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By A. C. Fieldner

ASH in coal has always been regarded as an undesirable substance, as the heat content of a coal decreases in direct proportion to its ash content. It represents so much inert material that has to be transported, handled when the coal is burned, and finally disposed of. W. R. Roberts, in an address before the Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, on Sept. 29, 1925, said that on an annual output of five hundred million tons of coal, a reduction of 3 per cent. of ash means fifteen million tons of refuse and a decrease of $30,000,000 in freight charges. Ash also often prevents efficient utilization of the coal through the formation of clinker caused by the melting of the ash constituents when subjected to heat. The mineral constituents of coal may be of such nature as to make the coal unsuited for specific uses, as for instance, high-sulfur coal for making metallurgical coke. While the usual proximate analysis of coal gives the amount of ash, it gives no information as to the nature and composition of the ash nor of the mineral constituents from which the ash is produced. For the efficient washing of coal to remove ash-forming constituents it is desirable to know the composition and distribution of the ash-forming constituents. Obviously such information is also desirable for the most efficient utilization of coal.

Jan 1, 1926

By Charles E. Glass

A steadily growing body of evidence indicates that earthquake ground motions can cause failure of rock slopes that are otherwise stable under static loading conditions. As a result, the economic optimum working slope angle is reduced when earthquake shaking is considered in surface mine design, especially in regions of high seismicity. When designing surface mine slopes to withstand seismic motion it is as important to consider the probability of experiencing various levels of ground shaking as it is to consider the characteristics of the ground motion. For most slope designs, simple probabilistic techniques such as extreme value or maximum likelihood techniques are appropriate. These techniques, however, should be applied in such a way that a probability value is assigned to characteristic ground motion parameters at the mine rather than to nearby earthquake magnitudes. Several techniques have been developed to analyze rock slopes subjected to dynamic loads. Most of these techniques do not adequately account for the ground motion parameters of concern. The best technique appears to be one that utilizes actual earthquake time histories. A simple technique that calculates block displacement for any input accelerogram, using a linear acceleration approximation between time steps, has been developed that accurately accounts for rock block response. Results using this technique indicate that the following factors are important for assessing rock slope stability in earthquake regions:

Jan 1, 1983

By Wheeler P. Davey

When metals are subjected to mechanical working, such as rolling, one of the phenomena that take place is a movement of the crystals of the metal into a system or systems of orientation which bear an angular relation to the direction of working. In rolled metal the crystals may orient themselves with respect to the rolling plane or the rolling direction, or both. Direct evidence of the existence of preferred orientations in rolled metal has been obtained by numerous investigators from X-ray patterns of the rolled metal. Most of these workers used a monochromatic pinhole method. Where the degree of preference for a single orientation is high the monochromatic pinhole pattern may be interpreted by a geometrical calculation based on the angular relationships of the planes in the crystal and the diffraction arcs on the X-ray pattern. This process may be aided by the geometrical construction of the locus sphere (Lagenkugel), and reflection circles of Polanyi,l Polanyi and Weissenberg,2 and Mark and Weissenberg,3 and of the plane polar figures (flachenpolfigur) of Franz Wever.4 R. M. Bozorth5 solves X-ray patterns from metals having a single preferred orientation by means of a series of charts which when placed over the X-ray pattern give directly certain angular relationships, between the crystal planes and the surface of the specimen.

Jan 1, 1930

By J. N. Hummel

THE methods of electrical prospecting, which employ contact electrodes to produce an electric field in the ground, furnish information concerning the constitution of the material beneath the surface, as indicated by the distortion of this artificially produced field and anomalies therein. To reveal the distortion of such field of known character, it is only necessary to measure qualitatively the direction of the field, using sensitive compensation methods. In such a case, the survey is relatively simple, and that is an important factor from a practical point of view, The distortion of the normal field thus determined permits an easy interpretation and gives approximate information as to the subsurface conditions, without the necessity of a thorough theoretical knowledge of the electrical field. The true field of application of the equipotential lines and search-coil methods, which are based on this principle of directional determination of the electrical field in the ground, is that of search for deposits of economic minerals for the mining industry, although they can also be used in solution of other problems; for example, in the determination of the strike of anisotropic beds. The distortion of the electric field as represented by the picture of equipotential lines or other measured curves is striking only when bodies having conductivities different from that of the country rock are embedded in the underground, or when the underground is anisotropic.

Jan 1, 1931

By H. Scott

Since Bohler discovered, in 1903, on cooling certain alloy steels, the phenomenon of a new and lower temperature transformation than the usual Ar 3-2-1 obtained by increasing the maximum temperature to which the material was heated, much has been published1 connecting this phenomenon with a large number of dissimilar steels of high alloy content. From the fact that the transformation divides itself, taking place at two widely separated temperatures, it has been called a "split transformation." The significant facts established by recent investigators2 are: that when the transformation occurs at the higher temperature Ar1, troostite or a decomposition product is formed, and that when the transformation occurs at the lower temperature Ar", the resulting structure is martensite. The terminology Ar' and Ar" adopted here is that of Portevin. Previous Investigations Reviewing the work on this subject published in a recent issue of Revue de Metallurgie and referring in particular to his statement that martensite is a solution of carbide in alpha iron, Le Chatelier says :4 "How then can a theory already 20 years old demand new investigations? The reason for it is that we have not succeeded in proving directly the real presence of the transformation of iron during the very short duration of the quenching. The fall of temperature takes place at the rate of several hundred degrees per second and the observation of

Jan 1, 1920

By Frank W. Clinard, Oleg D. Sherby

The effect of multiple an transformations on diffusion in a dilute iron alloy was studied. Inter-penetration between iron and an Fe-Co alloy was evaluated, under thermal-cycling conditions chosen so as to transform only the iron-rich side of the diffusion couple. It is shown that a small but consistent diffusion enhancement by a factor of two results when data from the transforming side of thermally cycled specimens are compared with predicted inter diffusion coefficients based on isothermal data. No enhancement is found when data from the mntransforming side of such couples are compared with predicted diffusivities. It is suggested that short-circuiting by moving pain boundaries is the most likely mechanism contributing to the observed diffusion enhancement from multiple phase transJormations in iron. Transformation-induced Point defects, dislocation-pifie short-circuiting, and point defects generated by dislocation motion are less effective in contributing to enhanced diffusion under the experimental conditions utilized. SO far as is known, no studies have been made of the effect of allotropic transformation on diffusion. previous to this investigation. Studies have been made, however, of the influence of transformation on the diffusion-controlled processes of spheroidization and sintering. Cullen1 has described a method of accelerating spheroidization in an AISI 1030 steel. Partial transformation between a and ? phases was uti-

Jan 1, 1965

By Wheeler Davey

WHEN metals are subjected to mechanical working, such as rolling, one of the phenomena that take place is a movement of the crystals of the metal into a system or systems of orientation which bear an angular relation to the direction of working. In rolled metal the crystals may orient themselves with respect to the rolling plane or the rolling direction, or both. Direct evidence of the existence of preferred orientations in rolled metal has been obtained by numerous investigators from X-ray patterns of the rolled metal. Most of these workers used a monochromatic pinhole method. Where the degree of preference for a single orientation is high the monochromatic pinhole pattern may be interpreted by a geometrical calculation based on the angular relationships of the planes in the crystal and the diffraction arcs on the X-ray pattern. This process may be aided by the geometrical construction of the locus sphere (Langenkugel), and reflection circles of Polanyi,1 Polanyi and Weissenberg,2 and Mark and Weissenberg,3 and of the plane polar figures (flachenpolfigur) of Franz Wever.4 R. M. Bozorth5 solves X-ray patterns from metals having a single preferred orientation by means of a series of charts which when placed over the X-ray pattern give directly certain angular relationships, between the crystal planes and the surface of the specimen.

Jan 1, 1929

By Guy Bjorge

IN recent years the Homestake mine has been served by three shafts, the B. &. M., the B. & M. No; 2 and the Ellison, supplemented by an inside shaft, the Milliken, extending from the 2000-ft. level to the 3200-ft. level. In 1932, when a new operating shaft was under consideration, the bottom of the mine was at the 3200-ft. level. The B: & M. and the B. & M. No. 2 shafts were down to the 1550-ft. level and the Ellison was being deepened from the 2600 to the 3200-ft. level. All ore was hoisted at the B. & M. and-Ellison shafts. Levels below the 2600 level, which were under development only, were served by the Milliken shaft. Below the 1550-ft. level, the mine was served only by the Ellison shaft from the surface. Within a few years, when ore reserves above the 1550-ft. level would be depleted, operation would be limited to the Ellison shaft and the auxiliary underground shaft. The Ellison shaft alone was not adequate for hoisting the entire output from the deeper levels and also handling all men and supplies. Further-more, assurance of safety and uninterrupted operation required- two fully equipped shafts to the deeper levels. Therefore a new operating shaft was authorized in November, 1932, and was named for A. J. M. Ross, the mine superintendent.

Jan 1, 1935

By C. W. Spencer, J. T. Smith

GRAIN-BOUNDARY surfaces are penetrated by a liquid phase when the liquid-solid interfacial tension is less than one-half the tension of the grain-boundary surfaces. Grain growth may occur in the presence of this liquid phase. burke1 reports that grain growth of this nature has been observed in two-phase ceramic systems. He suggests that the presence of a grain-boundary liquid may accelerate or decelerate the

Jan 1, 1963

By P. R. Hines

Diphenyl guanidine is used as an accelerator in vulcanizing rubber. Other rubber accelerators are also flotation collectors, e.g., dithiocarbamate, thiazole, and the xanthates. Urea and its derivatives are good flotation collectors,' and guanidine is the nitrogen analog of urea. These two characteristics suggested testing diphenyl guanidine as a flotation collector. Diphenyl guanidine has been tried in flotation work previously, but references give no details.'.' Bunker Hill Co. of Kellogg, Idaho, supplied the ore sample used in these tests. The sample was typical of the ore milled in 1949 and contained 4.52 pct Pb and 1.08 pct Zn. A flotation test made by the author with potassium ethyl xanthate as a collector, the same flotation reagents, and the same grind employed in regular Bunker Hill mill practice was the standard for comparing results with the compounds and derivatives of guanidine. The compounds and derivatives of guanidine are only fair collectors of galena. However, if potassium ethyl xanthate were used in the galena float, its presence later in the sphalerite float would make it impossible to introduce another type of collector and be certain which collector contributed the result, so the compound or derivative of guanidine under test was used in both the galena and sphalerite floats in Table I. On both the galena and the sphalerite in the Bunker Hill ore, the depressing action of sodium cyanide and zinc sulfate is much greater with collectors of the guanidine type than with the xanthates. If the depressing agents are left out when a guanidine type of collector is used, but a pH of 8.6 is maintained with either lime or sodium carbonate, the depressing action is approximately the same as in the standard xanthate test. Consequently the depressing agents, sodium cyanide and zinc, were not used in the galena floats of tests 1226, 1228, and 1286, Table I, so the galena floats would be on a comparable basis with the standard xanthate test. As shown by the tests in Table I, the loss in the tail when diphenyl guanidine is used is 8.3 to 9.3 pct, as compared to 17.6 pct with potassium ethyl xanthate, or a recovery of 2.3 to 2.0 lb more zinc. Concentrate grade is 13.7 pct with potassium ethyl xanthate and increases to 22.9 and 31.8 pct with diphenyl guanidine, showing a much higher selectivity. Unless the Barrett's No. 4 coal tar creosote is considered to be a collector, no collector other than diphenyl guanidine is present in the tests, Nos. 1226, 1228, and 1286. Tests 1218, 1253, and 1263 in Table I1 were run to check the effect of the depressing agents used in flotation of the galena (sodium cyanide and zinc sulfate) upon subsequent flotation of sphalerite by diphenyl guanidine. Urea was substituted for potassium ethyl xanthate in tests 1253 and 1263 because it is a good collector for galena and a poor one for sphalerite, and the effect of the depressing agents is more marked with urea than with potassium ethyl xanthate. Test 1205 checks the effect of urea alone without any depressing agents when used for the flotation of galena. Table I1 shows that diphenyl guanidine as a collector for sphalerite is compatible with other flotation reagents used in floating galena. When the depressing agents sodium cyanide and zinc sulfate are used in the galena flotation step, the amount of lime in the sphalerite flotation must be increased (compare 1253 and 1263). Table I11 gives some of the compounds of guanidine which were tested and compared. Some of the compounds and derivatives of guanidine* are solu- * Diphenyl guanidine is in commercial production and is available on the market. ble in water and others are not. Those tested were fed dry. When an organic collector is promising, its compounds and derivatives should be tested and their comparative collecting power recorded. Eventually, in this way, it may be possible to discover some of the essential chemical characteristics of a good collector. For example, it is interesting to compare the diphenyl and dibutyl derivatives in Table IV with those of urea in Table 111, Example 3, U. S. Patent 2,664,198. All are good collectors. Table I shows some of the effects of lime on recovery of sphalerite by diphenyl guanidine. Table V

Jan 1, 1960

By S. J. Prison, C. R. Smith

The effect of fluid injection to control water coning in oil and gas wells was investigated. Analytical and model techniques were employed. The factors investigated were the position and length of the completion interval, the point of fluid injection, the viscosity of the injected fluid and the relative thickness of the oil and water sections. The resulting influence of these factors on the net producing water-oil ratio was determined. Several important conclusions can be drawn from the study. In general, it was found that the net producing water-oil ratio can be reduced by fluid injection. The magnitude of this reduction depended on the factors listed above. An important practical consideration is that the injection fluid may be either oil or water. If the injected fluid is less dense than the connate water of the reservoir, the fluid will not be lost. This fact is reassuring when valuable oil is being injected. Efforts to suppress water production were more successful when the injection fluid was more viscous than the reservoir oil, or when a zone of reduced permeability existed in the vicinity of the point of fluid injection. Under test conditions, little benefit was derived through the use of impermeable barriers or cement "pancakes". INTRODUCTION The occurrence of water coning has been known for at least 60 years. In thin oil or gas pay sections, the presence of an oil-water or gas-water contact hinders production and often causes early abandonment of the afflicted well if a completion is even attempted. Even when relatively thick pay sections are found, the encroachment of water when a water drive is present will eventually pose serious water coning problems. This water is often corrosive, expensive to separate from the oil or gas and is costly to dispose of. The theory of water coning has been discussed by a number of authors. 1,2,3,4 Briefly, water coning to the producing interval in a well is due to pressure gradients resulting from the production of fluid from the reservoir. These pressure gradients will cause a water cone to rise toward the bottom of the producing interval if a water-oil or water-gas contact exists. The tendency of the water to cone is offset or partially offset by gravity forces since the water has a higher specific gravity than the oil. A balance then exists between two forces, gravitational forces arising from the difference in specific gravities of the oil and water, and the pressure gradients causing the flow of fluids to the wellbore. If the pressure gradient exceeds the gravitational force, water coning to the wellbore occurs and water production results. Through the years considerable thought has been given to the water coning problem. More than 50 U. S. Patents have been granted to inventors on the subject. A relatively complete literature review of the water coning problem has been made. 5 A number of these patents hold considerable promise for the solution or the partial solution of the water and/or the coning problem. Very little has been written describing field tests of techniques for the suppression of water coning. A notable exception is the paperby West. 6 He reports success in reducing gas coning by a combination of gravel packing and oil injection above the oil-producing interval. He also describes a comparable method to prevent water coning, but provides no field examples. This study experimentally and analytically verifies the benefits of oil injection as a means of partially or completely suppressing the water cone. While the gas coning problem was not treated, it is anticipated that results comparable to those obtained in water suppression could be obtained with reduced oil injection since the viscosity contrast between oil and gas exceeds that between oil and water. For the purpose of this study, the conventional potential flow theory was applied to the water-coning problem. The experimental verification centered on both a radial and a linear model. The model study permitted the investigation of complex flow configurations and the use of fluids of differing densities and viscosities. No analytic expressions are available to permit a solution of the problem as stated (see Fig. 1).

By J. K. Elliott, P. H. Kelly

Many engineering functions such as surface metering work and laboratory compressibility check points involve the use of liquid densities of light hydrocarbon mixtures at various pressures and temperatures. However, at the present time, no simple reliable method exists for determining density variation, particularly if the composition of the liquid is unknown. Consequently, a study was undertaken to develop and present a simple and accurate method of predicting density variation of a light hydrocarbon liquid with pressure and temperature, knowing only the density of the liquid at some condition. The experimental liquid compressibility data from API Project 37 by Sage and Lacey' have been considered to be accurate within 0.5 per cent and cover a wide range of pressure (14.7 to 10,000 psia), temperature (100" to 400°F) and molecular weight (up to 150). From these data, a set of liquid density curves, which relate density to pressure, temperature and molecular weight, was developed. These curves make it possible to predict density variation with pressure and temperature. Compared to extensive laboratory compressibility data on a complex, light hydrocarbon liquid, the use of the liquid density curves resulted in an average error of less than 0.5 per cent. Based on the results of this analysis, it is concluded that the set of liquid density curves developed from the data of Sage and Lacey provides an accurate and simple method for predicting the density variation of light hydrocarbon liquids when the density at some condition is known. These curves should be very helpful in many engineering calculations, particularly in the surface metering of light hydrocarbon liquids. INTRODUCTION Many situations arise in field and engineering laboratory work, such as reservoir engineering studies, check of experimentally determined laboratory data and orifice flow-meter formulas, where liquid density factors at various pressure-temperature conditions are required. Also, the need for accurate light hydrocarbon liquid information has become more important with the advent of miscible-type displacements for secondary recovery purposes in oilfield operations. Several reliable methods are available1 - "or determining the density of liquid hydrocarbons if the composition of the liquid is known. However, there is a definite lack of methods for accurately determining the variation of density when the composition of the liquid is unknown. The purpose of this study is to review the various methods for determining hydrocarbon liquid densities and to develop a simple and reliable method of determining variation in density of light hydrocarbon liquids with pressure and temperature when the compositio~n of the liquid is unknown. METHODS FOR DETERMINING DENSITY OF LIQUIDS OF KNOWN COMPOSITION Sage, Lacey and Hicks' have proposed a method to predict the density of light liquid hydrocarbons by using partial molal volumes. Data are available on experimentally developed partial liquid volumes of hydrocarbons over a rather limited range of temperature, pressure and composition. The partial mold volume method has proved satisfactory for determining the density of some hydrocarbon liquids when the composition is known. Within the range covered in the Sage, Lacey and Hicks1 data, the results agree within about 3 per cent of the experimental values. Hanson mentions the limitation of this method to a composition range of approximately 10 per cent by weight of methane, which will not allow this correction to cover most low molecular weight-light hydrocarbon liquids. Standing and Katz2 studied data on light hydrocarbon-liquid systems containing methane and ethane at high temperature and pressure and have presented a method for determining liquid densities, assuming additive volumes for all components less volatile than ethane and using apparent densities for methane and ethane. The compressibility and thermal-expansion curves used by Standing are based on assumptions that compressibility of a hydrocarbon liquid at temperatures below 300°F is a function of the liquid density at 60°F and that thermal expansion of the liquid is affected little by pressure. The information required to use this technique with an example problem is furnished by Standing.' Hanson eports an average error of - 0.5 per cent using the method of apparent densities in calculating liquid densities of several volatile hydrocarbon mixtures. However, as implied, the apparent density method is not applicable for liquid density calculations when the composition of the liquid is unknown. Watson- as presented a method

By Frances Hurd

WHEN 60:40 brass is heated to 825° C., given a drastic quench to obtain the beta solid solution, and reheated, various changes take place in the structure. Reheating at 200' C. causes a fine, granular, sorbitic structure to appear which has been considered alpha solid solution. These particles coalesce at higher temperatures of reheating, and at 470° C., the alpha forms twins. A further study of these transformations was considered worth investigating.

Jan 1, 1927

WHEN geologists began probing the grayish rock mass, natives of Adams County, Pa., called soapstone, they were paid scant attention. However, the soapstone, at first misidentified as pyrophyllite, was in reality sericite schist, a hydrous aluminum silicate whose chemical analysis resembles pyrophyllite, except that it has a slightly higher iron and potash content. In addition to its grayish color, sericite schist is foliated and has a greasy feeling much like that of talc.

Jan 10, 1953

By R. A. Wood, R. I. Jaffee, H. R. Ogden, D. N. Williams

CERTAIN titanium alloys when quenched to retain the 0 phase at room temperature show extensive transformation of 0 to martensitic a during deformation. Alloys of this type are usually characterized by low tensile yield strength, a large spread between yield strength and ultimate strength, and high uniform elongation. A previous investigation of this phenomenon concluded that the principal contribution of the martensitic transformation was to increase the amount of deformation prior to fail-

Jan 1, 1964

By Lap-yan Chan

Chan and Goodman (1983) presented a procedure for simulating joint traces and identifying key blocks on an excavation. This paper defines six measures of support requirements that characterize the number and dimensions of key blocks, taking into account the frictional properties of joints and actions of support systems. When correlated with case histories, these measures of support requirements can help in choosing an optimal design for shallow excavations in discontinuous hard rocks.

Jan 1, 1984

By John M. Rayburn

When plans were made for the new mine of the Allegheny-Pittsburgh Coal Co., Springdale, Pa., it was decided to operate on the room and pillar system, but not to have any extensive room development, the pillar work being done altogether on the retreat. On each room heading five rooms were to he driven advancing, while five pillars were being removed, so timed as to form a continuous pillar line, with all approaching

Jan 1, 1930

By C. S. Witherell

THE first feature that strikes one when considering the use of air enriched with oxygen in pyrochemical processes is the conservation of Enriched Air FIG. 1.-TEMPERATURES THEORETICALLY OBTAINABLE BY BURNING PURE AMOR¬PHOUS CARBON IN AN ATMOSPHERE COMPOSED OF AIR ENRICHED WITH OXYGEN, PRODUCING GAS CONTAINING CO. heat due to the partial elimination of the inert heat-carrier nitrogen, as set forth in the report of the committee. The second feature, which

Jan 11, 1924

By Shiou-Chuan Sun, R. F. Wesner, J. D. Morgan

A new apparatus termed a "distribution analyzer" is introduced to ascertain the optimum conditions of electrostatic separation of minerals. It was found that with similar surface condition, testing environment and a constant feed rate of not higher than one layer of particles fed on the grounded roll of the separator, the behavior of each component mineral in a synthetic mixture or ore is roughly similar to that of the same mineral when tested alone.

Jan 3, 1950

By Joseph D. Weeks

The primary problems of civilization are material ones; their answers are writ in fire. When these problems in their higher aspects have pressed for solution, it has been out of the burning bush that the Divine voice has spoken, or in the cloud and smoke that the Divine finger has traced the rules by which these problems shall be solved. It is with the material problems, however, that we, as engineers, have to deal.

Jan 1, 1896