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By Raymond Mancha

TO determine the optimum inside dimension of an airshaft, it is necessary to strike the proper balance between the cost of power for air friction and turbulence losses within the airshaft, on the one hand, and the cost of sinking the airshaft, on the other. An airshaft larger than necessary is extravagant because the increased amortization rate exceeds the reduction in power cost. Conversely, an airshaft smaller than is needed wastes more power than can be justified by the corresponding reduction in amortization rate. The airshaft power is a function of the air volume Q cu. ft. per min. and the air-pressure drop p in. water gauge across the airshaft. † The airshaft pressure drop is calculated by the formula: R X l X O X Q2 P= 5-2 X A3 wherein R is the air-friction coefficient for the portion of the airshaft 1 ft. deep, 0 ft. in perimeter and A sq. ft. in area, when passing an air volume of Q cu. ft. per minute. The airpower w kw. dissipated within the airshaft is computed by the formula: w= 0.746Q X P 6345 With a combined over-all unit efficiency of the fan and drive of E per cent, the air-shaft power requirements become W = 100w There are 8760 hours per year, so with energy at I cent per kilowatt-hour the annual cost per kilowatt for continuous operation is $87.60; therefore, with energy at C¢ per kw-hr. the annual airshaft power cost MI dollars per year becomes: M1 = 87.60W X C which, expressed by the component parts, becomes: M1 V 5.2X4' / XQ Z 0.746 X 100 X 87.60 X C V 60 X E ) The amortization rate a dollars per year per dollar invested includes both depreciation and interest on the investment. These in turn involve the expected useful life of the airshaft and available molletary interest rate. For the purpose of this discussion the cost of airshaft sinking is assumed to comprise a fixed move-in charge Y dollars, which covers the cost of transporting, erecting and removing the shaft-sinking equipment and is independent of the air-shaft size. Also, it is assumed that the cost of shaft lining, if any, is fixed at $X per cu. yd. of lining material and that excava-

Jan 1, 1947

By A. J. Boyer, T. R. Meadowcroft

An experimental determination has been made of the efject of surface diffusion on the vapor pressure obtained in a Kwudsen cell. The results show that a knife-edge orifice in a molybdenum lid may give erroneous results for the vapor pressure of silver. when a correction suggested by winterbottom and Hirth is made, the results become meaningful. Experimental work with cylindrical orifices in molyhdenz~m lids and knife-edge orifices in ceramic lids shows that good vapor-pressure results may he obtained when the orifice is designed so that ejfusion is the only significant source of weight loss. THE Knudsen effusion cell technique has been used by many investigators to study relative and absolute vapor pressures over metals and alloys at elevated temperatures. As a result of this interest, some theoretical studies have been made of geometric factors affecting effusion from the orifice of a Knudsen cell. A review of these studies has been made by Margrave.1 Recently, Winterbottom and Hirth2 have suggested that a physical effect, that of condensation, surface diffusion, and re-evaporation, may seriously affect Knudsen cell measurements, especially when a knife-edge orifice is used. Inasmuch as many of the present vapor-pressure data have been obtained using knife-edge orifices. it was felt that an experimental evaluation of the effect of surface diffusion on Knudsen cell measurements would be of value both in the design of the cell orifice and in establishing realistic estimates of the limits of error for existing data. The experimental program was in two sections. Firstly, measurements of the vapor pressure of silver were made in cells with cylindrical and conical orifices in which the surface-diffusion contribution to the weight loss should be negligible. These results were correlated with existing data to give a reliable measure of the real vapor pressure of silver. Secondly, measurements made using knife-edge orifices were corrected using the surface-diffusion theory of Winterbottom and Hirth2 and were then compared to the real values. The experimental arrangement is shown in Fig. 1. The balance was an Ainsworth RV-AU-1 automatic recording microbalance capable of measuring weight changes of ±0.02 mg on a total load of up to 100 g. The temperature was measured by an optical pyrometer signted on the bottom of the suspended crucible. The temperature readings were calibrated in a separate experiment in which pyrometer measurements were made while at the same time thermocouple readings were taken of the temperature at the inside top and bottom of the crucible. The range of reproducibility with this technique was ±4°C. A constant voltage source maintained a temperature of ±2°C at 1200°C over 10 hr. Silver of 99.99 pct purity was used in nonporous alumina crucibles. Lids of molybdenum, tantalum, or magnesia were cemented to the crucible using a sodium silicate cement. Table I shows the characteristics of the lids used. The vapor pressure is obtained using the basic Knudsen formula:

Jan 1, 1965

By M. A. Elliott

The technology of gasifying coal to produce synthesis and pipeline gas has advanced significantly in the Past 20 to 30 years. This period has seen the extensive use of oxygen in coal gasification, the development of suspension gasification processes and fluidized-bed gasifiers, the operation of various gasification processes at elevated pressures, and operation of gasifiers under slagging conditions. These developments are discussed, and their application to commercial and pilot plant gasifiers is reviewed. Typical processes for synthesis gas production are described, and operating results are compared. Pipeline or high-Btu gas may be produced from coal either by catalytic conversion of synthesis gas to methane, or by the direct reaction of coal with hydrogen (hydrogasification) to produce a methane-rich gas. Neither of these methods has been applied commercially, but developments pertaining to each of them are reviewed, and general processing schemes are discussed. The use of coal as a raw material for manufacturing gas has a long and distinguished history. In fact, the gas industry began in the early 1800's when William Murdock demonstrated that it was feasible to produce and distribute gas made by retorting coal. Coal was used exclusively for gas manufacture until the middle of the 19th centruy, when Lowe invented the carbureted water gas process. In that process, coke was one of the raw materials used, so coal was still an important factor in gas manufacture. However the availability and relatively low cost of natural gas in the United States, and its widespread distribution by long-distance pipelines in recent years, has virtually eliminated the use of coal as a raw material for gas manufacture in this country. It should not be inferred from the foregoing that the technology of coal gasification has remained static in the United States and abroad. In fact, in the past two decades many new concepts have been developed in both the science and the technology of gasification. This progress has been a result of the considerable expansion in research on the fundamental chemistry and physics of gasification reactions, and in development work on gasification processes. This expansion in effort stems in part from increased interest in the use of gas as a raw material for the synthesis of chemicals and liquid fuels, and in part from the need to develop methods for gasifying coal and other solid fossil fuels to ensure a long-range supply of energy in the form of gaseous fuel. In these uses of gas, synthesis gas, a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide in various proportions, is the starting material. It may be converted catalytically to gaseous and liquid hydrocarbons and other chemicals, or to hydrogen for use in hydrogenation or reduction reactions. Since coal is our most abundant fossil fuel, it is inevitable that one day it will regain its prominence as a raw material for gas manufacture. It is of interest, therefore, to consider the present status of gasification technology, directing attention particularly to advances made in recent years. Inasmuch as many comprehensive treatises l-3 and review4-7 of gasification technology are available, no attempt will be made in the present review to cover all processes in detail. Instead, the discussion will be concerned chiefly with typical processes embodying the advances that are most likely to be generally applied. ADVANCES IN GASIFICATION TECHNOLOGY For purposes of this discussion the starting point will be the conventional processes that were used for many years for the complete gasification of coal. These were: 1) carbonization in coke ovens followed by gasification of coke with air and steam in cyclic water-gas generators, and 2) fixed-bed air-blown producers. Both of these methods have obvious deficiencies when we consider that the ideal complete gasification process would be a single-stage, continuous

Jan 1, 1961

By Paul Merica

ONE of the most useful, and at the same time least commonly used, methods of thermal analysis for the determination of transformations in metals and alloys consists in the recording of the tune intervals required for successive increments of temperature change during heating or cooling, the temperature of the furnace containing the specimen being altered at a uniform rate. The curve obtained by plotting these time intervals as a function of the mean temperature of the specimen during the interval is called the inverse-rate curve. It is probably due to the fact that no simple and convenient method has apparently been available for the measurement of the successive time intervals that this method has not been so generally used as, for example, the differential method, for which several tykes of automatic or semi-automatic apparatus have been designed. Whenever this method has been used, the intervals have usually been measured with the use of a chronograph; its operation as practised at the Bureau of Standards' is as follows: The temperature of the specimen is measured by a thermocouple and a dial potentiometer. The operator sets the potentiometer at successive values of the electromotive force differing by equal increments, usually 0.02 millivolt, and records the exact instant on the chronograph, by pressing a contact key, at which the galvanometer coil passes through its null position. Two-second intervals are also recorded on the chronograph record, and the number of 'seconds elapsing between successive signals is afterward counted from the record and plotted as a function of the electromotive force or of the temperature. This is an admirable method and by it most minute thermal arrests may be detected, but it requires a good chronograph, which is generally difficult to obtain, and the time of one operator during the recording and, subsequently, to read the intervals from the record; the latter operation often takes from one to two hours.

Jan 7, 1919

By Thomas E. Wayland

AN isopachous map is one on which lines connect points of equal thickness of a given unit. This type of map is used by the Florida Phosphate Project of the U. S. Geological Survey to represent the economic phosphate deposits known as matrix and the waste material, or overburden, that overlies the matrix. The top of the bed on which the phosphate was deposited is known as the basement and a subsurface contour map of this old buried erosion surface is known as a basement map. Recent experiments have been made in preparing maps that show tonnages and grades of the phosphate content of the matrix. Few of the operating companies in the Florida phosphate district have applied isopachous (Greek isos, equal and pachys, thick) to mapping. The writer believes there is a need for the techniques discussed herein and that they can be applied to mapping other geologically similar areas in either economic or scientific investigations. The land-pebble phosphate district of Florida occupies a compact area in the west-central part of the state. It includes mainly the following land survey divisions: Ts. 27 S. through 32 S. and Rs. 20 E. through 26 E. The town of Mulberry, Fla., is in the approximate center of the district. The strata of the area, which is part of the Gulf Coastal Plain, occur in thin formations with broad outcrop belts, and low dips. The topography is subdued and gently rolling with three marine terraces, which are found at 30, 100, and 150 ft above sea level,' accounting for most of the relief. Occasional small sinkhole lakes are present, most of them above the 150-ft shoreline. The phosphate deposits occur in unconsolidated sediments such as clays, sands, and sandy clays. They are overlain by a heterogeneous assemblage of sands, clays, muck, and iron-cemented sand, easily penetrated, in most cases, by a hand auger or drill. Limestone, locally called bedrock, or a calcareous bedclay, thought to be a residue of the limestone, directly underlies the phosphate deposits. General Requirements Most companies and independent prospectors operating in the district have furnished prospecting data to the U. S. Geological Survey. The information is recorded on either field logs or prospecting maps and includes the following information for each hole drilled: location of the hole, thickness of the overburden, thickness of the matrix, phosphate content in long tons per acre, grade of the phosphate content expressed as the percentage of bone phosphate of lime (P2O5 x 2.18) or BPL, and the per- centages of iron-aluminum oxides and insolubles. The phosphate is classified according to size as either pebble or flotation material. The milling processes of the companies vary, and the size classification is necessarily different in many cases. However, pebble may be considered as larger than 14 mesh and flotation material as smaller than 14, but larger than 150 mesh. Some prospecting data include the exact depth at which bedrock or bedclay was reached, and these figures greatly increase the reliability of the data both for isopachous mapping and for mapping the basement. A drilling density of four holes per 40 acres of land furnishes a minimum amount of data for isopachous and related mapping. From the minimum of four, densities up to 32 holes per 40 acres are used. The various drilling densities may influence the choice of the proper scale. Selection of the proper scale is dependent upon the known drilling densities, the subsurface variations to be shown, the extent of the area to be mapped, and the detail desired in the completed map. Scales of 1:24,000, 1:4800, and 1:2400 are used in isopachous and related mapping by the Florida Phosphate Project. The 1:24,000 scale is used most effectively with drilling densities not exceeding eight holes per 40 acres. The subsurface variations should be relatively low and uniform, permitting the use of smaller intervals without undue crowding of the lines. Comparatively large areas can be mapped on this scale, but minute detail is necessarily sacrificed, because the information is drawn from a maximum drilling density of only eight holes per 40 acres. Isopachous and related maps of the 1:4800 scale are made of areas on which the drilling information covers from 4 to 16 holes per 40 acres. Moderate subsurface variations with relatively sharp gradations can be shown accurately. The area represented by the maps is reduced considerably in favor of detail. The 1:2400 scale is most frequently used by the Florida Phosphate Project. It lends itself particularly well to isopachous and related mapping, being easily adapted to the multiform drilling data available. Maps of this scale are prepared with information ranging from 4 to 32 holes per 40 acres; however, use of the minimum drilling density on the

Jan 1, 1952

By H. O. Hofman

Lime-roasting is a term proposed by Ingalls' for the operation of forcing air under pressure through a mixture of galena and lime at the kindling-temperature with the object of oxidizing lead and sulphur and of fritting or fusing the charge. If finely-divided galena were treated in this manner without the addition of lime, the heat set free by the oxidation of part of the lead and the sulphur would be sufficiently great to fuse un-decomposed sulphide, and thus stop desulphurization. Besides the chemical action that the addition of lime, limestone or gypsum to the charge may have, the admixture has the physical effect that it keeps the particles of galena separated from one another and accessible to the oxidizing effect of the air. At present, three methods of lime-roasting are carried out on a working-scale,—the Huntington-Heberlein, the Carmichael-Bradford and the Savelsberg2 processes. In the last, which interests us here, an 8-ton charge is made up of galena, limestone and perhaps some siliceous or ferruginous flux; the whole is crushed to pass a screen with 3-mm. holes and moistened with 5 per cent. of water. It is fed gradually into a bowl-shaped converter, 6.56 ft. in diameter, supported by trunnions attached to a truck. On the bottom the converter has a grate with blast-inlet beneath. In starting, the truck with the converter

Jan 1, 1908

By Fred C. Bond

The Standard method of determining the crushing resistance of rocks consists of crushing prepared shapes under slow compression, and expressing the ultimate crushing resistance at the load causing failure in pounds per square inch of cross-sectional area perpendicular to the crushing force, with the height approximately equal to the diameter. One-inch cubes or cylindrical drill cores are commonly used. Cubes and drill cores are cut by a highspeed steel disk with diamond dust embedded in the edges, and running under a water spray. such a saw will cut one square inch or more of hard stone per minute. An oiled, spherical, swivel compression block of small diameter should be used to equalize the pressure. Each sample is crushed between sheets of cardboard or blotting paper extending about one-half inch beyond the edges of the stone. A cloth is wrapped around it to prevent dangerous explosive shattering. It is probably preferable to place the swivel block below the specimen, with either a rigid head or another swivel block above. Whatever the arrangement, the conditions should be selected that will develop the maximum crushing strength of the specimen, even though its top and bottom planes may not be precisely parallel. The cardboard pads may be dispensed with if the ends of the specimens are polished smooth. The use of lead pads was discontinued because of the observed tendency to split the material. The samples are weighed and measured before breaking, and the density is calculated. Cubes that contain bedding lanes or veinlets are usually placed with these vertical and parallel to the crushing force, in order to develop the maximum resistance possible. A number of compression tests were made on Canadian ores, by Forrest Nagler, of the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing CO., and are listed alphabetically in Table I. These tests were made on one-inch cubes or on diamond-drill cores approximately one inch in diameter and One inch long. The drill cores represent virgin rock, while the cubes may have been previously weakened by explosives. compression tests have been made in the Allis-Chalmers Milwaukee Laboratory on a number of ores and other materials. These are listed alphabetically in Table 2. In test NO. 1339, on limestone from the Hanna Coal Co., comparison was made between 2 by 2-in. diamond-drill core segments and one-inch cubes cut from the cores in the same strata. Results for the cylinders are tabulated directly below those for the cubes. The bedding planes were normal to the compressive force in breaking the cylinders and parallel in breaking the cubes, which accounts for the lower strength obtained from the cylinders. The percentage of net linear compression at the ultimate pressure was measured in test No. 1055 for Fontana TV A quartzite as 0.30 for cube A, and 0.37 for cube D.

Jan 1, 1947

By Fred C. Bond

The Standard method of determining the crushing resistance of rocks consists of crushing prepared shapes under slow compression, and expressing the ultimate crushing resistance at the load causing failure in pounds per square inch of cross-sectional area perpendicular to the crushing force, with the height approximately equal to the diameter. One-inch cubes or cylindrical drill cores are commonly used. Cubes and drill cores are cut by a highspeed steel disk with diamond dust embedded in the edges, and running under a water spray. such a saw will cut one square inch or more of hard stone per minute. An oiled, spherical, swivel compression block of small diameter should be used to equalize the pressure. Each sample is crushed between sheets of cardboard or blotting paper extending about one-half inch beyond the edges of the stone. A cloth is wrapped around it to prevent dangerous explosive shattering. It is probably preferable to place the swivel block below the specimen, with either a rigid head or another swivel block above. Whatever the arrangement, the conditions should be selected that will develop the maximum crushing strength of the specimen, even though its top and bottom planes may not be precisely parallel. The cardboard pads may be dispensed with if the ends of the specimens are polished smooth. The use of lead pads was discontinued because of the observed tendency to split the material. The samples are weighed and measured before breaking, and the density is calculated. Cubes that contain bedding lanes or veinlets are usually placed with these vertical and parallel to the crushing force, in order to develop the maximum resistance possible. A number of compression tests were made on Canadian ores, by Forrest Nagler, of the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing CO., and are listed alphabetically in Table I. These tests were made on one-inch cubes or on diamond-drill cores approximately one inch in diameter and One inch long. The drill cores represent virgin rock, while the cubes may have been previously weakened by explosives. compression tests have been made in the Allis-Chalmers Milwaukee Laboratory on a number of ores and other materials. These are listed alphabetically in Table 2. In test NO. 1339, on limestone from the Hanna Coal Co., comparison was made between 2 by 2-in. diamond-drill core segments and one-inch cubes cut from the cores in the same strata. Results for the cylinders are tabulated directly below those for the cubes. The bedding planes were normal to the compressive force in breaking the cylinders and parallel in breaking the cubes, which accounts for the lower strength obtained from the cylinders. The percentage of net linear compression at the ultimate pressure was measured in test No. 1055 for Fontana TV A quartzite as 0.30 for cube A, and 0.37 for cube D.

Jan 1, 1947

By C. S. Smith, K. K. Ikeuye

In an earlier paper1 one of the authors called attention to the significance of the relative free energies of grain boundaries and interphase boundaries in alloys in determining the shape and distribution of micro-constituents. The ratio of the interphase and inter-crystalline boundary energies (that is, —?12, where ?12 is the energy of the interface between a crystal of phase 1 and a crystal of phase 2, and ?11 is the energy of the boundary between two crystals of phase 1) will be denoted by F. It is this ratio that determines, by the simple triangle of forces relation, the dihedral angle, ?, of phase 2 where it adjoins a boundary between two grains of phase 1. On a metallographic sample various angles are actually obtained because of the random orientation of the plane of observation, but the statistically most frequent angle is the true one. These basic principles were discussed in detail in the earlier paper. The experiments described below show the effect of both composition and temperature on ? and T for some alloys containing a liquid phase, and provide data on the rate of approach to the equilibrium angles in both solid and liquid phases. All the alloys were melted in a graphite crucible and cast into ingots 3/4 by 11/8 in. cross-section. Some of the aluminum alloys consisted of two immiscible liquids from which uniform castings could not be obtained. The amount of liquid phase varied locally to a considerable extent and the analyses were meaningless. Nevertheless, the composition of the liquid would not differ from that in an alloy of the intended gross composition, and the synthetic composition of the alloys was therefore used in considering the surface energy results. The ingots were given initial deformation by cold-rolling to 50 pct reduction, annealed, and given a second 50 pct reduction prior to cutting into small samples for heat treatment at the times and temperatures subsequently reported. The resulting micro-samples were carefully prepared metallographically and examined at magnifications of 650, 1280, or 2500. The objectives used were 21X, 0.40 NA (dry); 41X, 0.65 NA (dry); and 80X, 1.40 NA (oil emulsion). The appropriate angles were measured by rotation of the stage of a Bausch and Lomb metallograph to align the appropriate boundaries successively with a cross-hair in a micrometer eyepiece. About 250 angles were measured on each phase. Though the angles were read to 1°, the accuracy is probably not above 3°, because of uncertainty in setting the cross-hair tangent to the sometimes curved boundary. The corners of very small particles, particularly in early stages of adjustment after cold-rolling, were difficult to measure and the results were slightly dependent on the magnification used (compare Fig 1-C and 1-D). With particles of larger size and more nearly equilibrium shape, magnification made no difference (vide Fig 1-F and 1-G). The measured angles were grouped in 10° intervals (5° if ? was less than 20°) and plotted in bar

Jan 1, 1950

By AIME AIME

AWRDED jointly by the four AW Founder Engineering Societies the John Fritz Medal is generally regarded as the most signal honor that American engineers can confer on a fellow engineer. The roll of 34 recipients contains the names of Lord Kelvin, George Westinghouse, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas. A. Edison, George W. Goethals, Guglielmo Marconi, and Michael I. Pupin; and among members of the A.I.M.E. now living, Sir Robert A. Hadfield, Herbert Hoover, and Daniel C. Jackling. On the evening of March 1 7 the name of Paul Dyer Merica was formally added to this list of illustrious engineers when the medal was presented to him at a dinner at the Metropolitan Club in New York. The citation read. For important contributions to the development of alloys for industrial uses. Arrangements for the dinner were made by the following committee representing the four Founder Societies: R. C. Allen, George S. Davison, A. A. Potter, and J. B. Whitehead.

Jan 1, 1938

By Malcolm J. McPherson, Michael Hood

Sunnyside Mines, owned and operated by the Kaiser Steel Corporation, are situated near the city of Price, Utah. The complex comprises three adjacent mines, named simply Nos. 1, 2 and 3, all connected underground. Two seams, the upper and lower Sunnyside have been worked. These dip at about 10 percent to the north-east. The surface cover is variable due to the mountainous nature of the topography. The Sunnyside upper seam varies from 5 1/2 ft (1.7m) to 9 ft (2.7m) In thickness whilst the lower seam remains at about 6ft (1.8m). The separation between the two seams has ranged from 7 to 45 ft over the mined area (2 to 14m). Longwall mining has been practiced at Sunnyside for over 20 years due to difficulties of roof control encountered when using the roan and pillar system. Number 3 mine is bounded on the north and south sides by mines Number 1 and 2 respectively. Whilst current production is concentrated into Number 1 mine, much of the future of the complex lies in the further development of deeper reserves in Number 3 mine. Workings in this latter mine were curtailed in 1978 due to difficulties in ventilation. Present developments are ventilated partially from the neighboring Number 2 mine where no workings are in progress. The layout of Number 3 mine is illustrated on the schematic Figure 1. Trunk airways extend down dip from the surface at No. 2 Canyon and the Water Canyon for a distance of some 9,600 ft. (2930m). The area between the two sets of trunk airways has been worked extensively in both seams as have the corresponding reserves on either side in the connected adjacent mines. At the present time exhausting fans are sited at the top of a shallow shaft in No. 2 Canyon and an 8 ft (2.4m) diameter shaft sunk to a depth of 1013 ft (310m) closer to the current developments (Figure 1). The current airflow system, even with an additional 116,000 cfm (55m3/s) entering from No. 2 Mine, is adequate only for the development work now in progress but will be unable to support new longwall faces further downdip. The basic ventilation problem of this mine may be stated quite simply. In a situation where all intake and return airways pass through extensive old workings, a ventilation system design was required that would be effective, efficient and economic for the foreseeable future of the mine. ORGANIZATION OF THE PLANNING PROCEDURE The procedure followed during the study is illustrated on Figure 2. Initial ventilation surveys established the current state of the airflow system and provided the necessary data for setting up a Basic Network File in a computer store. The data in this file was a mathematical model of the ventilation system of the mine. The basic network was analysed by a ventilation network analysis program in order to correlate the measured and computed airflows and to establish the basic network as a true representation of the mine as it stood at the time of the surveys. The network model could then be extended to simulate the future development of the mine and alternative ventilation designs investigated. The remaining sections of the paper outline the work involved in each of these main phases of the planning procedure. VENTILATION SURVEYS Conduct of Surveys Two types of measurements were conducted simultaneously throughout the air-carrying routes of the mine: (i) Airflow measurements were made by anemometer traverse or smoke tube at 221 selected stations. Anemometer traverses were repeated at each station until at least three gave results to within 5 per cent. (ii) Pressure drop measurements were made across ventilation doors, regulators and, wherever possible, across stoppings. Additionally, frictional pressure drops were measured along airways where such pressure drops were significant (above 0.01 inches of water gauge or 2.5 Pa over a 100m distance). The trailing hose method was used to determine these frictional pressure drops. This involved laying out 100m of abrasive resistant plastic tubing (3 mm internal diameter) with a 4 ft. pitot-static tube facing into the airflow at either end and a low range pressure gauge connected into the line. The trailing hose method was preferred to the alternative barometer technique for this study because of (a) the relative ease of access between measuring points and (b) the greater accuracy within individual airways. The anemometers used were Davis Biram Type A/2-3" (30 to 5,000 ft/min) and Airflow Developments AM-5000 digital (50 to 5,000 ft/min). The pressure gauges employed were Dwyer magnehelic instruments. These were preferred to liquid in glass manometers because of their portability and dependability under adverse mining conditions. A checklist of the equipment used in the survey is given in Appendix 1. The instruments were calibrated before and after the surveys in the mine ventilation laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. The survey occupied two teams, each of three men, for ten working days. The work consisted

Jan 1, 1982

By M. L. Leonardi

THE Searles Lake orebody is located in the north- west corner of San Bernardlno County. It is a dry lake bed with an exposed salt surface covering an area of 12 square miles. Recoverable mineral values are contained in the mother liquor below the surface of the lake. Stratification in the lake bed has separated the brine into two bodies which dlffer in composition. Although liquor is processed from both bodies, this paper will discuss only the upper structure brine. Fig. 1 illustrates a typical cross-section of the two commercial orebodies. The orebody is composed of a porous salt deposit 70 to 90 ft deep. The upper structure is separated from the lower orebody by a 12 to 16-ft thick impervious mud seam, as shown in Fig. 1. These salt structures are composed of 55 pct solid-phase salts and 45 pct voids which are filled with the original mother liquor. The brine wells are drilled to the separating mud seam and cased to wlthin 10 ft of the bottom. This is done to draw the brine horizontally from the bottom of the structure. It is pumped with multistage centrifugal pumps Into the plant at the rate of 3 milllon gal per day. The first process that was successful was developed by Charles P. Grimwood for the recovery of potash. The first evaporator unit was built in 1916. In the early twenties, Dr. Morse worked out a process for the recovery of borax. This made the cycle more efficient, as the end liquor could be sent back to the evaporators rather than being sewered. In 1926 the American Potash & Chemical Corp. was formed as a new company, and the entire plant was remodeled. The plant at that time produced only potash, borax, and boric acid. Since then the American Potash & Chemical Corp. has added processes for the production of USP boric acid, refined potash, sulphate of potash, soda ash, salt cake, lithium concentrates, Pyrobor (Na2B4O7) bromine, phosphoric acid, and lithium carbonate. The main plant cycle may be depicted as a closed cycle, see Fig. 2. The raw material, brine, enters the cycle to be mixed with the end liquor, known as ML2, from the pentahydrate borax crystallizers. The mixture of these two forms evaporator feed. Evaporator feed is pumped to the evaporators where it is concentrated, with respect to potash and borax. In the same operation water vapor, sodium chloride, salt trap salt, and clarifier salt are removed from the cycle, see Fig. 3 for potash plant product. The evaporators produce a concentrated liquor which contains approximately 19.5 pct KCI. This liquor is diluted as it enters the potash plant to keep all salts, except potash (KCI, 97.0 pct) in solution. Here the moist potash leaves the cycle at 100°F. The end liquor, known as ML1, is pumped to the borax pentahydrate crystallizers, where crude borax pentahydrate is crystallized and removed as solid phase. The ML2 is sent back to pan feed to be reconcen-trated, see page 207. Note that the only water to leave the cycle is in the form of vapor and moisture in the solid phase products crystallized. Thus there is a constantly cycling volume of liquor to which brine is added. Since the volume of liquor cycled does not increase, the brine is, in effect, evaporated to dryness. This would be true if there were no liquor losses. But, as in all processes, there are always unavoidable and accidental losses which reduce the volume of cycling liquors. The losses must be made up with brine. The concentration process is the beginning and the end of the cycling liquors. In this process there are three evaporator units of the triple effect counter-current type, that is, there are three pans in each unit and the heat flows in one direction while the liquor flows the other way through the evaporator pans, see Fig. 4. During the evaporation process a great deal of sodium chloride, burkeite, some sodium carbonate monohydrate, and a little lithium-sodium phosphate are crystallized. The volume of these salts is so great that they must be removed as they are formed or the process would come to a standstill. Brine and recycled mother liquor No. 2 enter the third effect evaporator pan from the evaporator feed storage tanks, see Fig. 5. A steady flow of liquor is removed from the bottom of the No. 3 pan and is pumped through the No. 3 cone of the salt trap, a clear liquor being returned to the NO. 3 pan. A portion of this clear liquor is pumped to the second effect pan. This process is repeated in each pan. The liquor from the No. 2 pan is pumped through the No. 2 salt trap cone and returned to the No. 2 pan.

Jan 1, 1955

By J. R. Kyte, L. A. Rapoport

The material balance equation for partiai or complete 1:trter-drivc reser1,oir.s been re-arranged to include a pressure irrferferencr ternr. This pressure interfernce term was ohtained from the theory established hy Morinda. A .successful progranl deissed to solve the resrclritlg c,qrration in a few hours on a nleelitr .sizeti, digital compuier. No prior knowdelge of the properties of the eqrrifer is required in the solution. 7' ri~rl calculations areatle using various assumed con!binuiions of value of the constant expretsing the qquifer properties correspoinds to the best fit ohtained between observed and calculated field history. Details of the method of calculaion are illus trated by an example. INTKCDUCTICN A method 01' calculating the material balance equation for a partial water-drive reservoir completed in an aquifer has been described in the literature." Pressure interference i'rc,m other pools iocated in the same nquiucr is not taken into account in this solution. When present, the pres- sure interference effect must be included in order to make a complete performance analysis. A correction for this effect has been developed using the theory cstahlished by Mor-tada.' Manual calculation of the material balance for water-drive reservoirs is a formidable task. Such manual ca1culation when interference eflects are includcd would be impossible to completc in any reasonable time period. However, a medium-sized stored program, digltal conlputer can he used satisfactorily. The method is described in the following sections. THECKETICAL CONSIDEKATIOhS The material balance equation for a reservoir producing by partial or total water drive, as proposed by Van Everdingen, This relationship is linear for Z/a from which thc slopc, Z, and the intercept, N, can be obtained by the least-squares method from the data points. It is not necessary lo know the aquifer properties to uktain oplimum values tor 2nd IV. Various assumptions are made tor At,,: where 11 is production time, seconds (oilfield between the equal successive time intervals into which the history is divided. t,, h It, times the number of equal time periods from i.e.. the total dimen-sionless time interval from It is noted that the dinlensionless time interval, At,,, involves all the relevant aquifer properties. Accordingly, any assunlption of is an assumption of the combined aquifer properties which pertain to the solution of the equation. Deviations of the data points from a straight line arc calculated for each assumption of and the value of A, correspond ing to the minimunl deviation is chosen as the optimum solution. This method is described in Ref. 1 and 2. Thc material balance solution is usually made with an initial assumption that the reservoir being studied is located in an infinite aquifer from which there are no other withdrawals. Deviation of the points by amounts greater than can be attributed to inaccuracies in field data may be the result of: (1) boundary effects of a limited aquifer, (2) pressure interference from othcr pools completed in the .sarne aquifer, and (3) a combination of these effects. Differentiation of these effects can be made only on the basis of geologic data. Pressure interference from other fields will result in a pressure drop at the original oil-water boundary having an interference component, The measured instantaneous pressure drops at the oil-water

By L. A. Shipman

The combustion of coal in fuel beds has been practiced as an art for many years; during the last 2 7 years a scientific approach to this subject has contributed a small amount of fundamental data. The subject is a very controversial one. Opinions regarding the performance of the same coal used in the same equipment in different plants may vary from "the best coal ever used in the plant" to "the worst coal ever tired." These opinions can all be true, owing to the various conditions under which the coal was used. Because of these differences, an attempt will be made in this paper to discuss coal facts and coal characteristics as related to the use phenomena observed during the art of firing coal in fuel beds for many years. The work of Kreisinger1 and his associates in the 1,'. S. Bureau of Mines, reported in 1916, was the first scientific attempt I know of to obtain factual data explaining the mechanism of combustion of fuel beds. They gave a chart showing an ignited fuel bed. The air passing up through the fuel bed first combined with the fuel by a reaction resulting in the complete combustion of carbon to CO2, which combined with the carbon in higher levels of the fuel bed to form CO with the absorption of heat. The fundamental facts produced in those experiments proved of much value and checked with practical experiences with hand-fired fuel beds. Hand firing was the prevailing method of stoking coal at that time. The order in which these reactions occur, as shown by Kreisinger and his associates, has been amply confirmed by repetition of this work with different fuels both her? and abroad. These experiments also showed that under their conditions the rate of burning was proportional to the air flow. These data were of practical value to a fireman and were accepted as generally true in all fuel beds. In later years many observations by myself in fuel beds of underfeed stokers and other thick fuel beds such as gas producers, where channeling. increase of particle size, or both, occur. indicated that, instead of the horizontal layers we had thought were present, perhaps the layers were vertical or irregular. Later investigations in fuel beds made by Mayers2 and Barnes3 indicated that the burning takes place in some instances along the surfaces of vertical or irregular channels or cracks in the fuel bed and that under these conditions a reaction occurs that differs from that in the old horizontal-layered handfired fuel beds. Examining the data in Kreisinger'sl experiments, and the information in different charts with different fuels, different retort positions and air admissions of Barnes3 and the gas analysis arid isotherms of Mayers,2 one can check experience observation and come to a conclusion that as particle size of the fuel increases with other conditions the same, the maximum CO2 and temperature

Jan 1, 1947

By L. A. Shipman

The combustion of coal in fuel beds has been practiced as an art for many years; during the last 2 7 years a scientific approach to this subject has contributed a small amount of fundamental data. The subject is a very controversial one. Opinions regarding the performance of the same coal used in the same equipment in different plants may vary from "the best coal ever used in the plant" to "the worst coal ever tired." These opinions can all be true, owing to the various conditions under which the coal was used. Because of these differences, an attempt will be made in this paper to discuss coal facts and coal characteristics as related to the use phenomena observed during the art of firing coal in fuel beds for many years. The work of Kreisinger1 and his associates in the 1,'. S. Bureau of Mines, reported in 1916, was the first scientific attempt I know of to obtain factual data explaining the mechanism of combustion of fuel beds. They gave a chart showing an ignited fuel bed. The air passing up through the fuel bed first combined with the fuel by a reaction resulting in the complete combustion of carbon to CO2, which combined with the carbon in higher levels of the fuel bed to form CO with the absorption of heat. The fundamental facts produced in those experiments proved of much value and checked with practical experiences with hand-fired fuel beds. Hand firing was the prevailing method of stoking coal at that time. The order in which these reactions occur, as shown by Kreisinger and his associates, has been amply confirmed by repetition of this work with different fuels both her? and abroad. These experiments also showed that under their conditions the rate of burning was proportional to the air flow. These data were of practical value to a fireman and were accepted as generally true in all fuel beds. In later years many observations by myself in fuel beds of underfeed stokers and other thick fuel beds such as gas producers, where channeling. increase of particle size, or both, occur. indicated that, instead of the horizontal layers we had thought were present, perhaps the layers were vertical or irregular. Later investigations in fuel beds made by Mayers2 and Barnes3 indicated that the burning takes place in some instances along the surfaces of vertical or irregular channels or cracks in the fuel bed and that under these conditions a reaction occurs that differs from that in the old horizontal-layered handfired fuel beds. Examining the data in Kreisinger'sl experiments, and the information in different charts with different fuels, different retort positions and air admissions of Barnes3 and the gas analysis arid isotherms of Mayers,2 one can check experience observation and come to a conclusion that as particle size of the fuel increases with other conditions the same, the maximum CO2 and temperature

Jan 1, 1947

By W. P. Barba

IN THE early summer of 1917, it became evident that the then existing sources of supply of guns and gun forgings were totally inadequate for the enormous and rapidly growing requirements of the Ordnance Department of the Army, so arrangements were made with sixteen makers of other products to take up the manufacture of guns and gun forgings. Nine of these makers were required to produce their own steel from the raw materials and convert it into rough machined gun forgings; the others finished and assembled these forgings into completed guns. In December, 1914, four of these makers of steel and rough gun forgings were instructed to manufacture the same amount of the 6-in. and 9.5-in. guns and howitzers. It, therefore, seemed practical .and profitable to assemble these makers into a small group, together with the officers of the Ordnance Department, and provide standard 'equipment in each of the four works for the production of these two types of guns. The advantages of this cooperation were immediately manifested, and there commenced an interchange of shop practice and a free discussion of facilities and methods that covered not only the equipment but the manufacturing processes.

Jan 1, 1920

By M. C. Van Camp, J. D. Miller

Preliminary results are reported regarding the design and development of a pilot scale air sparged hydrocyclone for cleaning fine coal 590 pm (- 28 mesh) containing 24% ash and 1.6% sulfur. The principle of separation is the flotation of hydrophobic coal particles in the centnjugal field generated by the fluid flow in the air sparged hydrocyclone as discussed in another publication. This 152-mm (6-in.) hydrocyclone has a nominal capacity of 0.9 t/h (1 tph) and experimental results suggest that separations vastly superior to a water-only cyclone are possible. In addition the separation efficiency is as good, if not better, than that achieved with conventional flotation cells. For example, typical results indicate that 75% clean coal can be recovered at 15% ash leaving a tailing product of almost 50% ash. These experimental results coupled with the high capacity of the air sparged hydrocyclone (imagine a retention time for flotation of only two seconds compared to two minutes for conventional flotation) may represent a significant breakthrough, not only in coal preparation technology, but in the flotation of fine particles in general.

Jan 1, 1983

By C. Gatlin, N. E. Garner

Results of impulsive wedge penetration tests on two synthetic, plastically deforming rocks are presented. Basic data obtained were force-time, displacement-time, and force-displacement curves for the impacts, plus the crater geometry. Wedge geometry and blow frequency were varied over a considerable range. The synthetic rocks consisted of wax-sand mixtures; two waxes of diflerent ductilities were used to provide variable "rock" characteristics. Conventional triaxial tests showed that these synthetic rocks exhibited force-deformation curves and Mohr envelopes quite similar to real rocks, except that strengths were much lower. Measured forces from static penetration tests agreed closely with theoretical values; however, dynamic force values were much higher than the static. These latter disparities are attributed to the viscous nature of the waxes. Thus the utility of these or similar rock models must depend on the scaling of rock viscosity, which is as yet unknown for impulsive loadings at elevated stress states. It appears, however, that some macroscopic, static phenomena may be studied with wax-sand rock models. INTRODUCTION The resistance of solid materials to indentation or perforation by projectiles or other penetrators has been studied by workers in many areas. Despite these efforts no universally accepted laws or formulas are available for describing experimental observations. In the metals field the force-deformation behavior of impacting bodies is often analyzed by the Hertz law for elastic collisions, the Meyer law if plastic deformations occur, or some combination of both.' The similarities of these expressions to empirical drilling formulas of the oil industry are apparent. Beginning with the basic contributions of Simon and co-workers at Battelle,' a number of experimental papers concerning the reaction of rocks to vertical impact have appeared in the U. S. mining and petroleum literature.'-' Most published data have, to date, been obtained at atmospheric pressure, although some early high pressure information was reported by Payne and Chippendale.8 Maurer" has recently utilized available brittle impact data to develop a drilling rate equation based on the experimentally observed proportionality between crater volume and blow energy. His result agreed with earlier efforts by both Somerton, who used dimensional analysis, and Outmans, who used plasticity theory. It has long been known that rocks exhibit different modes of failure depending on the state of stress. The literature in this area is considerable; however, papers by Bredthauer, Handin and Hager,13 nd Robinson", are adequate to illustrate the point. Since rocks flow plastically at certain triaxial stress conditions, the mathematical theory of plasticity has been used to analyze the rock drilling problem. Cheatham'" has altered the wedge identation solution of Randtl to rocks, and has developed useful equations for penetrator forces under a variety of conditions. Outmans" has utilized Hill's solution in a similar manner to develop a drilling rate equation. Both Cheatham and Outmans used the linear Mohr-Coulomb rule to relate rock strength and confining pressure. The actual stress at the hole bottom is not easily ascertained, although photoelastic studies by Galle and Wil-hoit," plus the analytical treatment of Cheatham and wilhoiti8 provide some insight. Consequently it is not clear to what extent the highly idealized rheological model of a perfectly plastic solid can be realistically applied to the rock drilling problem. This paper is the first report on a long range experimental study of crater formation in rocks at elevated stress states. The data presented here are from the first phase of the project. Data obtained from impulsive wedge impacts on two synthetic, plastically deforming rocks are presented. MODEL ROCKS Geologists have long been faced with modelling the behavior of the earth and, as a consequence, have studied scaling problems in some detail.' In general, their main problem is handling the wide disparity between laboratory and geologic time. In our studies the time effects (blow velocity or rate of loading, blow duration, etc.) were essentiafly the same for both. model and prototype, as were were geometry and tooth penetration. Thus application of available scaling laws suggests that Similarity is obtained if the stress-strain curves of model and prototype are similar." For this reason Hubbert and Willis''

By William E. Greenawalt

IN these days of special legislation for the benefit of various industries one might well consider one branch of human endeavor intimately associated with engineering-that of patents and patent litigation. It is estimated that 85 per cent of all industries in the United States are based directly or indirectly on patents. Most inventors are engineers, and most patent litigation pertains to the engineering industries. It is fitting, therefore, that engineers should be vitally interested in discussing patent affairs, particularly as inventors are not a professional group, and invention is mostly a transitory phase incident to the development of specific industrial problems.

Jan 1, 1937

By L. W. Emery

Undergrorlnd combustion operations were initiated in a 60-acre Bartlesville sand "shoe-string" reservoir in Allen Connty, Kans., in 1956. Tests in separate patterns were conducted using various co~nbinations of air and recycle gas to propagate combustion fronts from the injection toward the producing wells. These patterns were made up of 6 injection and 20 prodrrcing wells Gas and liquid prorluctiorz from each pattern was measured on an individual-well basis, and comparisons were made between the three patterns to ascertain the relative effects of injected gas composition on production behavior. Breakthrough of the combustion front at a well was characterized by an increase in water production from the well followed by an increase in bottomhole temperatrrre to approximately 250" F. After burning fronts had broken through at five producing wells, operations were terminated in 1960. From the total project approximately 79,000 bbl of oil were produced during thermal operations at a cumulative produced GOR of 23 Mcf/bbl. No appreciable change in the character of the produced crude was observed. Combustion in the reservoir was maintained with injected gas compositions ranging fronz 6 per cent oxygen in recycle gas to 100 per cent air. lnjectiotz of large quantities of recycle gas resulted in higher producing GOR's from offset wells than were measured from a pattern into ~vhich straight air ~vas injected. The air required to move the combustion front through I acre-ft of reservoir was computed to be 20 MMscf. This valrre was found to be relatively independent of the quantities of recycle gas injected. The recovery efficiency from the swept area was esti~izated to be about 59 per cent. Areas swept were similar in shape to tlzose obtained with a laboratory potentiometric model. Samples of sund taken from behind the burning front by coring indicated almost total oil removal from the sand. Petrographic analysis of the core samples indicated that the sand had been heated to peuk temperature of rlbout 1,200" F. No rignificant difference in peak temperature was forrnd in two areas where compositions of injected gas were quite different. Compression costs for thermal recovery were estimated to be $1,20/bhl of produced oil. INTRODUCTION The use of the "forward combustion" process as an oil recovery method has received a great deal of attention. This method involves ignition of the formation in an injection well, followed by propagation of a combustion front through the reservoir. Combustion is maintained by the injection of an oxygen-containing gas to react with reservoir hydrocarbons. As the flame front progresses through the reservoir, oil and formation water are vaporized, driven forward in the gaseous phase and recondensed in the cooler part of the formation. In turn, the condensed fluids push oil into the producing wellbores. Completed field tests of the process were first reported by Kuhn and Koch,' and by Grant and Szasz.' Results from other tests have since been reported by Walter,3 by Moss, White and McNeil,' and by Gates and Ramey." ach of these tests essentially utilized a single injection well surrounded by four or more producing wells. Sinclair Research, Inc., elected to do field experimental work using a number of test patterns in a single field in order that comparisons between various operating schemes could be made. The site selected and purchased in 1955 for this experimental work was a 60-acre Bartlesville sand reservoir located in Allen County, Kans. Combustion operations were initiated in mid-1956. Between that time and termination of the project in mid-1960, combustion fronts were propagated from injection wells to producers in three separate well patterns, using different mixtures of air and recycle gas. The test was terminated before sweep of the three patterns was complete so that information about the effect of combustion on the swept areas could be obtained by coring. Results from the test in the form of injection and producing well performance have been carefully recorded, and these form the general basis for this paper. DESCRIPTION OF RESERVOIR The reservoir in which the combustion tests were conducted is a Bartlesville sand "shoe-string", typical of a number of small reservoirs in Southeastern Kansas. Average reservoir characteristics are shown in Table 1. Fig. 1 is an isopachous map of the producing sand showing the reservoir to be approximately 400-ft wide and 2,500-ft long. Maximum net productive sand thickness is 21 ft. Fig. 2 shows a typical core analysis obtained by coring with water-base mud. The reservoir has no appreciable dip and is closed on the sides by degradation of sand into shale. The main body of sand is heavily laminated with shale stringers, which are not continuous between wells. The main reservoir is overlain by 30 to 40 ft of laminated low-permeability sand and shale streaks. No information is available on the original properties of