Search Documents

By AIME AIME

LEROY SALSICH has had 37 consecutive years of operating and executive experience in the Lake Superior iron region during 35 of which he has been a member of the A.I.M.E. His recent election as an institute Director to represent the iron and copper country therefore brings to the Board a man long known throughout the area that he represents and well acquainted with the history of the Institute. Mr. Salsich is a native of the area in which his professional life has been spent, having been horn at Hartland. Wis., and graduating from the state university's college of engineering in 1901. A call had come to the college from the Lake Superior Consolidated Iron Mines, at Duluth.

Jan 1, 1938

The Goodman Mfg. Co., Chicago, builders of underground electric mining machinery, celebrated its 50th Anniversary on April 23rd. The company has a complete line of cutting machines, loaders, conveyors, locomotives, and shuttle cars for service in both coal and metal mines. The Joy Mfg. Co. has received, under the provisions of the Economic Cooperation Administration, an initial order in excess of $1,000,000 for equipment to be used in the mechanization of iron ore mines in France. While the equipment will be used in various privately owned mines, the order was placed through the French Society for the Development of Mechanical Mining. Included in the equipment are the company's recently developed hard rock loaders and shuttle cars. American Brake Shoe Co. has consolidated all operations of its Canadian subsidiaries into one corporation, the Dominion Brake Shoe Co. Ltd., Montreal, Canada. The products of Dominion Brake Shoe include brake shoes, track equipment, manganese steel castings, automotive brake lining, air compressors, and paint spray equipment. Exhibits of more than 2000 electrical products, processes, and techniques, ranging from precise aircraft instruments to complex working models of steel mill, textile and other industry equipment, will be displayed in the "More Power To America Special" when it makes its nationwide tour this spring. C. H. Lang, Vice-President in charge of sales for General Electric's apparatus department, said that the train will visit the country's key industrial centers for inspection by utility and industrial executives and municipal leaders. The train will be hauled by an Alco¬G-E two-unit, 4000-hp., Diesel-electric locomotive which in itself will be part of the unusual series of displays. Sizing of Excavators and Hauling Equipment. The Power Crane and Shovel Association has released a 24-page bulletin dealing with the proper sizing of excavators and hauling equipment, Technical Bulletin No. 3. Rubber Conveyor Belting. "Installation, Care and Maintenance of Rubber Conveyor Belting" is the title of a booklet just published by the Carlyle Rubber Co., New York. Power Transformers. The manufacturing procedure of Allis-Chalmers small power transformers is described in a new 28-page bulletin, 61B6094A, covering the core and coil unit, no-load tap changer, tank construction, cooling methods, oil preserving systems, bushings, terminal compartments, indicators and testing of transformers. Safety Equipment. General Scientific Equipment Co., Philadelphia, has released a 46-page, fully illustrated catalog on personal protective equipment and industrial safety devices. This new catalog covers respiratory devices, eye protection, hats, gloves, carboy pumps, drum pumps, and miscellaneous safety equipment for use in mines, industries, etc. Osmosalts. The Osmose Wood Preserving Co., Buffalo, N. Y., has issued a bulletin on Osmosalts, the wood preservative which, say the manufacturers, makes timber last three to five times longer, slashes maintenace costs, stops rot, and resists wood-destroying insects. Jigs. The Dorr Co. has acquired the Pan American jigs and they are now known as the Dorrco-Pan American jigs. Originally developed as a gold-saving device for dredges, the simplicity, ease of operation. efficiency, and negligible maintenance of these jigs have resulted in wide adoption on all types of placer operations, in the closed grinding circuits of gold mills, and on many applications where a coarse bed concentrate is separated from the ore gangue.

Jan 5, 1950

* The greatest and richest iron ore body in the world was discovered by U. S. Steel in Venezuela in April 1947, and is disclosed for the first time in this issue (p. 178), One solid mountain of ore, Cerro Bolivar, will furnish more tonnage than the famous Hull Rust pit at Superior has, or can produce. Total resources are on the order of 2 billion tons plus. Big Steel is now moving with great speed on construction to bring out this ore, and 10 million tons are scheduled for shipment into Baltimore and Birmingham by late 1952. This ore will arrive at, Pittsburgh at a price lower than present natural ores from Superior. The Venezuelan properties will be completely mechanized. •U. S. Steel and independent companies are embarking on a taconite beneficiation program of tremendous proportions, which must be speeded to completion in the 1950's (see p. 185). By 1960 over $l.2 billion dollars will be spent on Venezuela, taconite, and Labrador to solve the United States iron ore crisis. In addition, U. S. Steel will spend another $300 million plus for a new steel mill at Trenton, N. J., before 1955. •The Deister Concentrator Co. gave $500 to the 1950 Coal Division Scholarship Fund. •Howard N. Eavenson, in analyzing the bituminous coal situation (see p. 193), suggests that anti-trust laws be extended to labor unions, disinterested trustees to administer pension funds, begin pension funds now and stop the collection of all "check-offs" for union dues or funds. •Minerals and metals worth 13.9 million dollars were produced in the United States in 1949, Secretary of the Interior Oscar L. Chapman announced. Although this value was 11 pct less than in 1948, it was the second greatest in history. Nonmetallics was the only major group that in 1949 equaled the 1948 production high. Mineral fuels decreased 12 pct and metals 15 pct. • Prospects for making gas from coal are seen to be unattractive by the Pittsburgh Consolidated Coal Co. because the success of operation depends on price and supply of coal which presently are not attractive. The company has shut down its gasification plant at Library, Pa. * Economic prospects for the immediate future in the United States are good and business probably will continue at its present high levels throughout at least the early part of 1950, Secretary of Commerce Charles Sawyer said in his year-end report to the White House based on his personal survey of business conditions. •A 467-ft well 34 miles north of Rock Springs, Southwestern Wyoming, is said to be flowing a 5 pct solution of nearly pure trona (sodium carbonate) at the rate of 10,000 barrels a day. Trona, natural soda ash, is mined for the chemical trade at Searles Lake, Calif., and from about 1500 ft underground near Green River, Wyo., and has been in short supply. •The AEC is "very much interested" in a discovery of radioactive material that has been made in Baraga County bordering Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, reported F. G. Pardee, Michigan State mining engineer. The material has been identified as uranium oxide in the form of pitchblende or uraninite. The discovery, made by a geologist of the Jones & Laughlin Ore Co., is the only instance in which the commission has certified samples of Michigan rock.

Jan 2, 1950

By R. Adair, W. R. Hudspeth, W. T. McDaniel

ANEW method for concentrating the flake mica either from present washing plant tailings or from new feed has been developed. In this paper, flake mica refers to that which occurs in weathered granites, alaskites, pegmatites, and schists in a form too fine to be considered sheet mica. It ranges in size from 1 in. or more down to 200-mesh or finer and occurs with kaolin, quartz, and partially kaolinized feldspar. Scrap mica, a term often used indiscriminately to describe everything other than sheet mica, will be used to denote the waste product from sheet mica mines and fabricating plants. Both flake and scrap mica are used in the mica grinding plants to produce wet-ground or dry-ground mica, although some flake mica recovered from clay mining operations is fine enough to be marketed without grinding. Until 1930, ground mica was made almost entirely from scrap. From 1930 until 1935 a gradually increasing amount of flake mica was mined, and most of this was sold without grinding. A large percentage of this mica was recovered from clay washing plants. In this type of operation the recovery of any sheet mica was .of secondary importance and was considered a byproduct. North Carolina produces more flake mica than any other state, accounting for 73 pct of the total domestic production.' In the following review of current practice in jig plants, there is no intention to disparage these operations. Within the limitations under which they were built, they are examples of mechanical ingenuity. The term jig plant is a carryover from early practice since there are no jigs in operation at the present time. Current practice, as shown in Fig. 1, is based on successive stages of differential crushing with rolls followed by trommel screens to remove the more easily crushed gangue minerals. The oversize mica product then is usually dried, and passed through another set of dry rolls and a final screen to remove the remainder of the grit. This process is effective in recovering up to 50 pct of the mica in the original ore, the balance being lost in the screen undersize, usually —% in. Jigs and tables were at one time used to treat this screen undersize and were capable of recovering a part of the mica larger than about 60-mesh.V ine mica lost in these plants is normally washed away in streams and can be considered irrecoverable. There are ten or more washing plants in the North Carolina area that are losing approximately 50 pct of the mica in the feed. Since the three cooperating agencies, the Asheville Minerals Research Laboratory of North Carolina State College, the North Carolina Dept. of Conservation and Development, and the Tennessee Valley Authority, are concerned with conservation of minerals, they have investigated means for improving the efficiency of these mica plants. The mica industry has been cooperating fully with the laboratory to establish a more efficient method of recovery for flake mica. Choice of Methods The initial investigation was concentrated on finding a means of reducing the losses from plants now using the conventional flowsheet shown in Fig. 1. To accomplish this it would be necessary to collect the screen undersize products through the plant and remove from them the mica from Vs in. down to

Jan 1, 1952

By S. Feuerstein

THE influence of environment on the mechanical properties of metals has been extensively studied and documented.' Most investigations have dealt with an interaction between a particular environment and a specific metal surface and the concomitant change in bulk mechanical behavior. Typical contributing media are oxide and metal film:;, electrolytes, and other surface-active agents. In the last category fall controlled gaseous environs (i.e., pressure or vacuum). Most vacuum exposure experiments prior to 1963 were conducted at pressures s>10-6 torr and elevated temperatures, or in such a manner as to prolong the exposure (e.g., by stress-rupture, creep, and fatigue). Little attention has been given to vacuum environment effects on the mechanical behavior of metals subjected to simple uniaxial deformation at room temperature. Test times and temperatures were assumed too ineffective as far as bulk changes were concerned. Further, the contribution of surface effects to the bulk mechanical behavior of metals was considered minimal. Under vacuums of the order of 1.0- 8torr and higher, molecular densities and, consequently, the rate of monolayer formation are such that exposures from seconds to days would be required for complete gas coverage. Thus, atomically clean surfaces created under ultra-high vacuum could conceivably maintain their cleanliness for time intervals orders of magnitude greater than at higher pressures. The influence of this unusual type of environmental surface phenomenon on the short-term bulk mechanical behavior of aluminum was first observed by Krame and Podlaseck in 1963.' kin equivalent effect was reported for magnesium by Williams and Nelson.3 It was concluded from these studies2,3 that vacuum and, consequently, the monolayer formation rate of the oxide, were responsible for the described changes in flow behavior. The presence of an oxide layer impedes dis- I) EXPERIMENTAL DATA: MOLYBDENUM The tensile behavior of molybdenum was investigated by the author4-6 at ambient temperature over a range of pressures from 760 to 10-10 torr. These studies revealed that the flow behavior of the bulk specimens (0.200 in. diam by 2 in. gage length) was independent of pressure on sintered (0.062 mm grain size) and arc-cast polycrystals (0.012 to 0.149 mm grain sizes) and single crystals. Since the specimens were relatively large in size, it was assumed that any flow behavior effect would be surface-limited because of the short-term deformation procedure. Strain-rate-change experiments performed to determine the activation volumes for individual specimens at 760 to 10- 10 torr further indicated that the surface flow contribution was either minimal or zero, contrary to the findings of Shen el a1.7 on aluminum. Although the flow behaviors did not change, specimen ductility did change. For the sintered material at a strain rate of 4.2 x 10-4, specimen ductility was -9 pct higher at l0- 10 torr than at atmospheric pressure (dry nitrogen). A more comprehensive investigations on this same material revealed a distinct pressure dependence, Fig. 1. Intermediate and atmospheric pressure tests were obtained by backfilling the system from l0- 10 torr with extra dry, prepurified nitrogen. Other environments (air and purified argon) were also utilized for the 760 torr experiments; the results were essentially the same as those for dry nitrogen atmospheres. Departure from the fracture strain values obtained at 760 torr takes place in the vicinity of l0-6 torr, as indicated by the scatter band; a noticeable ductility increase is apparent at l0-8 and 10-10 torr.

Jan 1, 1970

By Guy Borden, Michael J. Rzasa

Laboratory data on bubble point pressures and reservoir volume factors have been correlated as functions of solution gas-oil ratio, calculated gas gravity of the pentanes-and-lighter fraction of the entire fluid, differential residual oil gravity, and reservoir temperatures. INTRODUCTION Several correlations of crude oil properties have appeared in the literature. D. L. Katz4 in 1942 presented five methods of predicting oil shrinkage. these being of decreasing accuracy for decreasing amounts of information available. M. B. Standing- in 1947 published three correlations of laboratory flash vaporization data of California crudes. From values of GOR (gas-oil ratio), gas gravity, liquid gravity, and temperature, his correlations will predict bubble point pressure, formation volumes of bubble point liquids, and two-phase formation volumes. Curtis and Brinkley2 in 1949 presented several correlations. From the gas-oil ratio, an approximation of reservoir volume factor and barrels of condensate recoverable per barrel of reservoir space may be obtained; along with liquid gravity and reservoir temperature, the GOR will allow prediction of bubble point pressure. These last cor- relations seem to be more qualitative than quantitative. Generally, laboratory bottom hole sample tests furnish information on solution gas-oil ratios, residual oil gravities. bubble point pressures, viscosities of oils, liquid shrinkages, and occasionally gas gravities. Each of these data has its own applications and use in reservoir engineering calculations. The particular uses of correlated bottom hole sample data are found in (1 Providing a basis for obtaining estimates of formation crude properties in fields where bottom hole sampling is impractical or impossible. (2) Greatly reducing the time in obtaining the desired information. (3) Determining the applicability of the results from various bottom hole samples to particular field problems. (4) Avoiding, in many cases, the uncertainties of sampling by replacing it with an element over which greater control can be exercised. (5) Permitting use of preliminary field data in application of production procedures before a bottom hole sample can be obtained and analyzed in the laboratory. (6) Serving as a check on data which may appear out of line. (7) Estimating for a particular type crude the appropriate equilibrium constants by working backward from the bubble point pressure. (8) Estimating original or other past history properties of reservoirs that were not sampled in the past. PROCEDURE Application of the published correlations4,6 to Stanolind laboratory data indicated that the general scheme presented by Standing" could give dedrable results if changes were made in parameter positions and scales. The correlation curves were drawn with all the variables having consistent gradations except the temperature increments which were drawn in to best fit the data. The variables from available Stanolind laboratory data are defined below: (1) Gas-oil Ratio: Gas is liberated at reservoir temperature by differential vaporization (or rather by a series of flashes, approaching differential vaporization) and measured at atmospheric pressure and temperature, at which the compressibility factor is assumed to be unity. The oil is the residual liquid remaining after the pressure has been reduced to atmospheric. For the gas-oil ratio both volumes are corrected to standard conditions of 14.7 psia and 60°F. (2) Gas Gravity: It was decided to arbitrarily divide the hydrocarbons of the entire bottom hole sample into pentanes-and-lighter and hex-anes-and-heavier, and use a calculated gas gravity of the pentanes-and-lighter for a correlating variable. (Sample calculation is shown in Table 111.) (3) Liquid Gravity: This is the API gravity of the residual liquid from the differential vaporization. The gravity is measured at room temperature and corrected to 60°F.

Jan 1, 1950

By C. S. Barrett

The torsional after-effect in polycrystalline cadmium is interrupted by an abnormal twisting when the film is removed by etching. This is accounted for by the pile-up of dislocations beneath anodic or other oxide films during the original twisting, and the relief of the residual stresses from these by elastic and plastic processes during etching. WHEN an iron or zinc wire coated with oxide is plastically twisted and then released, it untwists according to a law of equal increments in equal intervals of log time, but if the oxide is suddenly removed by etching this normal after-effect is interrupted by a transient, and thereafter the untwisting is slower.' Etching may even reverse the strain temporarily. Related effects caused by hydrated oxide films on cadmium in creep tests have been observed by Phillips and Thompson:' definite transient strains caused by the removal of the film from single crystals of cadmium were observed; however, negligible effects were obtained with polycrystalline wires. Pronounced effects of both transient and steady nature were observed by Phillips and Thompson when anodic films 10-4 cm thick were etched off, and weak effects, transient only, occurred with hydrated oxide films 3x10 cm thick such as were formed by standing in water for 10 min. It was estimated that 10.' cm films, formed in water in 1 or 2 min, could be detected in the apparatus of Phillips and Thompson. Since abnormal after-effects were observed by the torsion method equally well with polycrystalline and monocrystalline iron and zinc wires,' it was anticipated that the torsion method would also disclose them in polycrystalline cadmium, in spite of the fact that analogous effects had not been observed in tensile creep tests on polycrystalline zinc by Pickus and Parker3 r on polycrystalline cadmium in tensile studies by Andrade and Randall." Because of its high sensitivity, particularly its sensitivity to surface conditions, the torsion method was thought to merit further study as a method of investigating thin films of various types and the action of various reagents on these films. Materials and Methods Cadmium wires were cold-drawn to a diameter of 0.039 in. from a stock that was determined spectro-scopically to contain 0.05 pct Bi, 0.005 pct Cu, 0.008 pct Pb, and 0.007 pct Si. The wires were cut to about 17/8 in. lengths and were annealed 1 hr in air at 290°C, after which the grain size was such that there were 5 to 7 grains across a diameter. The wires were then mounted as indicated in the insert in Fig. 1, one end being fastened with laboratory wax into a small diameter brass tube and the other end being waxed to a thin glass fiber which supported, on its upper end, a small galvanometer mirror. The wires were waxed with care to avoid straining or annealing, for it was found that the after-effect rate was sensitive to prior cold work in a wire. The assembly was then clamped above a beaker into which the reagent could be poured. The lower end of the wire was held in the hand while the wire was twisted 180"; it was then released immediately. Since precision timing of these manipulations was not attempted, the different wires cannot be compared as to exact rates of untwisting. The length subjected to plastic strain was 15/8 in. The surface coatings studied were those produced by the annealing in air, by anodic treatment of

Jan 1, 1954

By Ihor A. Kunasz

Introduction Lithium minerals occur predominantly in pegmatites which contain mineral assemblages derived from the crystallization of postmagmatic fluids or from the metasomatic action by residual pegmatitic fluids. They have been the traditional sources of raw materials for ceramic and chemical industries. With the discovery of Searles Lake, brines became new sources of lithium. Indeed, the 1960s may well be referred to as the "brine decade" because several brine bodies of significant economic importance were discovered. In the United States, the brines of Clayton Valley, Nevada, are presently exploited by Foote Mineral Co. The brines of the Great Salt Lake of Utah, the Smackover formation, and the Imperial Valley geothermal field, have been defined as important resources of lithium. In South America, new occurrences have been identified in Bolivia and Argentina. At the Salar de Atacama, Chile, new production capacity is scheduled for 1984. Following the termination of the AEC purchase program in 1959, several companies such as Maywood Chemical Co., American Lithium Chemicals, and Quebec Lithium Corp. were forced to close their operations. Nevertheless, with the development of new applications in glass ceramics, air conditioning systems, synthetic rubber, and metallurgy (aluminum potlines), the lithium industry grew steadily, and with the potential application of lithium metal in batteries and nuclear reactors, a healthy growth can be foreseen. New products and new applications are likely to stimulate exploration for expanded, reserves as well as the search for new sources from which lithium could be extracted economically. Geochemistry of Lithium Lithium is the third element in the periodic table. It is the lightest of all the metals, having an atomic weight of 6.938, an ionic radius of 0.68Å and a charge of +1. The geochemistry of lithium has been extensively studied and has been summarized by Rankama and Sahama (1950), Goldschmidt (1937), and Hortsman (1957). The distribution of lithium in igneous rocks is controlled by its size and its charge, and by the (MgO+FeO) / Li2O ratio. In the early stages of crystallization of a magma, that ratio is very large. Consequently, both magnesium and iron are removed by ferromagnesian minerals in preference to lithium which is then concentrated in the residual magma. This results in an enrichment of lithium in silicic rocks and pegmatites (Strock, 1936). Pegmatites are coarse-grained igneous rocks formed by the crystallization of postmagmatic fluids. Minerals within pegmatites may also form by metasomatism (Jahns, 1955). Genetically, the pegmatites are associated with neighboring intrusives. Mineralogically, granitic pegmatites contain feldspar, quartz, and mica as the main constituents and a variety of exotic elements such as lithium, beryllium, tantalum, tin, and cesium, which may or may not occur in economically significant concentrations. Detailed studies by numerous investigators (Cameron et al., 1949, 1954; Hanley et al., 1950; Jahns, 1953, 1955; Page et al., 1953) indicate that pegmatites often exhibit an internal zonal arrangement, with each zone containing a specific suite of minerals. The lithium minerals are usually found in the intermediate zones, and although as many as 13 zones have been recognized by Cameron, et al. (1949), a complete zonal arrangement is rarely found. Zoning of pegmatite bodies has also been observed on a regional basis. The regionally zoned pegmatite sequences exhibit mineral assemblages and complexity according to their re-

Jan 1, 1983

By R. L. Perrine

This paper presents results obtained by consider ation of unstable miscible displacement within a porous medium as a quasi-turbulent displacement process, that is, a process characterized by fluctuations around a simpler, mean flow behavior. The instability usually results from the miscible displacing fluid having a viscosity lower than that of the displaced fluid. Such instability is evidenced in suitable experiments by the presence of viscous fingering. A unified theoretical relationship applicable to both stable and unstable displacement is derived. Parameters in the theory are obtained by empirical means. Although the theory describes an idealized conceptual model, agreement with experiment is quite reasonable up to moderately adverse viscosity ratios, such as 17:1. INTRODUCTION Many experimental studies of miscible displacement in porous media have been conducted with prediction of reservoir displacement efficiency as the ultimate objective. Most such studies have utilized lower displacing than displaced fluid viscosity, scaled to potential reservoir fluid pairs. Theoretical approaches have been largely limited to unit viscosity ratios, however, in spite of the necessity for an understanding of the mechanism of the unstable, adverse viscosity ratio displacement process. An obvious reason is the difficulty of describing in mathematical form the viscous fingering characteristic of these conditions. Observation of experiments conducted with dyed fluids in transparent systems suggests an analogy between unstable miscible displacement and turbulent flow in a pipe. In both cases there are fluctuations around a simpler, mean flow behavior. An important difference is that flow behavior of interest in the porous medium is entirely transient, contained within a transition zone between displacing and displaced fluids. Transient behavior complicates description in that coefficients in the equations become variables rather than constants. In the study reported here, the analogy with turbulent flow has been used in treating unstable miscible displacement as a quasi-turbulent displacement process. The purpose has been to derive, even if restricted to an idealized conceptual model, a unified theoretical relationship applicable to both stable and unstable displacement. A relationship meeting these specifications up to moderately adverse viscosity ratios, such as 17:1, is presented. One fluctuation parameter in the theory and dispersion coefficients are obtained by empirical means. The idealized theory is compared with experimental results. UNSTABLE MISCIBLE DISPLACEMENT AS QUASI-TURBULENT DARCY FLOW The miscible displacement of one fluid by another within a porous medium is considered in this study. Flow conditions are such that Darcy's law is applicable. It is further assumed that, by the stability criterion proposed by perrine,1 initial flow conditions lie well within the regime of instability. Thus substantial viscous fingering is assured. We wish to show how this flow regime can be represented as quasi-turbulent. That is, the Reynolds number for the established flow conditions is below that for inertial or turbulent flow within a porous medium, and lies within the regime for which Darcy's law is valid. Yet flow behavior can be described as the combination of some relatively simple average result, and characteristic fluctuations that are superimposed on the simpler behavior. Stated another way, flow behavior includes the movement of layers of fluids with different velocities past or over one another. Such descriptions are characteristic of turbulent pipe flow. The fluctuations in the present case are a direct consequence of the local viscous fingering which accompanies the unstable displacement process. Should displacement become stable, fluctuations would die out. It is of particular importance to note that fluctuations such as these can interact in a way that contributes to material transport by the basic flow. The basic transport equations required for engineering calculations must be modified to reflect this fact.

By Frank M. Brooks

Endeavoring to meet the requirements of more oil created by the war effort, the oil industry of Kansas in 1944 maintained a level of exploratory and development work well above the average of previous years. During the year, 1866 test wells were drilled, of which 838 were completed as new oil wells, 89 as new gas wells and 939 as dry holes. These figures compare with 895 new oil wells, 32 new gas wells and 834 dry holes for a total of 1761 tests in 1943. Thus, there was a marked decrease in the number of new oil wells, and an increase in the new gas wells and dry holes. The total daily initial potential of production discovered by the successful wells amounted to 494,689 bbl. of oil as compared with 736,297 bbl. in 1943. The increase in unsuccessful tests and decrease in the daily initial potential of production has caused considerable comment and speculation among the oil operators of the state. This tends to confirm the fact that each year it is becoming harder to find the remaining oil fields. The total number of wildcats drilled in Kansas was 651 in 1944, including the so-called "extension wildcats" (more than 1/2 to I mile from known production). Of this number, 410 are classified as "rank wildcats," being more than one mile from production. The total of 651 compares with the total of 577 for 1943, showing an increase in wildcat drilling of 74 test wells: Of these tests, 81 were successful in finding new oil fields or substafitially extending known areas of production, and 20 either found new gas pools or extended old ones. The ratio of dry holes to producing wells among the "rank" wildcats was approximately 10 to I (372 dry and 38 successful). This compares with a ratio of 10 to I in 1943, 11 to I in 1942, and 6 to I in 1941. A compilation of the results obtained by 34 active companies, including all of the major companies, reveals that their efforts accounted for 286 rank wildcat wells, of which-37 found oil or gas, making a dry-hole percentage of 87. Approximately 55 per cent of all, tests (pool and wildcat) were failures. Thc Kansas Nomenclature Committee of the Kansas Geological Society named and classified 43 new oil fields and 8 new gas fields during the year. The discovery wells of the new oil fields had a total initial potential of 18,358 bbl. for a per well average or' 427 bbl. The average initial potential per well in 1942 and 1943 was 894 and 419 bbl., respectively. With nearly all wells producing at their economic capacity, the total production for Kansas during 1944 totaled 101,896,704 bbl., which compares with total runs of 107,709,679 bbl. in 1943. Production of natural gas during 1944 reached a new high record of 135 billion cubic feet. This compares with 122 billion cubic feet for 1943, and 98 1/2 billion cubic feet for 1942. The large Hugoton field of Southwestern Kansas accounted for about half of the total gas produced. Highlights OF the Year Although 51 new fields were found in the state during 1944, it is apparent that the

Jan 1, 1945

By R. F. Domagala, M. Hansen, D. J. McPherson

On the basis of metallographic analysis, incipient melting data, thermal analysis work, and X-ray diffraction, phase relationships in the 0 to 50 atomic pct Cr region were carefully resolved. Phase relationships in the 50 to 100 atomic pct region were outlined. A single intermediate phase, ZrCr,, was established in the system. A eutectic and a eutectoid were found in the zirconium-rich region of the system, while a eutectic was located in the chromium-rich region. Limited solubility of chromium in both a and a zirconium was observed. THIS is another in a series of papers on zirconium-base binary phase diagrams based on a program sponsored by the Atomic Energy Commission. The Zr-Sn,' Zr-Si,' and Zr-Mo and Zr-W" systems have already been published. Previous work on the Zr-Cr system includes a partial diagram by Hayes, Roberson, and Davies' and a complete diagram by McQuillan." The phase relationships reported by these authors were determined with magnesium-reduced zirconium, whereas those reported herein are based on iodide metal. Some X-ray work on the intermediate phase in this system was also reported by Hayes et al., as well as by Wallbaum.' Comparisons with these data are made in the appropriate sections. Thermal analysis, metallographic and incipient melting techniques were employed to accurately resolve phase relationships in the 0 to 50 atomic pct Cr region, while the remainder of the diagram is outlined on a basis of cast structures and thermal analysis. A description and analyses of the metals used in the preparation of alloys for this study are included in Table I. A "low-hafnium" zirconium crystal bar (Westinghouse "Grade 3") was used. This material was produced by the decomposition of a volatile iodide onto a hot zirconium filament. The as-received crystal bar was coated with corrosion product from a standard autoclave test by which its grade designation is determined. A sand-blasting and subsequent HF-HNO, pickling treatment was employed to remove this contamination. The bars were cold-rolled to approximately 1/32-in. sheet, pickled again, sheared to 1/4-in. squares, washed with acetone, and stored for use. Ingot chromium metal from National Research Corp. and electrolytic chromium flakes from Johnson, Matthey and Co., Ltd., were available as alloy additions. The ingot chromium was received in granular form. The large granules were sized by crushing, treated for iron removal, rinsed with acetone, and stored. The flakes were broken to approximately 1/8 in. with mortar and pestle, cleaned with acetone, and stored for charging. Experimental Procedure A nonconsumable electrode arc furnace identical to that described by Hansen, Kessler, and McPher-son,' was used in this work. A 400 amp dc welding generator was the source of power. To insure homogeneity, ingots were melted in a water-cooled spun copper crucible, a total of four times without opening the furnace. No difficulties were encountered in the preparation of these binary alloys. Analyzed chromium contents were found to agree very well with the intended content. Melts of pure zirconium were interspersed in the course of preparing the alloys and their hardness was measured to keep a constant check on the melting technique. Vycor and quartz bulbs were used to contain the samples for isothermal annealing treatments. Vycor bulbs were employed for temperatures up to 110O°C, while quartz was used above this temperature. For treatments up to 950°C the bulbs were evacuated before sealing, but for higher temperatures a partial pressure of argon was admitted to the

Jan 1, 1954

By K. T. Aust

The occurrence of annealing twins in high-purity aluminum resulted in the formation of grain boundaries having orientation relationships which correspond to a high density of coincidence sites. The results provide support for the coincidence site model and indicate that large-angle coincidence boundaries have lower free energies than large-angle noncoincidence boundaries. Observations are presented concerning the coherent structure of twin interfaces in aluminum and the importance of inter-facial energy in preferred orientation. RECENT experiments1 have shown that when an annealing twin is formed during grain boundary migration in zone-refined lead, a large-angle random boundary is replaced at the growth front by a large-angle coincidence site boundary. The coincidence site orientation relationships obtained by twinning were of the type considered by Kronberg and Wilson,2 Frank,3 and Dunn.4 On the basis of the theory of annealing twins advanced by Fullman and Fisher,5 these observations indicate that the energy of a coincidence site boundary is less than the energy of a random boundary by an amount which exceeds the energy of the coherent twin boundary. This energy difference between the coincidence and random boundaries must be at least about 5 pct since the ratio of twin boundary energy to grain boundary energy in zone-refined lead is 0.05 * .014.6 Fullman7 has found that the twin boundary energy in aluminum is about 21 i 5 pct that of a large-angle grain boundary. A twin boundary energy as large as this would be expected to exclude the formation of many coincidence site grain boundaries, especially those which have a relatively low density of coin- cidence sites. Therefore, if the coincidence site model is a useful interpretation of certain large-angle boundaries, then it would be predicted that only coincidence boundaries which separate adjacent crystals with a relatively high density of coincidence sites may be obtained as a result of twinning in aluminum. The present experiments provided a means of testing this prediction since annealing twins occurred during the growth of recrystallized grains into striated, melt-grown single crystals of zone-refined aluminum. EXPERJMENTAL PROCEDURE A striated single crystal of zone-refined aluminum, about 1 cm sq and 37 cm in length, was obtained during zone melting of aluminum of 99.996 wt pct starting purity in a graphite boat under helium atmosphere.8 A molten zone of 2 to 3 cm in length, which was maintained by induction heating. was passed along the length of the bar for eleven passes at a rate of 0.9 mm per min. An additional final pass was given at a rate of 0.2 mm per min. The center portion of the zone-melted bar was characterized by an electrical resistivity ratio between room temperature and 4.2° K of 8000 to 9000. Single crystals of 1 to 2 cm in length were removed from the center section of the zone-refined bar and electrolytic ally polished in a 2:l solution of methyl alcohol and concentrated nitric acid. The specimens were then chemically polished in Alcoa R-5 solution. X-ray analysis of the single crystals indicated the presence of striations or lineage substructure having misorientations as high as 2 deg. New, recrystallized grains were introduced into each striated crystal by the technique of artificial nucleation and growth, previously described.9 During the growth of the recrystallized grains at 300' to 600°C in argon, it was sometimes found that a

Jan 1, 1962

By W. D. Robertson, R. E. Reed-Hill

DEFORMATION of magnesium crystals in a direction parallel to the basal plane has a special significance as a result of the preferred orientation characteristic of cold worked and recrystallized polycrystalline magnesium sheet and extruded rod in which the basal plane tends to lie in or near the plane of the sheet or the axis of a rod. The principal objective of the present study is a determination of the modes of plastic deformation in magnesium single crystals in this orientation. Evidence for nonbasal slip in magnesium has been presented by a number of authors. Schmid and Was-serman&apos; indicated that pyramidal slip on {1011} < 1120> or {1012} <1120> could occur above 225°C. Bakarian and Mathewson2 stablished that the slip system {1011} <1120> operates at high temperatures and that 225°C was a lower limit for pyramidal slip. The latter authors also showed that the critical resolved shear stress for {1011} slip was 400 g per sq mm at 330°C, while that for basal slip was 66 g per sq mm at the same temperature. Thus, at 330°C basal slip should be expected for all orientations except those in which the stress axis lies almost in the basal plane. More recently Burke and Hibbard3 oserved pyramidal slip at 25°C, when the stress axis was 6" to the basal plane and 14" to a <1120> slip direction. The critical resolved shear stress for pyramidal slip was 52 g per sq mm, which is only slightly greater than their value for basal slip (46 g per sq mm). Chadhuri, Chang, and Grant4 have observed non-basal slip in creep tests with polycrystalline specimens in the temperature range 250" to 350°C. The observed slip bands, which were extremely irregular in appearance, can be explained in terms of cooperative slip on {1011} and (1010) planes which have a common slip direction. Prismatic (1070) slip in polycrystalline magnesium was observed by Hauser, Landon, and Dorn.5 It was found to occur at low temperatures (78" and 195°K) and it was accompanied by cross slip in which the cooperating plane was the basal plane. Since prismatic slip occurred only at regions of high stress concentrations, the critical resolved shear stress could not be determined. Experimental Procedure The present work was performed on crystal specimens which were all cut from the same large single crystal. The original cylindrical crystal, 0.5 x 7 in., was grown in a Bridgman type furnace in which the temperature gradient was moved past the stationary crystal in the manner described by Jillson6 and Burke.&apos; High purity magnesium was furnished by the Dow Chemical Co. with the following spectro-graphic analysis in weight percent: 0.003 pct Al, <0.01 pct Ca, 0,002 pct Cu, <0.001 pct Fe, 0.008 pct Mn, <0.001 pct Ni, <0.002 pct Pb, <0.01 pct Si, <0.001 pct Sn, and <0.01 pct Zn. The large crystal was cut into four cylindrical pieces about 1.5 in. long. A flat surface parallel to the basal plane was made by hand grinding with lubricated metallographic paper on one side of each cylinder. In order to prevent bending in subsequent cutting operations, the crystals were supported by

Jan 1, 1958

By Vasily P. Muravjev, Gennady I. Razgildeev

The theory of reliability is a powerful mathematical tool for determining optimum selection of components and application of electrical power to coal mines. In order to make this tool useful, statistical material on equipment life must be gathered and all failures carefully recorded. Statistical data can be applied to new apparatus design and can be used to determine optimum configuration of network and maintenance to reduce costs. Reference is made to underground power systems in the USSR. Technical progress in the last few years has occurred in the design and application of highly productive coal mining and transporting machinery. One of the most important problems facing mining engineers is to increase the availability of the machine to obtain higher productivity. However, machine failures and breakdowns of electrical power supply components cause serious delays in the coal-winning processes. In spite of the fact that electrical equipment and the power supply contribute only a small percentage of direct mine costs, electrical failures as well as power supply delays can result in severe indirect losses. It is necessary, therefore, to consider reliability and safety in the application of electrical equipment underground. To obtain the best results, it is necessary to investigate and evaluate the reliability of the electrical mining components (starters, breakers, motors, cables, etc.) and optimal methods for minimizing maintenance, the desired result being equipment which is efficient and safe. Electrical equipment reliability directly influences economics: the lower the reliability the more frequently failures occur, causing serious working delays and possibly huge economic losses. By the same token, while increasing the number of preventive maintenance calls per unit time might result in fewer failures, thus reducing delays, the cost of making more frequent maintenance inspections will increase; this is one aspect to be discussed in detail. Obviously, failures of identical types of electrical equipment (starters with the same current and voltage, etc.) are influenced variably by different working conditions, environments, quality of the apparatus, maintenance procedures (personnel, frequency, quality), load, and other factors. Hence, the lifetime of identical types of equipment will vary depending upon usage in terms of the foregoing factors. Thus for a given type of electrical component, these factors must be considered quantitatively; the interaction of all these factors are evaluated quantitatively by a statistical method using probability theory. Equipment reliability must be quantitatively determined from a study of equipment life, since no one laboratory test can reproduce all working conditions and environmental effects. Nevertheless, reliability theory applied to electrical mining equipment is a very powerful mathematical tool for selecting as well as evaluating certain parameters. It is necessary to select several reliability parameters so that one can obtain an expression for the total overall economic situation in terms of cost, taking into consideration damage caused by electrical equipment failure and cost of maintenance. To accomplish this result, such characteristics as apparatus lifetime, breakdown idle time, and losses (damages) can be determined quantitatively on a statistical basis. For identical electrical equipment working under similar conditions, the previously mentioned reliability factors are random variables and therefore can be characterized readily by a probability density function. Investigations carried out by the authors in the Kuznetsk Basin (Kuzbas) in West Siberia, USSR, show that the reliability factors of electrical mining equipment are well described by the exponential, normal, or Erlang&apos;s distribution in most cases. Mining electrical equipment life is well-described by the exponential law. The distribution of lifetime density is

Jan 1, 1971

By J. C. Scully, G. Sanderson

The electrolytic formation of y hydride in thin foils of Ti-5Al-Z.5Sn alloy and four Ti-A1 binary alloys has been studied by electron microscopy and electron diffraction. Two orientation relationships have been found: THE adsorption of hydrogen by titanium alloys from aqueous solutions has been widely reported. This can occur, for example, in both alkaline&apos; and acidic2 pickling baths, in chemical polishing374 and electro-polishing Solutions,3,4 during cathodic polarization5" and under certain corrosion conditions,7,8 Etching reagents may also produce visible precipitates, sometimes after an aging period.9 During an investigation into the stress corrosion susceptibility of a titanium alloys by thin foil electron microscopy many observations have been made of hydride precipitation which has been deliberately promoted by techniques that are described below. The characteristics of hydride precipitation are reported and the observed crystallographic orientation relationships are discussed with reference to distortion in the titanium lattice created by the presence of the hydride. EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUE One grade of commercial titanium and five alloys were examined. Their composition and hardness values are shown in Table I. All the materials were in the form of thin sheet, 0.05 to 0.065 cm thick, which had been annealed after cold rolling. Foils suitable for transmission electron microscopy were made in two ways: a) by chemical polishing; and b) by elec-tropolishing. The solution used for chemical polishing was a mixture of 44 pct HF and 73 pct HNO3 in the volumetric ratio 2:3. During this polishing specimens were manually moved up and down in the solution. The reaction was veFy rapid, specimens thinning to foil thickness (2000A) in 5 min. Since chemical polishing solutions tend not to cause hydride contamination if they are kept cool3 no attempt was made to prevent the solution from becoming hot during the thinning operation. Electropolishing was performed at -30° C with a mixture3 composed of 295 cu cm methyl alcohol, 175 cu cm n-butyl alcohol, and 30 cu cm perchloric acid with an applied voltage of 40 v after chemically thinning specimens to approximately 0.017 cm thickness in a cool solution of 44 pct HF, 40 vol H2O2, and water in the volumetric ratio 1:6:3. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS 1) Ti-5A1-2.5Sn Alloy. The Ti-5A1-2.5Sn alloy was severely contaminated by hydrogen during the chemical polishing. Foils obtained in this way contained large amounts of the y hydride phase. A typical micrograph is shown in Fig. l. The laths were identified as the hydride phase by selected-area diffraction of a large number of foils examined in a tilting stage that could be turned through 40 deg. Using the lattice spac-ings of the alloy obtained by X-ray diffraction as a standard the a value of the hydride was determined fromo the electron diffraction patterns to be 4.38 to 4.40A. The accuracy of this figure is only about ±2 pct. Further evidence of the identification was obtained by vacuum annealing chemically polished foils of the alloy at 500°C. This resulted in the dissociation of the hydride with the production of dislocations and possibly vacancy loops as shown in Fig. 2. The hydride

Jan 1, 1968

By J. B. Newkirk

IN 1939 Bitter and Kaufmann1 suggested that iron, precipitating from a copper-rich, Cu-Fe solid solution, appears initially as coherent particles of r-Fe which transform to the body-centered-cubic form of iron when the alloy is cold worked. Since then there has been considerable discussion, supported only by indirect evidence, regarding the validity of the concept. For example, Reekie, Hutchison, and Hether-ington2 interpreted the changes in electrical resistance accompanying the aging of Cu-Fe specimens in terms of a coherent 7-Fe precipitate which transformed to the incoherent a-phase during long aging or cold working. Greninger- ound that Cu-Fe alloys which had been water quenched from 1050" and then held at 650°C for 3 hr changed from weakly to strongly ferromagnetic as the aged wire was subsequently cold worked. He also found diffraction lines corresponding to body-centered-cubic iron in Debye-Scherrer patterns given by aged and worked specimens but lines corresponding to only one face-centered-cubic phase in specimens which had been aged but not worked. Knoppwost,&apos; and later Cech and Turnbull,5 found that aged Cu-Fe specimens showed a slight increase in ferromagnet-ism after they had be? cooled in liquid nitrogen. Very recently Denney6 followed the kinetics of the precipitation reaction as indicated by the saturation magnetization, hardness, and diffuse X-ray effects. The experimental results reported by all of the authors mentioned above are readily explained in terms of the Bitter and Kaufmann concept. However, most of the evidence is indirect when used to define the structural changes involved. It was the aim of the present investigation to determine the mechanism of precipitation of iron from a Cu-Fe solid solution in the light of available published information and with additional new and more direct experimental data. Experimental Method At 1060°C copper will contain up to 3 atomic pct Fe in equilibrium solid solution.7 The solvus slopes rapidly toward lower iron concentration, so that at 600°C only about 0.5 pct Fe remains in solution at equilibrium. Below the eutectoid temperature (850°C), the iron-rich phase in equilibrium with the copper-rich solid solution consists of body-centered-cubic a-Fe. Above 850 °C the equilibrium iron-rich phase is face-centered-cubic r-Fe. The alloy to be studied was made by melting electrolytic iron and OFHC copper by induction under vacuum in an Alundum-lined crucible. The metal was held molten for about 5 min, after which time the power was turned off and the crucible was tipped about 70" to promote directional solidification. The resulting ingot, containing 2.5 wt pct Fe by analysis, was clean, large grained, and free of gross segregation. Slices % in. thick were cut from the ingot, rolled to 1/8 in. in thickness, homogenized in hydrogen at 1060°C for 24 hr and, finally, quenched in cold water. Specimens for all subsequent tests were made from these slices. Squares measuring about 1 cm on a side were cut from the slices to make specimens for studying hardness and microstructure. Wires (0.020 in.) for the Debye-Scherrer survey were drawn from 1/8 in. sq rods which had been cut from the homogenized slices. Large crystals for observing diffuse X-ray diffraction effects were prepared by mechanically

Jan 1, 1958

By H. R. Ogden

The notch sensitivity of titanium alloys is affected by impurity content, microstructure, and heat treatment. Using notch tensile properties to evaluate notch sensitivity, three commercial titanium-base alloys were investigated over the temperature range of -320o to 390°F. The alloys studied were Ti-5Al-2.5Sn, Ti-6Al-4V, and Ti-2Fe-2Cr-2Mo. Six interstitial levels were studied for each alloy in four mi-crostmctural conditions. The ff- 0 alloys were studied in both the annealed and heat-treated condition. All tests were conducted using 1/4-in. diam round tensile samples. The notched samples had a 50 pct notch with a notch sharpness (a/r) of 53, corresponding to Kt 6.3. Notch sensitivity was increased by increased interstitial content, low temperature, and acicular-type microstructures. The heat-treated, high-interstitial content - 13 alloys were more notch sensitive than the same alloys in the annealed condition. In addition, minima in the notch tensile-temperature curves were observed at temperatures near 32°F. These minima became more pronounced with increasing interstitial content. 1 HE increaseduse of titanium alloys in high strength applications at subzero temperatures requires that a better under standing of the low-temperature behavior of the alloys be obtained. At low temperatures, metals generally exhibit increased strength with lowered ductility and tohness. Notch sensitivity and the factors which influence it become more important as the strength level is increased and the temperature is decreased. Some of the factor s which affect notch sensitivity in ti- tanium alloys are composition, interstitial content, microstructure, and heat-treatment condition. In this paper, the results of a study of these variables on the notch sensitivity of three titanium alloys at temperatures from —320o to 390o are reported. The notch geometry selected for this program was chosen to provide a severe test of notch sensitivity. The ability of the metal to flow without initiating fracture under these severe conditions is reflected in the notch-strength values. Since notch strength is, in part, determined by the constraint exerted by the combined tensile stresses, the behavior of notch specimens reflects the properties of the material under combined stresses. For example, a material with a high notch-unnotch strength ratio may be expected to withstand the biaxial stresses encountered in a pressure vessel better than a material with a low ratio of notch-unnotch strengths. This implies that maximum strength alone is not a sufficient criterion for applications of this type. It further may be concluded that the various conditions that promote poor notch behavior also will affect adversely the performance of materials under combined stresses. In the alloys studied, these included low temperatures, high interstitial levels, and hasformed microstructures. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES Three alloys, Ti-5Al-2.5Sn, Ti-6Al-4V, and Ti-2Fe-2Cr-2Mo, were purchased from commercial producers as 2-in.-dam rod stock. Oxygen and nitrogen were added to these alloys by remelting to obtain a variety of interstitial contents as shown in Table I. In order to Compensate for the much more potent strengthening effect of nitrogen compared with oxygen, an oxygen equivalent content is used to describe the total oxygen plus nitrogen contents studied. It has been suggested previously1 thatnitro-gen is approximately twice as effective in strengthening as oxygen, and carbon, to the extent it is in so-

Jan 1, 1962

By G. J. W. Kor, F. D. Richardson

The sulfide capacities a1 1500°C of slags in the systern CaO + CaF, +Al2O3 have been measured by bringing samples into equilibrium with gas mixtures made from CO + CO2 + SO, + N2. The capacities are negligzble both JOY CaF, and CaF, + Al2O3 melts but when lime is present even at 20 wt pct capacilies as high as 30 x lom3 can be obtained. The results have yielded information concerning the liquidus at 1500°C and fluoride-oxide melts in general. The slags used in electroslag refining contain substantial amounts of calcium fluoride. Robinson and Grainger&apos; report that good results can be obtained by using slags of the approximate composition 70 wt pct CaF2 + 30 pct Al2O3. It has also been reported2 that a mixture of 50 pct CaF2 + 30 pct A12O3 + 20 pct CaO makes a good slag for general use. In view of the fact that very low sulfur contents are claimed for ingots produced by the electroslag process. studies have been made of the sulfide capacities [c, = wt pct S (PO2/Ps2)1/2 at 1500°C. of slags consisting of pure calcium fluoride, and of its mixtures with lime and/or alumina. These studies have also provided information on the phase diagrams. The slags were brought into equilibrium with gas mixtures prepared from NZ + CO + CO2 + SO2. Because CaFz is volatile and also easily hydrolyzed. measurements were made of its loss in weight in various flowing gas mixtures. EXPERIMENTAL Procedure. The apparatus and procedure were the same as described previously. Both platinum and iridium crucibles were used (height and inner diameter about 1 cm), but those made from iridium were stronger and able to withstand a greater number of experiments. In each experiment two crucibles were set in an alumina support and 1 g of slag mixture was divided between them. The materials from each crucible were analyzed separately after being brought to equilibrium with the gas, and then quenched in the water-cooled end of the reaction tube. Materials. Alumina and lime were prepared as de-scribed previously.4 Calcium fluoride was obtained by igniting Analar calcium fluoride in a platinum boat at about 800°C in a stream of pure dry nitrogen: the product was cooled in a desiccator. The slags were produced from mixtures of the powdered constituents, these being melted together in the course of each equilibrium experiment. The sulfur analyses and the X-ray diffraction meas- urements on the solidified slags were made as described previously.4 From the latter it appears that the CaF2 contained less than 0.5 mol pct CaO. RESULTS Values of (ps2/po2) for the Gas Mixtures. The re-sults have been represented in terms of (ps, /Po,)"? for the various gas mixtures used. The va1;es of this function at 1500°C are listed in Table I: they were calculated from the data cited previously for calculations at 1350°C 4 Weight Losses with CaF, and CaF, + CaO. The re-sults of the weight loss measurements* at 1500°C for

Jan 1, 1970

By M. Sheffield

This paper presents a technique lor predicting the flow of oil, gas and water through a petroleum reservoir. Gravitational, viscous arid capillary lorces are considered, and all fluids are considered to be slightly compressible. Some theoretical work concerning the fluid flow in one-, two- and three-space dimensions is given along with example performance predictions in one- and two-space dimensions. INTRODUCTION Since the introduction of high speed computing equipment, one of the goals of reservoir engineering research has been to develop more accurate methods of describing fluid movement through underground reservoirs. Various mathematical methods have been developed or used by reservoir engineers to predict reservoir performance, 193-5,7,8 The work reported in this paper extends previously published work on three-phase fluid flow (1) by including a rigorous treatment of capillary forces and (2) by showing certain theoretical mathematical results proving that these equations can be approximated by certain numerical techniques and that a unique solution exists. DISCUSSION The method of predicting three-phase compressible fluid flow. in a reservoir can be summarized briefly by the following steps. 1. The reservoir, or a section of a reservoir, is characterized by a series of mesh points with varying rock and fluid properties simulated at each mesh point. 2. Three partial differential equations are written to describe the movement at any point in the reservoir of each of the three compressible fluids. All forces influencing movement are considered in the equations. 3. At each mesh point, the partial differential equations are replaced by a system of analogous difference equations. 4. A numerical technique is used to solve the resulting system of difference equations. Capillary forces have been included in two-phase flow calculations.1,4,8 The literature, however, does not contain examples of prediction techniques for three-phase flow that include capillary forces. Where capillary forces are considered, each of the three partial differential equations previously discussed has a different dependent variable, namely pressure in one of the three fluid phases. Therefore, three difference equations must be solved at each point in the reservoir. Where large systems of equations must be solved simultaneously, an engineer might question whether a unique solution to this system of equations actually exists and, if so, what numerical techniques may be used to obtain a good approximation to the solution. It is shown in the Appendix that a unique solution to the three-phase flow problem, as formulated, always exists. It is also shown that several methods may be used to obtain a good approximation to the solution. The partial differential equations and differenceequations used are shown in the Appendix. Matrix notation has been used in developing the mathematical results. Two sample problems were solved on a CDC 1604. They illustrate the type of problems that can be solved using a three-phase prediction technique. SAMPLE ONE-DIMENSIONAL RESERVOIR PERFORMANCE PREDICTION A hypothetical reservoir was studied to provide an example of a one-dimensional problem that can be solved. Of the several techniques available, the direct method of solution as shown in the Appendix was used. The reservoir section studied was a truncated, wedge-shaped section, 2,400 ft long, with a 6&apos; dip. (A schematic is shown in Fig. 1.) This section was represented by 49 mesh points, uniformly spaced at 50-ft intervals. The upper end of the wedge was 2 ft wide, and the lower end was 6 ft wide. The section

Jan 1, 1970

By Harrison Souder

MAGNETITE mining and milling in the Eastern States showed continuing improvement during the year. Some of the smaller mines remained idle, but the larger operations responded promptly to the improved situation in the iron and steel industry. The output of ore for 1936 was over twice that for 1935. A number of improvements were made in mine plant and equipment, and operating forces were increased and maintained at near normal. The coming year should see additional mines started up and production increased at the larger properties.

Jan 1, 1937