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By Gerhard Derge, J. Warren Stewart

Extrusion processes are used in the commercial production of a wide variety of products, as indicated by the review presented a few years ago by D. K. Crampton.' Most writers have confined themselves to a general description of the equipment and products and the engineering aspects of the process. The few studies that have dealt with the metallurgical side of extrusion have been concerned primarily with an examination of the mode of flow of the metal during extrusion. This has been accomplished by the use of composite billets, by scribing grids on symmetrical sections of billets and observing the change of dimensions in the gridwork, or by examining microstructures in extruded sections.2"8 Ariotlier limitation of these original studies is that they were confined to the extrusion of very simple shapes, usually rods having a diameter of about one-fourth that of the billet. Tin is particularly well suited to the extrusion of collapsible tubes and similar shapes in which the extruded section is very small in comparison to the diameter of the billet or slug. In modern production, impact extrusion methods are generally employed, therefore the thickness of the slug is small compared to its diameter. Under these conditions the process differs considerably from the processes that have been most fully described in the literature, and it is known that the quality of the product is very sensitive to slight variations in any one of the many variable factors involved, such as coinposition and structure of the alloy, rate of extrusion, temperature, shape of punch and die. An exhaustive examination of all of the above-mentioned problems promises to produce so many data that it seems advisable to initiate the reports at this time, even though all of the factors outlined have not been examined fully, and to confine this paper to a description of the apparatus and method. Only tin and its alloys with small amounts of copper have been considered. These are the alloys most commonly used in this country for the production of the type of articles already described.

Jan 1, 1940

By A. T. Shurick

TILE present economic crisis in bituminous coal is substantially the most insidious, and critical, in the modern history of the industry. The large consumption deficit that has gradually developed (almost unawares), has culminated in a situation that has forced home the urgent necessity for prompt and radical remedial measures, such as the various mergers now in course of negotiation. Conditions today are sufficiently comparable with those in the iron and steel industry, preceding the formation of the United States Steel Corpn., to suggest the possibility of a sweeping super-consolidation, that all but staggers the imagination. The important function of the banker in this, and lesser projects, is too well known to require comment, and it is important that we understand clearly just what these functions are. Certain features in banking practice came up for consideration in connection with a rather exhaustive economic study into the prospective future of the coal industry, upon which I was recently engaged for an Eastern bituminous interest. This survey was made for the purpose of effecting a decision on certain pressing questions of policy, involving considerable capital expenditures, that would be compatible with the flattening out in the curve of production in recent years. An examination of the TRANSACTIONS, and the coal literature generally, failed to disclose any pertinent, and authoritative data, on this subject. This was more or less characteristic of the whole survey, which had involved a large amount of original research, and measures were taken to procure the required information. The following notes have been compiled largely from the data thus collected, supplemented with material, suggestions and criticisms, by several of the larger banking houses active in coal, together with personal memoranda of my own.

Jan 1, 1928

By A. T. Shurick

THE present economic crisis in bituminous coal is substantially the most insidious, and critical, in the modern history of the industry. The large consumption deficit that has gradually developed (almost unawares), has culminated in a situation that has forced home the urgent necessity for prompt and radical remedial measures, such as the various mergers now in course of negotiation. Conditions today are sufficiently comparable with those in the iron and steel industry, preceding the formation of the United States Steel Corpn., to suggest the possibility of a sweeping super-consolidation, that all but staggers the imagination. The important function of the banker in this, and lesser projects, is too well known to require comment, and it is important that we understand clearly just what these functions are. Certain features in banking practice came up for consideration in connection with a rather exhaustive economic study into the prospective future of the coal industry, upon which I was recently engaged for an Eastern bituminous interest. This survey was made for the purpose of effecting a decision on certain pressing questions of policy, involving considerable capital expenditures, that would be compatible with the flattening out in the curve of production in recent years. An examination of the TRANSACTIONS, and the coal literature generally, failed to disclose any pertinent, and authoritative data, on this subject. This was more or less characteristic of the whole survey, which had involved a large amount of original research, and measures were taken to procure the required information. The following notes have been compiled largely from the data thus collected, supplemented with material, suggestions and criticisms, by several of the larger banking houses active in coal, together with personal memoranda of my own.

Jan 1, 1928

By Dr. O’Neil Thomas J., Donald W. Gentry

Who steals our gold and silver, and copper, zinc and lead? Who takes the joy all out of life and strikes our high hopes dead? Who never wrote a schedule that to anyone else was clear? The sulphur-belching, miner-welching, smelter engineer. -Anonymous From "The Engineer," Engineering & Mining Journal, Apr. 13, 1918 INTRODUCTION A striking characteristic of publications devoted to the principles of engineering economy and investment analysis is that the revenue side of the equation is generally either ignored entirely or addressed only in a superficial manner. This is understandable to a degree in the general case because methods of revenue estimation are highly dependent upon the specific type of project under consideration and the nature of the market served. An important contributing factor, however, is that developing estimates of future sales prices for most products is a risky activity which is less amenable to credible quantitative modeling than other topics in investment analysis. The specific subset of capital intensive investments addressed in this book- mining projects-is particularly sensitive to projections of mineral prices, many of which are notoriously volatile. Furthermore, the unique nature of mineral markets, prices, and product specifications occupies a major role in mineral project evaluation. Even here, however, authors have tended to offer little assistance to the reader in estimating project revenues. For example, the most popular mining engineering textbook for four decades, Elements of Mining (Lewis and Clark, 1967), contains the following advice on estimating future mineral prices (pp. 359-360): "Since the life of the mine will extend over a number of years the future price of mineral products must be estimated in order to calculate the probable profit to be realized. Current prices may be used, but it is preferable to take the average price for the past 25 to 35 years as it covers definite business cycles. Some engineers believe that a mine should make a small profit if its highest-grade ore is marketed at the minimum price during the past 35 years. Business

Jan 1, 1984

By Charles B. Dudley

While working, during the summer of 1877, upon the "Chemical composition and Physical Properties of Steel Rails," the results of which are given in my report with this title, I was struck with the surprising wear which some of the rails, which would ordinarily be called soft rails, had endured. At that time I knew of no chemical measure of softness except low carbon, and I found that a numher of rails with low carbon had endured as high or higher tonnage, with apparently as little loss of metal by wear, as those with higher carbon. My own work on steel rails that summer did not embrace any definite experiments as to the amount of metal worn off the rail per million tons which had passed aver it; and so I could get no more definite answer from that work, to the question at the head of this paper, than was given by comparing the appearance of the worn section of the rail with its tonnage. This comparison, however, served to arouse in my mind the query, whether the commonly received opinion as to the relation between the hardness and wearing power of steel is correct, as applied to steel rails. This opinion, if I am right, is: the harder the steel, the better will be the wear, and the limit of hardness is simply one of safety; hard, brittle steel being, of course, more liable to break than soft, tough steel. The query, although aroused, did not bear any immediate fruit, and, as will be evident to any one reading it, the report above referred to was written with the commonly received opinion in mind. Since that time I hare collected a little information upon this subject, which I should be glad to submit to the Institute, if for no other purpose, for the sake of arousing attention, and directing study to the question of hardness versus wear in steel rails. Before making known this information, howevcr, permit me a few words in reference to hardness. How shall we measure the hardness of steel ? Of the various ways of getting indications as to the hardness of steel, which are known, three mill serve our present purpose. These are: 1st. High carbon. It is generally agreed, I think, that at least within proper limits, the greater the amount of combined carbon in a piece of steel, the harder the steel, and I need not do

Jan 1, 1879

By Chas. B. Dudley

WHILE working, during the summer of 1877, upon the "Chemical Composition and Physical Properties of Steel Rails," the results of which are given in my report with this title, I was struck with the surprising wear which some of the rails, which would ordinarily be called soft rails, had endured. At that time I knew of no chemical measure of softness except low carbon, and I found that a number of rails with low carbon had endured as high or higher tonnage, with apparently as little loss of metal by wear, as those with higher carbon. My own work on steel rails that summer did not embrace any definite experiments as to the amount of metal worn off the rail per million tons which had passed over it; and so I could get no more definite answer from that work, to the question at the head of this paper, than was given by comparing the appearance of the worn section of the rail with its tonnage. This comparison, however, served to arouse in my mind the query, whether the commonly received opinion as to the relation between the hardness and wearing power of steel is correct, as applied to steel rails. This opinion, if I am right, is: the harder the steel, the better will be the wear, and the limit of hardness is simply one of safety ; hard, brittle steel being, of course, more liable to break than soft, tough steel. The query, although aroused, did not bear any immediate fruit, and, as will be evident to any one reading it, the report above referred to was written with the commonly received opinion in mind. Since that time I have collected a little information upon this subject, which I should be glad to submit to the Institute, if for no other purpose, for the sake of arousing attention, and directing study to the question of hardness versus wear in steel rails. Before making known this information, however, permit me a few words in reference to hardness. How shall we measure the hardness of steel ? Of the various ways of getting indications as to the hardness of steel, which are known, three will serve our present purpose. These are: 1st. High carbon. It is generally agreed, I think, that at least within proper limits, the greater the amount of combined carbon in a piece of steel, the harder the steel, and I need not do

Jan 1, 1879

By Joseph E Pogue

Over a period of years the writer has presented a number of studies1 on various aspects of proration, in a progressive attempt to analyze critically and constructively the economic complexities of this interesting institution, which in a decade has revolutionized the economics of oil production in the United States. In the course of the investigations leading to these papers, the changing nature of proration and the principles underlying its evolution have gradually become clear, so that it is now possible to depart from the analytical method and to construct a synthesis of the steps that, if furthered by the industry, should carry proration past the economic hazards that still surround it to the goal of maximizing the value of the petroleum resource to the industry and the public alike. Nature of Proration Proration literally means the allocation of demand among competing producers on a pro rata basis, but the term now carries a much broader significance for it is employed to describe the entire process by which the production of crude oil in the United States is regulated. There is naturally much confusion of thought on the subject, for proration is an evolving system of control based upon principles of conservation and equity and embracing a body of practices that are tending to adjust themselves to the needs of the situation but are subjected to varying and divergent influences in the process. As it is now constituted, proration is a planned production measure designed to prevent waste, insure ratable takings, and balance supply and demand. The procedure is administered by State regulatory bodies through use of the police power of the States under authority of State conservation laws; the practice is supported by a considerable degree of voluntary conformance on the part of operators; and the Federal Government has accorded its cooperation by providing advisory quotas, circumscribing imports, checking movements of hot

Jan 1, 1939

By Joseph E. Pogue

Over a period of years the writer has presented a number of studies1 on various aspects of proration, in a progressive attempt to analyze critically and constructively the economic complexities of this interesting institution, which in a decade has revolutionized the economics of oil production in the United States. In the course of the investigations leading to these papers, the changing nature of proration and the principles underlying its evolution have gradually become clear, so that it is now possible to depart from the analytical method and to construct a synthesis of the steps that, if furthered by the industry, should carry proration past the economic hazards that still surround it to the goal of maximizing the value of the petroleum resource to the industry and the public alike. Nature of Proration Proration literally means the allocation of demand among competing producers on a pro rata basis, but the term now carries a much broader significance for it is employed to describe the entire process by which the production of crude oil in the United States is regulated. There is naturally much confusion of thought on the subject, for proration is an evolving system of control based upon principles of conservation and equity and embracing a body of practices that are tending to adjust themselves to the needs of the situation but are subjected to varying and divergent influences in the process. As it is now constituted, proration is a planned production measure designed to prevent waste, insure ratable takings, and balance supply and demand. The procedure is administered by State regulatory bodies through use of the police power of the States under authority of State conservation laws; the practice is supported by a considerable degree of voluntary conformance on the part of operators; and the Federal Government has accorded its cooperation by providing advisory quotas, circumscribing imports, checking movements of hot

Jan 1, 1939

By James E. Lawver, James L. Wright

This paper discusses the design and calibration of a Faraday pail for measuring electric charge. The paper also shows that at least for two minerals, quartz and calcite, the phenomenon that Johnson termed "reversibility" can be explained in terms of the contact electrification between the minerals and the metal rotor of an electrostatic machine. Each year the free world produces about 13 million tons of mineral concentrates by electrical separation. However, despite the rather general acceptance of electrical concentration as an industrial process, research in this area has lagged far behind the efforts devoted to competitive processes such as froth flotation. The purpose of this paper is to describe the design and calibration of a Faraday ice pail for measuring charge density on mineral grains and to show some of its applications in the area of electrostatic and electrodynamic research. THE DESIGN AND CALIBRATION OF FARADAY PAILS FOR ABSOLUTE CHARGE MEASUREMENT The electric charge on mineral grains at a given time during an electrical concentration process is de- pendent on many factors and cannot, in general, be accurately calculated a priori. It is thus important to devise a method of measuring absolute charge. One method of measuring electric charge is to note the potential rise of an electrometer when charged particles drop into a Faraday pail. Two types of Faraday pail have been constructed and calibrated. The first type, Faraday Pail I (Fig. 1), is a vertical pail originally designed to measure the charge due to contact electrification between mineral grains and a metal rotor or due to conductive induction when mineral grains are passed over a rotating cylinder in the presence of an electric field. The second type, labeled Faraday Pail II (Fig. 2), is a horizontal pail designed to determine the charge distribution of mineral grains after they pass through the separating zone of the electrical concentrator shown in Fig. 4. The main advantage of the horizontal pail is its low head-room requirement and the long opening which enables the experimenter to sample the entire width of the stream of minerals being separated. The Faraday pails were calibrated in the following manner: A calibration head was constructed in the form of a hollow brass sphere that could be held in an insulated metal cylinder by vacuum (Fig. 1). The capacitance of the sphere was calculated by measuring the capacitance of the sphere and cylinder combined and that of the cylinder alone and subtracting the latter measurement from the former. The sphere was then charged to a known potential (V) and allowed to drop into the Faraday pail which was attached to a Keithley Model 610A electrometer. This instrument has an accuracy of 2% full scale and has

Jan 1, 1969

By R. Woods

INTRODUCTION Gaudin (1), considered that "the mechanism of mineral collection is the central problem of flotation theory". From their work on adsorption phenomena in flotation for more than fifty years (2), Gaudin and his co-workers have made major contributions to the elucidation of this mechanism, a fact acknowledged by their contemporaries in the field (e.g. (3)). Their investigations in a number of areas, e. g. demonstrating that submonolayer quantities of adsorbed collector species can induce flotation, or identifying the influence of substances which can activate or depress (1), have helped to provide the basis for and the development of a theory to account for the interaction between mineral and collector. It was established in the late fifties (4) that the presence of oxygen is a prerequisite for the flotation of metal sulfides with thiol collectors. This fact rendered inadequate the concept of simple ion adsorption being responsible for rendering these minerals hydrophobic. The requirement for oxygen has been explained (1) in terms of this species being a component in chemical reactions between the sulfide surface and the collector. Gaudin has been instrumental in identifying the products of chemical reactions at sulfide minerals (1, 5), a line of work which has been continued particularly by Finkelstein and co-workers in South Africa (6). In presenting a detailed mechanism of the mineral-collector- oxygen interaction, it has often been considered that the mineral surface [must] first be oxidized to a metal oxy-sulfur species which

Jan 1, 1976

By J. C. Deppe

A method is presented for calculating approximate injection rates in secondary recovery operations. The method can be applied to cases of unequal fluid mobilities, irregular well patterns and boundary patterns. The steady-state pressure distributions for the four flood patterns reported by Muskat and for five additional patterns reveal that most of the difference in pressure between the injection and producing wells occurs in regions around the wells which can adequately be described as regions of radial flow. This leads to a method of calculating injectivity by approximating the flood pattern with radial flow elements (or a combination of radial- and linear-flow elements for some patterns such as the direct line drive). Irregular and boundary patterns can also be approximated by radial and linear elements. Each of these elements can be described by radial-and linear-flow equations and the results combined as series flow resistances to give an approximate equation for the initial injection rate. The mobility ratio does not affect the initial rate; therefore, if the well pattern is one of those regular patterns for which theoretical rate equations have been derived for unity mobility ratio, the approximate initial rate equation can be improved by adjusting it to match the theoretical equation. The available theoretical rate equations are listed, including five new cases. As the flood progresses, the injectivity changes because in general the flood front will divide the pattern into areas of different fluid mobilities. Simple shapes can be assumed for the flood front so that both areas can be divided into radial- and linear-flow elements. Radial- and linear-flow equations are applied to these elements to account for the change in flow resistance behind the front. To calculate injection rates after breakthrough, it is necessary to know the sweep efficiency at breakthrough. Areal sweep data are available in the literature for a number of patterns, and sufficiently accurate breakthrough sweep efficiency can be estimated from these data if it is not otherwise available. Again, simple shapes for the flood front can be assumed after breakthrough, and injection rates can be calculated for the remainder of the flood. When areal sweep data are available, these data can be used to cbeck. the calculated injection rates after breakthrough. Injection rates calculated by this approximate method compare favorably with available model data. INTRODUCTION When the fluid mobilities in the swept and un swept regions are equal, the injectivity will not change as the flood front advances; and for regular patterns it can be calculated by mathematical formu1as.l When the fluid mobilities in the swept and unswept regions are not equal, the injectivity will increase or decrease as the flood front advances. In this case, the injectivity has not been calculated by analytical means for any practical well pattern; and, furthermore, scale model and analog4,6 results have been published only for the five-spot pattern. The main object of this paper is to present an approximace method for calculating injectivity for the case of unequal mobilities. The method can be applied to regular, irregular and boundary patterns. Before the approximate method is discussed, the analytical formulas for equal mobilities will be summarized, and the analytical solution for radial flow with unequal mobilities will be used to show how the injectivity changes as the flood progresses. EQUAL MOBILITIES, REGULAR PATTERNS In a flooding operation the injectivity, the rate at which fluid can be injected per unit difference in pressure between injection and producing wells, depends on basic physical properties and, in addition, on three variables to be treated here—the area of the swept region, the fluid mobilities in the swept and unswept regions, and the well geometry (pattern,

By R. W. Raymond

Four portraits have recently been hung in the rooms of the Institute, in recognition of four illustrious men with whom we, as mining engineers and metallurgists, may claim fellowship. Luther. Martin Luther is often spoken of as a miner's son; but it is less generally known that John Luther, his father, was, in a small way, a metallurgist as well as a miner, and that Martin Luther himself, in his youth, worked in a forge or bloomary established by his father at Mansfeld, Saxony. Since this is the only manual occupation on his part of which we have ally record, it is fair to assume that the great scholar and reformer derived from his work in this department the practical familiarity with the conditions of human labor so abundantly evinced in the homely illustrations which accompany even his serious arguments, and in the witty apothegms of his famous " table-talk." At the same time, I must confess that I have not been able to find in any of the works of Luther distinct allusions to mining or metallurgy. Körner. Theodor Körner, a student at the Mining Academy of Freiberg, Saxony, threw himself into the German War of Freedom in the first decade of the 19th Century. He was a poet of no mean rank; and his " Song of the Sword " is one of the great lyrics of literature. This poem was written but a few days before he died in battle. In many respects, Körner may be compared with our American hero Theodore Winthrop, who similarly met a glorious fate, and left behind him prophetic indications of geniue, of which his premature death prevented the complete fulfillment. I am informed by a member of the Institute that Körner's admirable collection of minerals is still preserved at Dresden.

Jan 1, 1909

By Fred L. Morritz, Harold M. Manasevit, Richard Nolder, Arnold Miller

Experimental evidence is presented which confirnis the epitaxial relationship between the deposited silicon and the sapphire substrate. Four distinct modes of orientation relationships have been established. These have been shown to be Single-crystal gvowth retention as a function of surfaces oriented off ideal has been qualitatively indicated. Both full-circle goniometer X-ray techniques and replica electron microscopy have indicated varying amounts of microtwinning in the silicon. film, which may he caused by the mode of silicon formation. Parameters have been found where twin density is less than I pct. The early stages of' epitaxy of silicon m sapphire have been examined by electron-microscope techniques... and mechanisms have been proposed. THE first report of the deposition of single-crystal silicon on sapphire (single-crystal aluminum oxide) was made at the American Physical Society Meeting in Canada' by one of us and was subsequently published in the Journal of Applied physics.* This paper summarizes some of the work carried on in this area since that time, in addition to reviewing some of our earlier observations. The initial single-crystal deposits of silicon on sapphire reported were obtained on sapphire planes produced by cutting a sapphire rod perpendicular to its fastest growth direction, which is approximately 60 deg from the C axis. Direct correlations between the microstructure and X-ray data as to the single crystallinity as shown in Fig. 1 are evident. These deposits were identified as (111) silicon on the substrate oriented near the (1123) of sapphire. (Sapphire notations are designated according to the c over a ratio of 2.73.) It became evident that substrate quality and surface play an important part in successful epitaxy. For example, in Fig. 2 we observe an interesting

Jan 1, 1965

By C. T. Malcomson

An elaborate series of experiments has been conducted during the past three years at Irvington, N. J., which has resulted in the perfection of a process for the manufacture of smokeless fuel from high-volatile coals, and for the recovery and refinement of the coal-tar products derived therefrom. These experiments have been financed by Messrs. Blair & Co., of New York, and were conducted under the direction of Charles H. Smith, a member of this Institute, and the inventor of the process. The low-temperature distillation of coal has interested investigators for many years. Sporadic attempts have been made to solve the mechanical problems, but until the Smith process was developed, they were not carried to conclusions of economic value. The present coal shortage and the increasing demand for smokeless fuels make this subject one of timely interest. DescRiption of Plant The following equipment was installed and operated during the experimental period: Four horizontal and two vertical units of commercial size for the low-temperature distillation of the coal; two vertical, two horizontal, and two inclined benches for distillation of the briquets at medium and higher temperatures; presses and auxiliary equipment necessary for making briquets; and a complete byproduct recovery and tar-refining plant. This commercial equipment is provided with gas and electric meters, pyrometers and other apparatus for recording accurately the results of all experiments. There is, in addition to the commercial equipment, a complete chemical laboratory with distillation and recovery apparatus, including facilities far refining and cracking the tar and measuring the yields and calorific value of the gas. This apparatus makes possible a study on a small scale, of the various problems involved in the process. Description of Process Mr. Smith's experiments have resulted in the production on a commercial scale of: 1. A fuel, called Carbocoal, which, for convenience in handling, is prepared in briquet form.

Jan 1, 1920

By Michael F. Dunn, Francis S. Kendorski

The fall of rock from strip coal mine highwalls continues to be the largest single source of fatal accidents, so methods to improve highwall stability through improved blasting practices were investigated in the field. This paper covers the results of a project to improve, using existing and proven technology, unstable highwall conditions through better blasting practices in Appalachian strip coal mines. Better borehole blasting agent distribution and optimization of burden, spacing, and delay periods allowing satisfactory breakage with minimal backbreak were the objectives. At a selected field site, geologic conditions were closely examined with regard to joint orientation and spacing, and resulting slope stability considerations. Utilizing surface blasting concepts of trying to achieve flexural failure of the rock mass both horizontally and longitudinally by appropriate relationships between burden, spacing, and hole length, as well as delay time sequence to achieve optimal confinement and breakage, successful results were achieved. A test series of eight blasts was completed and the resultant highwall monitored by repetitive photography. Actual blockfalls could be measured and the stability for each blast design thus quantified. The study of drilling and blasting economics along with equipment performance led to an economic model of blast parameters and the identification of blast design cost benefits. The work demonstrated that small strip mining companies are able to achieve a more stable highwall excavation utilizing presently available technology, equipment, and explosive products at improved operational cost and safety.

Jan 1, 1983

By C. C. Furnas

IT is well known that particles of different sizes are not distributed evenly throughout the average charge in an iron blast furnace. Just how great the disparity in particle size in different parts of a single plane in a furnace may be is indicated by the results of some recent investigations1 conducted by the Bureau of Mines on a furnace operating on Lake ores. The wide variations found in gas velocity, gas composition, and temperature from the periphery to the center of the upper charge column were caused by the great variation in particle size of the raw materials used and were also greatly influenced by the methods of charging. This paper summarizes the results of an investigation of the influence of different methods of charging and of the treatment of raw materials upon the size distribution of the solid particles in the blast furnace. A more complete report will appear later as a Bureau of Mines technical paper.

Jan 1, 1929

By John K. Gustafson

The title of my talk is "The Gold Miner and the Future of Gold." This title might just as accurately have been stated as "Gold and the Future of the Gold Miner." Since prehistoric times gold has been sought by mankind for its beauty and its unusual physical and chemical properties. Early in the dawn of civilization it became the ultimate unit of value and lubricated trade between peoples. For at least 6000 years, gold has been used to barter for other commodities. It has been prospected for, treasured, made into works of art and personal adornment, and from time to time has been the object of conquest. Because of its predominant role in recent centuries as a basis for money, economists began to think of it solely in these terms. Annoyed by the disciplinary pressure of gold on the money manager's desire to manipulate money, the famous economist, John Maynard Keynes, characterized it as a "barbaric relic of the past", a characterization repeated by William McChesney Martin, Jr., when he was head of the Federal Reserve Bank. Gold, however, has physical and chemical properties that make it one of the most useful metals in the modern world.' It is the most ductile metal known. An ounce of gold, for example, can be drawn into a continuous wire over 35 miles long. It also is so malleable that an ounce of gold can be beaten into films ten one-millionths of an inch thick sufficient to cover 68 sq ft of surface. It has a density of 19.3 and is so heavy that 1 cu ft of gold weighs more than half a ton. Gold is nonmagnetic and has a high electric conductivity, only slightly less than silver and copper. Gold is so inert to all the chemicals found in nature that gold coins and jewelry buried beneath the soil or at the bottom of the sea for thousands of years appear to be as bright and perfect as when they were first immersed. Finally, gold has an extremely high reflectivity both to light and infrared rays. Because of these qualities, in addition to its rare beauty, industrial and artistic uses of gold have been growing rapidly. On a world basis, a recent study estimated that in 1960 about 750 tons of gold were used for fabrication, and that the amount had grown to about 1296 tons in 1968. My objective in this talk is to discuss with you the present and future supply of and demand for gold on a worldwide basis and the effect these forces are likely to have on the price the miner can expect to receive for the gold he produces. This is a highly controversial and risky subject to discuss before any audience. Nevertheless, it is a subject that I live with constantly as Chairman of the

Jan 1, 1972

By D. R. Shreve, L. W. Welch

An analysis for predicting the behavior of reservoirs exploited by a combined gas drive and gravity draintrge mechanism is presented. The method allows the prediction of gas-oil ratio, oil production rate, and cumlulative oil recovery for high relief pools in which pressure is maintained either by gas injection in the crest of the structure or by a combined gas and water injection program. The reservoir is represented by a model of communicating vertical prisms, with production or injection at the upper or lower boundaries of each prism. The theory of macroscopic gravitational segregation of two fluids within a reservoir is discussed in detail for all ranges of saturation. A description of an application of the analysis to a typical field problem is also presented. INTRODUCTION The importance of gravity drainage as a producing mechanism has become more evident during recent years. However, many of the reservoir engineering methods which have been used in the past for predicting the behavior of reservoirs producing by this mechanism have required such drastic, simplifying assumptions that the calculated performance in some cases does not resemble the actual pool behavior. The mechanism of fluid displacement in porous media has been described by Buckley and Leverett,1 and a simplified "one zone" method based on this development has been used by engineers to evaluate the performance of gravity drainage pools. Welge2 has modi- fied this approach so that the calculation time has been markedly decreased. In addition, many other authors3-9 have analyzed various phases of the gravity drainage producing mechanism during the past several years. In a high relief reservoir in which gravity may affect the recovery mechanism, there are two main types of exploitation programs which can be employed: 1. Reservoir pressure is maintained by injecting gas into the upper portions of the reservoir. In this case gas is not released from solution and, if dynamic pressure drops are small compared to the total pressure of the system, the gas and oil may be considered to be immiscible and to have constant fluid characteristics. 2. Reservoir pressure is not maintained and a "natural depletion" mechanism prevails. The term "natural depletion" can be used to describe the production history of a reservoir in which a gradual decline of average pressure and the associated release of solution gas continue throughout the producing life. In this mechanism gas is released throughout the reservoir and there is a continuous change in the characteristics of both the gas and the oil phases. It is the purpose of this paper to present the results of mathematical developments by which a method has been devised for evaluating the performance of reservoirs which are depleted by the first type of exploitation program discussed above. It should be mentioned that, although throughout the analysis gas and oil represent the two fluids existing in the reservoir, the method is equally applicable to gravity drainage in water-oil systems. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM In reservoirs of pronounced structural relief, where the closure of the oil section is great or the angle of

Jan 1, 1957

By R. W. Parsons

wben a displacement front encounters an isolated permeability heterogeneity, it will be perturbed. The details of this perturbation will depend on the beterogeneity size and shape, the Permeability contrast, and the mobility ratio. This paper deals with the displacement front behavior for one, simple, mathematically tractable model: a circular permeability discontinuity and unit mobility ratio. The progress of an initially planar front is shown for four permeability contrasts: k2/k1 = 0, 5/2, 2, m. The front distortion is more pronounced than streamline and isopotential distortion and it approaches a constant shape downstream from the discontinuity. INTRODUCTION The impact of reservoir heterogeneities on oil displacing processes depends upon the variation of the heterogeneous property (frequency distribution), its disposition (spatial distribution), and the inherent stability of the displacement mechanism.l The interplay of these factors plus the impracticability, if not impossibility, of describing a natural rock system in any detail makes exact displacement front movements difficult to determine. It is useful, however, to be able to qualitatively visualize what heterogeneities will do to a displacement front. In this respect certain simple models that can be treated analytically are of value. The following analysis will show the displacement front behavior for one such model. MODEL DESCRIPTION The flow field is two-dimensional and infinite in extent. The fluid flow is single phase, steady state and unidirectional at x, y = 2 m, or before insertion of the discontinuity. A circular permea- bility discontinuity is placed at the origin. Porosity and thickness are the same within and exterior to the heterogeneity. This is exactly the same model that was used by Greenkorn et al. to check analytically Streamlines as determined by Heie-Shaw flow models and finite difference computer techniques.2 FRONT POSITION CALCULATIONS The results of displacement front calculations are presented in Figs. 1 through 4 for four different permeability contrasts: k2/kl = O, %, 2, m. The times corresponding to the front locations are the Same for the 0 and cases! and for the 1/2 and 2 cases. The determination of front positions at various times is based on known analytical expressions for velocity potentials ().2 and stream functions ().2 These expressions are in terms of the x and y

Jan 1, 1969

By George W. Bain

Methods of mining building stone of any sort are planned to produce as few fractures as possible, and present a strong contrast to methods of mining metallic ores, which must be crushed eventually and have fractures produced in as great profusion as possible. Shocks transmitted to a stone invariably make it more porous and more permeable and reduce its effective life, therefore methods of mining building stone involve as This building illustrates the fine detail of workmanship, unprotected sharp corners and thin edges, and tall narrow columns characteristic of marble structures. These features require exceedingly coherent stone, and preservation of these features for decades or centuries demands many special quarrying precautions to keep absorption to 0.14 per cent or less, a detail not essential to stone for coarser architectural types. few shocks as possible. This is singularly true for marble because marble structures are intended to have long life, greater delicacy of line, more gracefulness and fineness of sculpture than those made from any other structural material (Fig. 1). So that delicate lines may remain in almost perfect preservation for decades, or even centuries, it is important

Jan 1, 1938