in industry came from a mining engineer, Herbert Hoover, and although the chairman of that committee was a mining engineer (although the real work was done by the vice-chairman, L. W. Wallace), it is an interesting commentary that when the report first saw light, at St. Louis, on the first of June, 1921, some people most violently went up in the air when it was submitted by the representatives of the mining engineers. At the time they resented most markedly the report of the committee that 50 per cent. of the waste in industry, or as Mr. Ingalls in his paper has properly said, inefficiency in industry, was to be laid upon management. The reason for that seems to have been that, as a whole, the mining industry is pretty well organized and is superior to a large number of manufacturing industries including those studied by the Report. However, this very meeting shows that even the min-ing engineers have finally realized that there is waste or inefficiency in mining and that a large proportion of it can, with propriety, be assessed against management.

Jan 3, 1922

The selection of a particular machine for production drilling is the most critical drill evaluation the pit engineer is called upon to make. It is a true engineering design problem requiring value judgments. Generally, the procedure follows these steps: (1) Determine and specify the conditions under which the machine will be used, including such service factors as labor, site, weather, etc. (2) State the objectives for the rock-breakage phases of the production cycle of operations--considering excavation and haulage restrictions, crushing capacity, production quota, and pit geometry-in terms of tonnage, fragmentation, throw, etc. (3) On the basis of blasting requirements, design the drill-hole pattern (hole size and depth, in- clination, burden, spacing, etc.) (4) Determine the drillability factors and select the drilling methods which appear feasible for the kind of rock anticipated. (5) Specify the operating variables for each system under study, considering drill, rod, bit and circulation fluid factors. (6) Estimate and compare performance parameters, including costs. Major cost items are bits, drill depreciation, labor, maintenance, power and fluids. (7) Select the drilling system that best satisfies all requirements with the lowest over-all cost.

Jan 10, 1967

By Arthur A. Center

WAR demand- motivated developments in the zinc industry during 1942. Stocks of Prime Western were built up and High-Grade remained tight. The Prince The Prime Western stocks are expected to be cut down and the demand for High-Grade more easily filled as the Depue reflux plant of the New Jersery Zinc Co. increases - production. Subistition of steel for brass in artillery shell cases will have a considerable effect on the zinc situation of the country one estimate of the saving in zinc in 1943 by this substitution being a little under 100,000 ton, of metal. The metal saved will, of course be High-Grade. If the substitution occurs, the present tight situation in High-Grade may be entirely relieved as new production comes on the market and zinc may find itself approaching a situation as comfortable as that of lead provided the supply of zinc-hearing raw materials is sufficient to keep all reduction plants tip to capacity production. The premium price of the per pound of zinc over set quotas which went into effect early in 1942, helped to bring about the new lead-slag-fuming plant and other new sources of raw materials.

Jan 1, 1943

Albert SaUveur, Cambridge, Mass. (communication to the Secretary*):—On close examination I think it will be found that the evidence by which Mr. Corson claims to have shown the inaccuracy of a statement I made a few years ago, is far from convincing. This statement is: "Hot work as such has no influence upon the structure of the metal. Indirectly, however, by retarding crystallization until a lower temperature is reached, it may influence its structure most decidedly ; but the same results could be accomplished by heat treatment alone, i.e., by re-heating the unworked metal to the temperature from which the worked piece was allowed to cool undisturbedly." The Melallographist, vol. ii., p. 267 (under the head of "Changes of Structure Brought About by Work"). Of the two pieces of steel tested by Mr. Corson, one was worked and finished at a a cherry-red" and the other reheated to a cherry-red, and the assumption was made that in both cases the temperature was about 715' C., although no pyrometric device was used to record it. The possibility of considerable difference in temperature alone is so great as to invalidate Mr. Corson's inferences. The apparent temperature,

Jan 1, 1907

By John C. Shyne, Eric R. Morgan

BORON as a hardenability agent of commercial importance has been the subject of extensive study in recent years. It has been suggested in the past that boron increases hardenability by combining with nitrogen, thus rendering it innocuous.&apos; More recently it has been proposed that boron increases hardenability by reducing the free energy of sites of ferrite and pearlite nucleation.&apos; The segregation of boron to grain boundaries, the primary site of nucleation, would account for the large hardenability effect of minute additions of boron in steel. This grain boundary theory has found general acceptance while the concept of boron as a nitrogen scavenger has been disregarded. However, the interaction of boron and nitrogen in steel is considered to be important to hardenability because boron may be made ineffective by combination with nitrogen.". * The present work was undertaken to examine some of the effects of boron and nitrogen arid their interaction in steel. A base composition of moderate hardenability was chosen. This was a 0.35 pct C steel containing 2.50 pct Ni and 0.30 Mo. This composition was used because it contained no strong carbide, nitride, or Table I. Composition of Steels by Analysis, Wt Pct Steel C Ni Mo 0&apos; B N* Base 0.35 2.50 0.30 0.0012 nil <0.0001 Boron 0.35 2.50 0.32 0.0012 0.0022 <0.0001 Nitrogen 0.33 2.60 0.35 0.0015 nll 0.0052 Boron plus nitrogen 0.35 2.48 0.30 0.0006 0.0020 0.0040 * Obtained by vacuum fusion technique. boride-forming elements. The other alloys examined were modifications of the base composition and contained nitrogen, boron, or nitrogen plus boron. The compositions of the four alloys used are listed in Table I. The alloys were vacuum melted from electrolytic iron, electrolytic nickel, ferromolybdenum, and fer-roboron. When required, nitrogen was added by admitting a partial pressure of nitrogen over the melt after vacuum melting. The alloys were cast into 21h-in. diam ingots and hot rolled to %-in. sq bars. No ingot pattern was discernible on the polished and etched cross sections of the hot-rolled bars. The alloys were normalized at 1650°F, then machined into standard %-in. diam end-quench hardenability test bars. Four different austenitizing treatments were used: 60 rnin at 1550°F, 45 rnin at 1800°F, 30 rnin at 2000°F, and 20 rnin at 2000°F followed immediately by 30 rnin at 1550°F. The 1550" and 2000°F treatments were carried out in duplicate for each of the four steels. In order to prevent surface oxidation the bars were austenitized while buried under charcoal in an atmosphere of argon. After quenching the bars in a conventional end-quench fixture, the hardness surveys were made in the usual fashion on parallel flats ground along opposite sides of each bar. These were ground 0.050 in. deep rather than the conventional 0.015 in., to avoid decarburized or deboronized regions.5 The austenite grain sizes which resulted from each heat treatment were observed metallographically using Vilella&apos;s etch for martensite. The criterion used as a measure of hardenability was the distance from the quenched ends of the bars at which a hardness of RC 35 was observed. This hardness represented the inflection point on the hardness vs distance plot. Fig. 1 shows the hardenability of each steel after the several heat treatments. The duplicate tests demonstrated excellent reproducibility; the distance to Rc 35 was reproduced within 1/16 in. for duplicate test bars. All four alloys had the same grain-coarsening characteristics. Neither boron nor nitrogen had any observable effect on grain size. The grain sizes resulting from the various austenitizing treatments were ASTM 7 at 1550°F, ASTM 4 at 1800°F, and ASTM 2 at 2000°F. The small amount of boron in the boron steel greatly enhanced hardenability when the samples were austenitized at 1550°F. The low hardenability of the boron plus nitrogen steel showed that nitrogen eliminated the boron contribution to hardenability. Both steels containing nitrogen, with and without boron, exhibited lower hardenability than the base composition when quenched from 1550°F.

Jan 1, 1958

By F. W. Archibald

The American Smelting and Refining Co. has standardized its copper converting practice to attain a maximum unit blister production with a minimum of refractory consumption by careful location of the tuyeres and by applying magnetite coatings on the hard-burned magnesite brick linings. THE American Smelting and Refining Co. operates four primary copper smelters in the United States with a total of 17 Peirce-Smith type converters; 15 of them are 13 ft in diameter by 30 ft long, and two are smaller. Some details of operations vary with locale; however, fundamentals of design, operation, and maintenance are common to all plants. All converter shells are l-in. thick except for one new converter with riding rings on the ends which has a shell thickness of 1 1/2 in. More tuyeres can be installed with rings on the ends and hence more air can be used. Welded construction is replacing riveted. Minor shell repairs are made after each campaign. Principal causes of complete shell replacement are warpage and cracking resulting from localized over-heating. A 13x30 ft shell is being replaced after 34 years of operation and a total production of approximately 750,000 tons of blister. Converters are driven by 80 hp DC motors through company-designed worm gear reducers. Rotation is 0.38 rpm which permits the skimmer to spot the converter quite accurately for skimming slag. At three of the plants, protection against unscheduled air or power failures is afforded by the installation of emergency drives, consisting of auxiliary air motors or storage batteries. In order to avoid excessive splash out of the converters, the converter mouths are located as far back on the shells as existing flue facilities will permit. At one plant, the back of the mouth is only 13" to the rear of the vertical center line of the converter,. whereas it is 28" at another plant. Newly-lined mouth areas vary from 36 to 44 sq ft with effective operating areas about 25 pct less. It is important to keep the converter mouths as clean as possible. Dirty mouths create back pressures in the converters and as a consequence the tuyere air volumes are reduced. Mouths are generally cleaned by bumping with an empty ladle. Small mouth-cleaning rams have been used but unless extreme care is exercised the brickwork may be damaged. After considerable experimentation, the plants standardized tuyere elevations at 4 to 4% in. below horizontal center line at the shell with a downward pitch of about 13/16 in. per ft of length. Tuyeres are spaced at 6 in. centers except at the riding rings where there are no tuyeres. With this tuyere location, several of the plants now freeze magnetite slag in the bottoms, fronts, and backs up to the bottom of the tuyeres to control the internal shape of the converter. This has the effect of improving the agitation and mixing so that there is a marked increase in converting speed besides affording protection to the brick lining. Currently, the trend is to increase tuyere diameters from 1% to 2 in. to increase the air flow. At present, all converters are hand-punched but one converter is being equipped with a set of mechanical tuyere punchers. Rods for punching are % in. hexagonal smelter bar upset to ll/s in. and rods for cleaning tuyeres are upset to about 1% in., or larger, depending upon the tuyere diameter. Two of the plants use pneumatic reamers for cleaning the tuyeres between charges to minimize disturbing the coating on the inside of the refractory lining. Most of the puncher&apos;s platforms are pneumatically or hydraulically mounted so that a convenient punching position can be maintained regardless of tuyere position. For normal operations, tuyere air pressures vary from 15 to 13.5 psi, although some cycles such as magnetiting require pressures down to 8 psi. Air requirements vary from an average of 25,000 cfm on the newer installations down to 12,000 cfm on the older ones. Converter hoods are designed to protect the punchers from sparks, splash or hood accretions as well as to prevent the escape of objectionable

Jan 1, 1955

By D. J. Carney, E. C. Rudolphy

IT has been demonstrated that inclusion size, distribution, and composition affect the machin-ability of resulphurized steels. Merchant and Zlatinl concluded that large sulphide inclusions aided machining by forming a (lubricating) coating on the tool face. Boulger et al.² and Van Vlack³ noted that the size, distribution, and composition of the inclusions in the steel affected the machinability. Steel specimens containing large globular sulphide inclusions usually exhibited excellent cutting properties, while machinability was adversely affected by the presence of numbers of oxide-type inclusions. Consequently a thorough knowledge of all the factors which affect the inclusions in the final product is desirable. Since almost all the inclusions have their origin in liquid steel, it was necessary to begin a study of inclusions in free-machining steels by studying the inclusions and chemical segregation in the as-cast ingot. Very little information is available on the size, distribution, shape, and composition of inclusions in large, capped, free-machining steel ingots, particularly the B1113 grade. Gregory and Whiteley4 made a general study of the inclusions in a small, high sulphur, free-machining steel ingot. Also, numerous authors have described the solidification and segregation characteristics of the four basic types of steel ingots, namely, rimmed, capped,7 semikilled,7,8 and killed7,9,10 ingots. Most of these studies were made with plain carbon or low alloy, low sulphur steel. It was desirable to study not only the ingot but also the change in size, shape, and number of inclusions on rolling an ingot to a bloom and thence to a billet. This procedure was followed and it is hoped that this study may serve the dual purpose of adding to the general knowledge of ingot solidification as well as contributing to the knowledge of the size, shape, distribution, and composition of inclusions from the ingot to the billet in a high sulphur, free-machining steel. Procedure A 12.000-lb 23x35x75 in. slab ingot of the B1113 grade was cast, sectioned, and studied both macro-scopically and microscopically. An adjacent ingot from the same heat and of the same size was rolled to a 77/8x77/8 in. bloom and thence to a 21/2x21/2 in. billet. These various bloom and billet sections were also sectioned and studied macroscopically and microscopically. Sectioning the Ingot: The ingot herein described was obtained from the United States Steel Corp.&apos;s South Works Bessemer Blow No. 0193, a B1113 mechanically capped heat. The 23x35 in. ingot (No. 2) was teemed according to normal procedures and after stripping and transportation to the rolling mill was not placed in the soaking pit but allowed to air cool in an upright position. When completely solidified, the ingot was cut into sections by means of a powder scarfing torch and further sectioned by saw cutting as indicated in Fig. 1. Cut No. 2 (1x10x12 in.) from sections A through H was cleaned thoroughly, macroetched in a solution of 50-50 water and hot muriatic acid and used to obtain a macrograph of a horizontal section from the surface to slightly beyond the center of the 23-in. ingot dimension. Cuts No. 5 and 3 (lx81/2xl0 in. each) from sections A through H were treated in a similar manner to obtain a macrograph of a horizontal section from the surface to slightly beyond the center of the 35-in. ingot dimension. The composite macrograph of these horizontal ingot sections, which shows a vertical section of the ingot from top to bottom, is shown in Fig. 2. It should be noted that sections No. 2 are normal to sections 5 and 3 in the composite. Drillings for chemical analyses were obtained from selected positions within the above-mentioned ingot sections as noted in Fig. 3. The oxygen content was determined by the vacuum-fusion method. Samples for microscopic examination were cut from

Jan 1, 1954

By B. J. Kochanowsky

TO improve blasting methods it is necessary to know how the explosive force acts and how rock resists this force. Because of the tremendous power developed within milliseconds and the great number of other factors directly affecting the technical and economic results, an analysis of the fundamentals of blasting theory is difficult. But since the rules used for layout design and for calculations of size of explosive charges are based on theoretical assumptions, complete knowledge of blasting theory has great practical importance in mining. Analysis of Blasting Theory: It is interesting to note the opinion of blasting experts with respect to contemporary blasting theories. F. Stussi; Professor of the University of Zurich, stated: "We do not have enough experience yet to change our army engineering regulations in blasting and base it on new fundamentals. It is our duty to collect more practical data and to do more research in blasting to close this gap." K. H. Fraenkel,2 editor of the Manual on Rock Blasting published in 1953 in Sweden and written by well-known Swedish, German, Swiss, and French blasting and explosive experts, said: "To the best of our knowledge no suitable formulas for civil blasting work are to be found in the American, French or German literature." Present blasting theory is based upon two assumptions. 1) The blasting force of explosive acts in concentrical and spherical form. 2) Rock resistance against the explosive force is directly proportional to the strength characteristics of the rock. The first classical formula based on theoretical fundamental in blasting theory for explosive charge calculation was introduced by Vauban, a military engineer who lived 300 years ago. It was Vauban who proposed the famous formula L = w3 q, where L is the explosive charge, w = line of least resistance, and q = specific explosive consumption proportional to the weight of rock. Later engineers used q as proportional to the strength of the rock. Since Vauban&apos;s time different suggestions concerning blasting theory have been proposed. However, the principles stated at that time so affected the thinking of later generations that his formula is still in use and practically unchanged. The first controversy concerned the form of crater. It was found that geological features of rock affected its form. The factor q was analyzed thoroughly by Lares3 and later by Ohnesorge," Weichelt,5 Bendel,6 and others, but the assumption remained that resistance against explosive force is directly proportional to the strength of the rock blasted. The greatest controversy, which has not yet been settled, concerned w. It was noted that w3 is more appropriate for long lines of resistance and w2 for lines of resistance less than 15 ft. Based on the assumption that the explosive force acts concentrically and spherically, spacings between charges were limited to distances not greater than the length of line of least resistance. Sometimes larger spacing is recommended, but this is due to the advantageous geological and physical properties of rock and not to the action of an explosive force as such. In addition to the classical formula, empirical formulas are used widely. These state that the explosive charge is directly proportional to the volume of blasted rock in cubic yards, and the amounts of explosive required are usually expressed in pounds of explosive per cubic yard of rock. Empirical and classical formulas are contradictory. In the empirical formula, but not in the classical formula, explosive charge is taken proportional to all three space axes: line of least resistance, spacing, and bench height. In spite of this contradiction, both formulas give good results. This is possible because as now practiced the explosive charge calculation for heavy burdens need not be highly accurate. Each, open pit or quarry, usually works with a certain relation between bench height and line of least resistance and between charge spacing and line of least resistance. When these relations are changed, however, the specific explosive consumption q changes greatly. This is one of the reasons why the principles on which the formulas are based appear to be incorrect. In addition to the formulas discussed, others exist and are based more or less on the same theoretical

Jan 1, 1956

By A. A. Brant

In this presentation, concepts of the formation and evolution of the universe, the earth, and the cyclic civilizations of man are broadly outlined. The 5 billion or more years of the universe and the 4% billion years of the earth are contrasted to the 5000 years of modern society and the 100 years of objective scientific breakthrough. THE UNIVERSE Let us start back as far as possible, to the beginnings of this universe, some 5 billion or more years ago. This is a time interval that can be crudely underestimated by the moon-earth tidal friction effects that have increased the length of the day by about 1/1000 second per century — from a 5 to 7 hour day to its present 24 — and have moved the moon away at 5 inches per year to its present 240,000 miles. The oldest stony meteorites from interplanetary space give an age dating of some 4.6 billion years, approximating the time of formation of our earth. Further, certain stars pulsate, the period of pulsation being related to their absolute brightness. Measuring apparent brightness and comparing, gives the distance away. Thus Hubble and Shapley of Harvard, from 1925 on, were able to show that the universe reached as far as our telescopes could scan. The Doppler shift of the hydrogen red lines could only mean that the nebulae, or galaxies, were moving away away at velocities increasing with their distances, by 180 km/sec velocity increase for every million light year&apos;s distance. In short, the universe is expanding like an exploded bomb. Comparing the velocity increase per million light year&apos;s distance again indicates a zero time of some 5 billion years&apos; Thus it appears that this universe had a finite beginning. Physical measurements and present theories permit some picture of our universe&apos;s birth. We know since Einstein that many forms of energy are equivalent, e.g., mass, and electromagnetic radiation, aspects of which are heat and light. Now with expansion, radiation density or equivalent mass decreases as a length factor to the 4th power, while mass as matter decreases at a length factor cubed. The temperature in outer space is now perhaps 100° absolute and the radiation mass equivalent is but 1/1000 the rarefied interstellar gas densities. Decompressing the universe to a starting point, however, raises temperature more rapidly than mass density, and results in a high radiation mass energy fraction, which since it is proportional to temperature to the 4th power suggests a zero point temperature of several billion degrees, brighter than any sun. "Let there be light and there was light," according to Genesis 1-3. Now what further initial conditions must there be to explain the relative abundance of the elements in the universe, which by spectral analyses of the earth&apos;s crust, stony meteorites, and the sun and stars is surprisingly uniform throughout. Some 55% of all cosmic matter is hydrogen, some 44% is helium and only 1% is made up of all the heavier elements in much the same proportions as on earth. These latter decrease logarithmically in abundance up to atomic weight 100, then level out. This consistent abundance distribution of elements in the universe may be generally explained by taking at Time Zero a hot neutron gas of density about 10-3 grams per cc, at a temperature of several billion degrees Centigrade, with a high radiation energy fraction. Generally neutrons break down into positrons and electrons within about ten minutes, but at the initial high temperature and radiation pressure would recom-bine. However, with rapid expansion and decrease of temperature and pressure, the neutron disintegration would run uncompensated and aggregation would result from neutrons and protons uniting in different degrees of complexity. The total calculated element aggregation time would be about one hour while the temperature still remained above one billion degrees. The element abundances formed would depend on density of the nuclear gas, simplicity of the atom formed, and the neutron capture cross section. Thus a higher density

Jan 1, 1964

By T. E. Leontis

Data are presented in this paper to show that addition of zirconium to sand-cast Mg-Th alloys effects a marked decrease in the grain size of these alloys which is accompanied by a significant increase in the mechanical properties over the entire range of thorium content investigated. The beneficial effect of zirconium on the strength properties is maintained at elevated temperatures up to 700°F. In addition the alloys exhibit exceptionally high creep resistance at temperatures up to 600°F. Zirconium does not greatly improve the strength or creep characteristics of extruded Mg-&apos;Th alloys. Cerium is not a desirable addition to Mg-Th-Zr alloys. IN a previous paper,&apos; it was shown that addition of thorium to magnesium imparts exceptionally high resistance to creep at elevated temperatures both in the sand-cast and in the extruded states. The large grain size of the sand-cast alloys, however, renders them of questionable value as engineering materials. Sauerwald² showed that the grain size can be reduced effectively by the addition of zirconium. Results of a detailed study of the properties of Mg-Th-Zr alloys over a wide range of thorium content are presented in this paper. In accordance with the preliminary findings of Sauerwald,² it is shown here that Mg-Th-Zr alloys possess the unusual combination of fine grain size and a high level of strength and creep resistance at elevated temperatures. Some information on the effect of cerium on the properties of Mg-Th-Zr alloys is presented also. Effect of Th on Solubility of Zr in Molten Mg Sand-cast test bars and 3 in. diam extrusion billets of Mg-Th-Zr and Mg-Th-Ce-Zr alloys* were pre- pared according to the procedures described in the previous paper.&apos; The zirconium was added in the form of sponge metal as supplied by the Bureau of Mines.&apos; The maximum amount of zirconium that usually can be introduced into magnesium at the customary alloying temperature of 1350° F is about 0.7 pct. The analyses in Table I clearly show that thorium in- creases the solubility of zirconium in liquid magnesium. The tabulated zirconium contents are designated as "acid soluble;" this serves to distinguish these values from the small amount of zirconium that is not dissolved when the alloy is subjected to the action of a dilute acid solution. The "acid-insoluble" zirconium is believed to be ineffective as an alloying ingredient. The acid-insoluble zirconium contents ranged between 0.03 and 0.16 pct in the present alloys, the tendency was toward higher values in alloys with higher thorium content. In contrast to the effect of thorium, cerium decreases the solubility of zirconium in magnesium. This is shown by the three Mg-Th-Ce-Zr alloyst in- cluded in Table I and stands in agreement with the observations of Nelson and Stricter".&apos; on Mg-misch-metal-Zr alloys. Effect of Zr on Grain Size of Mg-Th Alloys The potent effect of zirconium as a grain refiner has been demonstrated for many types of magnesium alloys.3-8 Of greatest importance to date are Mg-Zn-Zr alloys5,6,8 and Mg-mischmetal-Zr alloys.3,4,7 Zirconium has also been found to exert a marked grain-refining action on Mg-Th alloys. All the Mg-Th-Zr alloys cast in the form of ½ in. diam test bars have an exceedingly fine grain size (Table I). Reference to the previous paper&apos; will show that binary Mg-Th alloys containing up to 6 pct Th are almost completely columnar even in the M in. diam reduced section of a test bar, and that 10 to 50 pct Th alloys have an equiaxed grain structure of 0.03 to 0.08 in. The data in Table I also show that addition of cerium to Mg-Th-Zr alloys has no effect on the grain size. In addition to increasing the strength properties, the fine grain size of Mg-Th-Zr alloys

Jan 1, 1953

By S. A. Levy, J. D. Wood, J. F. Libsch

A study of the preparation and characteristics of a sevies of Fe-C-N alloys has been conducted. X-ray, microhardness, and metallographic data from a series of single-phase alloys produced by controlled nitriding of carburized foils are reported. The existence of a, y&apos;, and E carbonitride has been confirmed and it has been found that y&apos; is the hardest of these three phases. These results have been used to interpret the structures observed in nitrided steels. ThIS paper represents the second phase of a three-part study concerning combined nitriding and induction hardening. The first part&apos; reports the engineering properties (depth hardness, fatigue, corrosion, and tempering resistance) obtained when seven different steels were subjected to the combined surface hardening treatment. The present paper concerns the nature of a series of single-phase alloys prepared by controlled nitriding of carburized foils. The objective was to simulate the various layers present in the as-nitrided steels. A third paper will report data concerning induction hardening of the foils and will attempt to set forth a mechanism for the high hardness obtained with the combined treatment. Studies of nitriding generally fall into three categories. The first were performed with bars using conventional nitriding procedures, thus yielding a nitrogen gradient and a series of phase layers near the surface.2-6 Such studies were complicated by the presence of the nitrogen gradient, for it was difficult to correlate microhardness and X-ray data with chemical composition. There were always complications due to penetration of the X-ray beam which yielded data influenced by underlying layers. Similar difficulty was experienced in taking hardness readings on a tapered specimen or in isolating various layers by machining. A second group of investigations was primarily concerned with establishment of regions in the Fe-N7,9,10 or the Fe-C-N phase diagram.8 These were performed with powder specimens which were nitrided in am-monia-hydrogen mixtures to produce a series of single-phase specimens. Unfortunately, the powder specimens were not amenable to either microstruc-ture or microhardness study. The third was essentially a compromise of the first two. Bose and Hawkes," using 0.005-in.-thick iron foils, were able to obtain microhardness, microstruc-ture, composition, and X-ray data on Fe-N alloys of eutectoid composition by equilibration in ammonia-hydrogen mixtures at 1290°F. To obtain a better understanding of the nitriding process and the characteristics of the phases in ni-trided plain carbon steels, the present investigation was undertaken. The investigation was patterned after that of Bose and Hawkes with the exception that nitriding was performed at 930°F (below the eutectoid temperature), as in the case of conventional nitriding. In addition to gaining some understanding of the source of high hardness of nitrided and induction-hardened steels, found in a previous study,&apos; this investigation was concerned with the possibility of controlling the phases present in a nitrided case through the use of ammonia-hydrogen mixtures. Knowledge of the properties of each phase and the conditions necessary for its production could make it possible to avoid undesirable surface layers in nitriding. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Specimen Preparation. A specimen thickness of 0.005 in. was selected to insure that a uniform nitrogen concentration could be obtained in a reasonable length of time by equilibration in an ammonia-hydro-gen atmosphere. The starting material was a vacuum-cast ingot of pure iron, the major impurities of which were: C, 0.003 pct; 0, 0.014 pct; S, 0.004 pct; N, 0.003 pct.* &apos;Compositions are quoted as weight percent except as noted. The ingot was heated to 1500°F in a nitrogen atmosphere and forged to a slab 0.25 in. thick. The material was then reduced to 0.005 in. by alternately cold rolling and annealing in a nitrogen atmosphere at 1600°F. This material was divided into five groups of specimens which, after carburizing, yielded the following carbon contents: 0.003, 0.28, 0.36, 0.46, and 0.74 pct C. The carburizing was performed by the Leeds and Northrup Research Laboratories, using a controlled "carburizing potential" which yielded a uniform carbon concentration throughout the cross section.

Jan 1, 1970

By O. C. Holbrook, George G. Bernard

A new theoretical treatment has been obtained for the behavior of pattern waterflood injection wells when closed in. Two cases are treated: Case I where oil and water are assumed to have the same properties, and Case 2 where they arc different. In applying the method, one plots log (p — p,) vs closed-in time, where p is well-bore pressure at any tims and p, is static pressure. The value of p. is determined by trial and error as that value which makes the plot linear at large time. A value for the permeability-thickness product can be determined from the intercept of this linear part, and a value of the skin factor from the injection pressure at time of closing in. Application of the method to data from water floods at three fields seems to give reasonable results. For the case of unit mobility ratio, it is proved that this new method should give the same value for permeability-thickness product as the conventional pressure build-up method. In addition, the new method gives correct values for static pressure, whereas the conventional method does not, often indicating negative static pressures. The new method may be used in cases where the surface pressure persists after closing in as well as in cases where it does not. INTRODUCTION It is of considerable interest and importance to be able to determine the characteristics of the reservoir in an area surrounding a water injection well. Thus, if we can determine early in the life of an injection well that there is a considerable "skin effect", remedial measures can be started before a full-scale pattern flood begins. Similarly, if it can be shown that a gradual buildup of skin effect is occurring with time, measures to free the water of plugging material can be taken. Determination of static pressure in the water-injection well may show that the water is entering a thief zone and not the desired reservoir. Finally, determination of the permeability of the sand around the injection well will allow estimation of the future relation between injection pressure and rate. It should be possible to determine average reservoir permeability, skin effect and static pressure from pressure fall-off data. However, at the time we began work on this subject, it was thought that no adequate theory on which to base such determinations&apos; was available. According to the conventional method which considers the reservoir to be filled with one fluid of small compressibility (see Van Everdingen, Joers2, and Nowak2), shut-in pressure is plotted vs log where is injection time, and At is closed-in time. The physical significance of injection time, may well be questioned in this case, since in a reservoir completely filled with a single fluid (as required by this theory) and with input and output rates equal, the pressure behavior after an initial transient is independent of t,. Attempts by our Tulsa area to use this theory led to negative values of static pressure in most cases. Because of these limitations of the method discussed above, it was decided to attempt to develop a new theory of pressure behavior in water injection wells, one which would apply when there is a gas saturation, as is so often the case in water floods. In the following treatment the assumptions and basic equations are given first, then the method of application of the equations. A complete example is given to clarify details of application. All difficult mathematics has been placed in the appendices so that the reader can follow the text without difficulty. However, if he wishes only to apply the results without knowing the basis for them, he can learn how to do this from reading only the sections entitled "Plotting of Experimental Results" and "Example." ASSUMPTIONS AND BASIC EQUATIONS Statement of Problem It will be assumed that a horizontal layer of constant thickness contains in its pore system a mixture of oil, gas and water. While water is being injected into this pore- system through a well at constant rate, an oil bank is built up, gas being expelled from the space taken by the oil as shown in Fig. 1. The saturations within each

By Pradeep K. Rohatgi, David N. French, Surendar M. Jain, Clyde M. Adams

The effect of solute concentration and diffussivity on dendritic solidification of dilute binary aqueous solutions has been investigated; chlorides of sodium, potassium, lithiurn, and hydrogen were used as solutes. Dendrite spacings were measured in spherical droplets and in unidirectionally solidified specimens. In the droplets, the freezing rate is uniform over the entire specimen and remains constant from the beginning to the end of solidification. In the unidirec-tionally frozen specimens the freezing rate varies within a given volume of liquid during the solidification cycle; in addition, it varies with location uithin the specimen. Mass transport analysis has been used to calculate the supersaturation, AC, supercooling, AT, and transcerse growth velocity, V , of ice dendrites during solidijication from the dendrite spacings measured in the droplels. The ice dendrite spacing in a given solute increases lineary with the solule concentralion at a fixed freezing rate. The ualues of AC, AT, and V increase with an increase in solule concentration. The value of AT in the aqueous solution is of the same order of magnitude as in Al-Cu alloys of the same concentration; the dendrite spacings in Al-Cu alloys also increase with an increase in solute concentralion. For the jamily of aqueozrs solulions incestigaled, the dendrite spacing increases linearly with solute diffusivity at fixed values of concertralion and freezing ,rate. The values of ?C and ?T decrease, whereas the value of V increases with an increase in solule diffusicity. The measured dendrite spacings , L, can be expressed by the relatiun: L = K;(dfa/db) 4 K2C +K3D - K4 where dfs/d? is-change in fraction solid with time (freezing rate), C is solute concentration, D is solute diffusivit K1 = (14 * 4)pmin1&apos;2, K2 = (70 ± 10) pl (moles)- K3 = (24 r 3) . l05 psec (cm)-~. K. = -132 ± 10) 1. FREEZING of solutions is almost always an ehunmix-ing" process because the composition of crystallizing solid generally differs from that of the parent liquid. " Solute concentration and transport are therefore in]portant considerations in solidification of solutions. The influence of these factors on the dendritic solutions produced from metallic solutions is of practical significance since the properties of the solid aggre-gate are often strongly influenced by dendrite spacing.&apos;&apos;&apos; Alexander and Fthines3 found that dendrite spac- ings generally increase with solute concentration in several metallic systems. Michael and Bever1 have observed an increase in a aluminum dendrite spacings in dilute A1-Cu alloys. Rohatgi and AdamsJ have reported a linear increase in a aluminum dendrite spacings with increasing copper contents up to 28 pct in A1-Cu alloys. Bolling and Tiller"&apos; have theoretically examined the effects of solute concentration and diffusivity on the growth of cells and dendrites. Their analysis of dendritic growth assumes a steady-state growth and the maximum possible velocity for dendrite propagation. In addition, the quantitative analysis is restricted to dendrites of rotational symmetry and is therefore not directly applicable to the plate-shaped dendrites of ice obtained in the present study. There are practically no experimental observations of the effect of solute diffusivity on dendrite spacings in metallic systems. The reason appears to be the lack of experimental data on solute diffusion coefficients in liquid metallic solutions. The present work is concerned with the effect of solute concentration and diffusivity on dendritic solidification of dilute aqueous solutions: the solutes examined are potassium chloride. sodium chloride, lithium chloride. and hydrogen chloride. There were several reasons for selecting these solutes. The variation of dendrite spacing with freezing rate in these solutiolls is similar to that observed in A1-Cu alloys.8 These aqueous solutions have almost identical phase diagrams at dilute concentrations. Fig. 1. and the diffusion coefficients show very little variation with solute Concentration.9,10 Dendrite spacings were measured as a function of freezing rate. solute concentration. and solute diffusivity. Dendrite spacings were measured in two different types of freezing systems. droplet and unidirectional, respectively. In the droplet freezing system

Jan 1, 1970

By E. A. von Hahn, T. R. lngraham

The rates of cementation of pd11 on electropolislzed copper cylinders were studied in aqueous perchloric acid solutions at pdII concentrations from 0.02 to 0.1 mM. The cylinders were rotated at various high speeds to reduce the diffusion layer to a minimum thickness. In 0.1 M HClO4 solutions, the cemented palladium is dense, adherent, and shiny. The rate data indicate that there are two stages in the deposition. In the initial stage, the rate of cementation is first order with respect to the pd11 concentration. The second stage is much slower. The first stage is consistent with rate control by the diffusion of pd11 ions to the copper surface, and/or chemical reaction at the surface, and the second stage is consistent with rate control by the diffusion of copper ions from the cop-per surface through the deposit of cemented palladium, out to the main body of solution. In 0.001 M HClO4 solution, only the first stage is evident and the rate is more rapid than at higher acidities. This rate enhancement is attributed to PdOH+ ions that predominate at low acidity and aye more reactive than unhydrolyzed pdII. The deposit is porous and loose. All of the cemented deposits are Pd-Cu alloys rather than pure palladium. Activation energies are 9.5 kcal per mole in 0.1 M HClO4 and 7.4 kcal per mole in 0.001 M HClO4. CEMENTATION or displacement reactions occur between aqueous solutions of metal salts and immersed metals according to the general equation: where M1 is electrochemically the more noble metal. Although these reactions find considerable application in metals recovery processes (e.g., the cementation of copper192 or gold3), in electrorefining processes (e.g., solution purification before electrolysis4,5), and in plating and metal finishing processes,6 few studies have been made of the kinetics of such reactions.7-9 The rates of cementation reactions will depend on one or more of the following factors: a) chemical reactions at the metal-solution interface; b) ionic transport to or away from the interface;&apos;-&apos; and c) the character and adherence of the cemented deposit on the substrate metal,6a,10 because the deposit will inhibit the rate of transport of dissolving ions (M2m+) into the solution. In this investigation, the kinetics of the early stages of cementation were studied to obtain an understanding of the reaction mechanism under conditions in which the deposit was sufficiently thin that its inhibiting effect could be disregarded. To achieve this, very dilute solutions in Mn+ were used. Cementation rates are often fast in the initial stages and transport-contr01led.9 To find conditions under which transport control would shift to chemical control, very high stirring velocities were used to minimize the diffusion-layer thickness. Of the many possible cementation reaction systems, the palladous perchlorate-copper system was chosen for this investigation because it was believed to involve simple ion-for-ion exchange. In addition, there are no interfering side reactions, such as the reduction of hydrogen ions, and anion effects are usually absent in perchlorate solutions. EXPERIMENTAL Materials. Reagent-grade chemicals and redistilled water were used in all experiments. Palladous perchlorate stock solutions (0.02 M) were prepared by dissolving 99.5 pct Pd sponge (Johnson Matthey and Mallory Ltd.) in concentrated nitric acid, adding concentrated perchloric acid, evaporating twice slowly (to prevent PdO precipitation) to a small volume, and diluting in a volumetric flask. To prevent gradual hydrolysis of PdII, the stock solutions were made 0.4 M in HC104. Tests for pdIV (Ref. 11) and C1- were negative. Copper strips were cut accurately from 0.025-in. electrolytic tough pitch sheet, Sample 1 (Mines Branch stock or Canadian Copper Refineries Ltd., Montreal), or from oxygen-free, high-conductivity sheet, Sample 2 (American Metal Climax O.F.H.C. brand, sold by Utility Brass and Copper Corp., Brooklyn). The strips were annealed for 1 hr at 335°C in a stream of purified nitrogen (Union Carbide, Linde Division) which had

Jan 1, 1967

By R. G. Hawthorne

This report is concerned with fluid displacement in porous media, in those cases where viscous and gravitational forces control the displacement. Such a system would usually be found in a sand body of large physical dimensions such as an oil reservoir, although it is possible to create such a system in the laboratory. It is shown that the position of the fluid interface can be predicted by numerical calculations using a basic idea presented by Dietz. Fluid flow is considered in a vertical plane in a homogeneous, porous medium of sufficient thickness that the capillary transition zone is small in comparison with the total reservoir. A theory developed by Dietz&apos; is used to make numerical calculations of the position of the fluid interface. The results for several conditions are compared with scaled model experiments. The results show that, for gas drive in a reservoir of steep dip, a relatively low flow rate can displace large volumes of oil before gas breakthrough. On the other hand, water injection at favorable mobility ratio and low dip may show best performance at high rates. Water tends to underride the oil and, given sufficient rime, will break through without much oil displacement. For certain conditions, which include relatively low flow rate, the interface is a straight line and its behavior is simple to calculate. At higher flow rates, the interface is unstable, and a numerical solution was programed for an automatic computer. In general, good agreement is shown between the fluid model and the computed results so long as gravitational forces have control. For a water drive at very unfavorable mobility ratio, many small water fingers appear. These viscous fingers are not controlled by the relatively small gravitational forces. When viscous fingering becomes the controlling factor, the mathematical model is oversimplified, and results do not check the fluid flow model. INTRODUCTION Present methods of reservoir analysis depend upon certain simplifying assumptions to obtain mathematical descriptions of practical use. Material-balance methods (Muskat2 or Tarner2) assume uniform fluid saturations in the entire reservoir, or in a few subdivisions of the reservoir. An unsteady-state flow calculation by West, er at considered pressure and saturation changes in flow to a well during solution gas drive, and neglected gravity effects. Results showed only a 4 per cent difference for ultimate oil recovery by the Muskat method, even though the case chosen for study was one in which unsteady-state effects should be high. The Buckley-Leverett5 method commonly assumes a one-dimensional flow system. It is applicable at high flow rates where viscous forces predominate over gravity forces. Simultaneous, parallel flow of the two fluids is assumed, and the concept of a fluid interface is not introduced. Permeabilities to each fluid for a given saturation must be known. The method is not applicable for a two-dimensional system where cross flow becomes possible. Less well known is the displacement equation derived by Dietz. This method is designed for two-dimensional flow systems and assumes a definable fluid interface within the porous medium. Dietz showed that, for a range of low flow rates, the interface would be stable. straight and at an angle of inclination which could be simply calculated. At a certain critical flow rate, the calculated interface tilt would equal the formation dip. For higher flow rates, a finger of displacing fluid would invade the displaced fluid. Dietz indicated that his method applied only to macroscopic reservoir behavior, while the Buckley-Leverett method applied to the small transition zone at the fluid interface. The examples worked out in this report are based on the fluid-displacement theory of Dietz. It is shown that the Dietz theory may be used to derive equations analogous to the Buckley-Leverett equations. In contrast to the Buckley-Leverett method, flow is considered in a plane rather than being limited to a line. Rather than a frontal advance, the movement of a fluid interface is followed. For flow rates substantially exceeding the critical rate and for high viscosity ratio, many fingers of invading fluid occur-—rather than the single finger assumed by Dietz. On the other hand, so long as some gravitational influence remains, the flow is not entirely parallel to the bedding planes as assumed by Buckley and Leverett; therefore, both methods fail to give an adequate descrip-

By W. T. Weller

In Part I, a study of pressure build-up curves calculated for conditions under which both oil and gas flow led to the conclusion that the presence of a dispersed free gas phase in an oil reservoir must be taken into consideration to estimate accurately average reservoir pressure and permeability from build-up curves. Familiar methods based on the assumption of no free gas can be extended to the two-phase case by using total compressibility and mobility in place of single-fluid compressibility and mobility. These methods give correct values for average pressure and permeability when gas saturation is small. Errors become larger as the gas saturation increases. However, for the use to which the results will be put, the methods are satisfactory for reservoir engineering purposes. An improved method of calculating the performance of depletion-type reservoirs is presented in Part 2. Because the mathematical relationships describing simultaneous flow of oil and gas are quite involved. simplifying assumptions are made to provide means of obtaining approximate solutions of reasonable accuracy. One such approximate method now in use is the constant-GOR solution. It involves the assumption that at any instant, the ratio of total gas flow rate (both free and disolved) to oil flow rate is the same at all points in the reservoir. The approach is not applicable unless the free gar saturation in the reservoir is everywhere greater than the critical gas saturation. This paper presents a modification which, by avoiding the constant-GOR assumption, makes the method applicable to all reservoir conditions, and so far appears to be more accurate than the constant-GOR solution and to he comparable in required compuctation time. PART I— BUILD-UP CURVE ANALYSIS INTRODUCTION Pressure build-up characteristics of shut-in wells have been used for many years by engineers to evaluate average reservoir pressure, effective permeability thickness of the pay section, effectiveness of well completion (skin effect) and reservoir size. A number of methods of analysis have appeared from time to time."" Without exception, these methods are based on the assumption that the reservoir contains but one fluid of constant small compressibility and constant mobility. It has been suggesteda" hat these single-fluid methods may be applied to data from reservoirs containing both oil and gas by substitution of some effective total properties of the multiphase system in place of the corresponding single-phase properties. The present investigation was undertaken primarily to evaluate this approach. METHOD A number of theoretical build-up curves were calculated for conditions of two-phase flow, under the assumption of certain reservoir and fluid properties, and were analyzed by single-fluid methods with appropriate total compressibility and total mobility values for the corresponding single-fluid properties. Results of the analyses were compared with the assumed conditions. The theoretical build-up curves were completed by procedures similar to those of West, Garvin and Sheldon." Since these calculations require a considerable amount of computer time, an attempt was made to derive an approximate calculation method. The attempt was unsuccessful for calculating build-up curves, but the effort did result in a new approximate method of calculating the performance of solution gas drive reservoirs, which appears to be an improvement over the constant-GOR method" used previously (see Part 2). The West, Garvin and Sheldon calculations involved the following assumptions: (1) the reservoir is circular and completely bounded, with a completely penetrating well at its center; (2) the porous medium is uniform and iso-tropic, with a constant water saturation at all points; (3) gravity effects can be neglected; (4) compressibility of rock and water can be neglected; (5) the composition and equilibrium are constant for oil and gas; (6) the same pressure exists in both the oil phase and the gas phase; and (7) no afterproduction occurs, i.e., the well is shut in at the sand face for build-up. These assumptions make it possible to describe two-phase flow of oil and gas by the partial differential equations:

Jan 1, 1967