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By Everett G. Trostel

AMERICAN industry in 1943 emerged from the construction phase into the production phase, and American military operations passed from preparation into full action in the many theaters of the global war. The increased pace of industrial and military operations has resulted in a tremendous demand for petroleum and its products.

Jan 1, 1944

By William P. Blake

THE phenomena of concentric arrangement of minerals in rock-masses, generally known as "orbicular structure," have of late received much attention from investigators. Lawson, of the University of California, has described the orbicular gabbro at Dehesa, San Diego county, Cal. Kessler and Hamilton, of Stanford University, working independently upon the same subject, published their descriptions,2 giving also a list of many other localities in Europe and America where orbicular rocks are found, adding copious references to the literature of the subject. The orbicular diorite of the type locality in Corsica., familiar to mineralogists and petrologists under the name "Napoleonite," was described by Vogelslang in 1862.3 Chrustschoff, of St. Petersburg, has also given much atten¬tion to the subject, and is the author of a classification of the various known forms of orbicular structure.4 No complete and satisfactory explanation of the origin of or¬bicular aggregations in rocks has yet been offered. The patent fact is generally recognized that the constituent minerals have crystallized from a more or less molten or plastic magma, but why these minerals should be arranged in concentric spheres or crusts has not been clearly shown. Vogelslang, for example,

Jul 1, 1905

By E. H. Griswold

PETROLEUM production engineering is essentially the application of the laws of 'physics and mechanics to the production of oil. A true production engineer is one who can apply the principles of mechanics, hydraulics, thermodynamics, and other physical arts so as to facilitate' the efficient and economical recovery of oil. To this end he must have wide knowledge of practical field operations and a working knowledge of geology, with a thorough understanding of the underground state of the fluids which he seeks to control. Generally speaking, there have been two schools of production engineering, the California development and the Mid-Continent development. In California the preliminary production engineering was done by representatives of the U. S. Bureau of Mines and the State Mining Bureau, and was essentially subsurface work in regard to casing patterns, water shut-offs, and completion procedure, inasmuch as these were problems of the utmost immediate importance to the California industry. The oil companies were impressed with the value of such work and placed engineers, or more strictly speaking, engineering geologists on their field staffs. These men, realizing the need of further technical study in the mechanical phases of producing operations, added mechanical and mining engineers, and out of the blend developed what is now known as a production engineer.

Jan 1, 1932

By AIME AIME

At the Annual Meeting of the Institute, February, 1908, the following amendments to the Constitution were proposed for action at a future business meeting (see Trans., XXXIX, xxvii) To Art. II. After the first sentence of this Article, add the following sentence « These classes may be subdivided by the Council, according to profession, length of membership, nationality, or other conditions not inconsistent with the provisions of this article." To Art. III. In the first line, substitute " fifteen " for "ten " dollars. At the Annual Meeting of February, 1909, action upon these amendments was postponed to the next business meeting (see Bulletin No. 27, March, 1909, p. xiv). Of these two amendments, the first has been withdrawn, as unnecessary-the subdivision thereby authorized being already practicable without such amendment. The second amendment will be acted upon at the next Annual Meeting, February 15, 1910, and the Secretary has been instructed to call the attention of members to the subject in such a way as to secure a general vote upon it. A special circular, now being prepared by the Secretary, will shortly be sent to all members. Year Book of the Institute. The Year Book of the Institute for 1910 is sent to all members and associates with this issue of the Bulletin. In addition to the lists of members enrolled Jan. 1, 1910, and arranged both alphabetically and geographically, this annual contains lists of officers, council, corporation, past officers, meetings, and notices concerning publications; also the constitution and by-laws of the Institute, and blank forms for proposal of mem-

Jan 1, 1910

By George C. Gibbons

ALMOST everyone in any of the five counties embracing the great East Texas field depends heavily upon oil for his living whether or not he actually owns a well or piece of royalty himself. Oil is a natural resource that, when utilized, spreads its benefits over a vast area and into many channels. Depending then almost entirely upon agriculture: what is now known as the East Texas oil field a decade ago had a scattered farming population. For many of its people, tomatoes and other vegetable crops coupled with the old southern stand-by of cotton, furnished an adequate living and a small cash surplus. Some farm families on the red hills, however, were not far re- moved from the sowbelly and black- eyed peas, or cornpone and potlikker, standard of living. Kilgore of that day, was a village of less than 850 per- sons. Longview, with just over 5000, apparently had reached the limit of its growth. Tyler was an overgrown farming town of around 17,000 persons, de- pending largely upon the agricultural income of Smith County and surrounding territory for which it was a trading center.

Jan 1, 1941

By N. LILIENBERGS

DURING the past few years, the requirements for steel have been raised so high that soundness is more important than ever before. The old practice was to mike steel ingots of sufficiently large sections to permit a considerable reduction of area in rolling and hammering to a given size, relying on the fact that by such rolling and hammering all cavities will be squeezed together and practically eliminated. The finished sizes, if found by inspection of the surface to be faultless, were therefore pronounced to be sound. But when such steel is ?worked up,? the manufacturer is surprised and disappointed to find that it splits, or that streaks and seams make the product unmarketable. Large sections, such as rails, beams or heavy forgings, may, within certain limits, be sufficiently strong, even if the sides of the cavities are only squeezed, and not welded together. But it is well known that, in the interior of heavy articles, under certain conditions, forging may develop small streaks into large cavities. Small sections, steel for ordnance and tubes, and numberless articles in the tool-trade, always show up the defects. It may be doubted whether cavities in steel ingots can ever be completely welded. The old theory, is, that the silver-clear blow-holes, without the blue oxide, can be welded by sufficient working. They are, however, not empty, but are filled with carbonic oxide. It is admitted that the "blue" cavities, resulting from air mechanically drawn down into the mold during the casting, can never be welded, because the oxide does not melt, and there would be no escape for it if it did. The only way in which steel can be made satisfactory for the above-named particular purposes is by having it ?dead molten." But then the trouble of piping is encountered. As is well known, a pipe is the result of the contraction of

May 1, 1906

By R. J. Corfield

MODERNIZATION of the entire electrical system and improvement of Rotation process efficiency is the twofold goal of the improvement program underway at the Arthur and Magna concentrators of the Utah Copper Div., Kennecott Copper Corp. Copper ore from the Bingham pit goes to these two concentrators where an interlocking program calls for complete electrical modernization and increased flotation process efficiency through additional capacity and flow scheme revisions. Flotation plants at the two mills are essentially duplicates, and while this article deals with the changes at the Arthur mill similiar improvements are being made at the Magna mill.

Jan 3, 1953

By AIME AIME

WHETHER by the Mohawk Trail, Sound steamer, air plane, railroad or any other route or mode of locomotion, all roads will lead to Boston the week of National Metal Congress, Sept. 21-25. The Institute of Metals and Iron and Steel divisions of the Institute are then to meet jointly at the Hotel Statler, and the American Society for Steel Treating, the American Welding Society, the Society of Automotive Engineers and the Iron and Steel Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers present carefully planned programs at their respective sessions. The National Metal Exposition will be held on Commonwealth Pier.

Jan 1, 1931

By Frederick G. Tickell

GEOLOGISTS have been quick to adopt new methods in locating new oil fields and in finding the extensions, laterally or at depth, of the old fields. For most of these new methods he is indebted to the physicist, the engineer, and the chemist, although he has also drawn from such ordinarily unrelated sciences as bacteriology and protozoölogy. These last-named sciences have been of help in problems dealing with the origin of petroleum and, although not of direct application to oil finding, have furnished evidence of value in learning what oil is made from and what are the natural agencies involved in its formation.

Jan 1, 1932

Jan 1, 1884

By M. J. R. Morris

THE year 1939 has seen the iron and steel industry driving for efficiency with unabated zeal. "Efficiency" is here used in the sense of enabling the customer to do more with less, either supplying him with more economically priced steels or with higher priced steels that will do a job more economically. The plain carbon steels have been improved tremendously in quality be- cause of recent control tests. All steel companies have been urged to hold to .closer chemical control, closer standards, soundness, and more control on grain size, and now attention is being directed to closer control of hardening properties. Better control of open- hearth operations undoubtedly will result in an increase in the application of special carbon steel. Further, with a better understanding of quenching, the present trend to study the quenching of this class of steels will be ex- tended. These steels will then be used for purposes to which they are best suited. Utilization of special carbon bars and large shapes seems to be developing less slowly than special car- bon in the form of strip. There are many reasons for this and the future development of this trend will be important. Continued development of the manufacture of parts from strip and sheet to replace forgings, and of formed; structural members such as channels or welded pipe, is notable. Special carbon sheets with nonaging properties have been produced during the year; they maintain a higher degree of ductility over a longer time and are less sensitive to the changes which took place in the former product when stocked.

Jan 1, 1940

McCulloch, Leon.-Experiments with Sherardizing. Discussed by Fred. L. Wolf, Willis M. Peirce, Jesse L. Jones, O. W. Storey, David R. Kellogg, William H. Finkeldey, L. H. Marshall 2 Bassett, W. H. and Davis, C. H.-Spectrum Analysis in an Industrial Laboratory. Discussed by C. S. Brainin, C. H. Davis, W. H. Bassett, George K. Burgess, George K. Elliott, Leonard Waldo, Keivin Burns 8 Roast, Harold J. and Pascoe, Charles F.-Arsenical Bearing Metals. Discussed by Jesse L. Jones, William A. Cowan,. William K. Frank, William M. Corse, Harold J. Roast 10 Bain, Edgar C.-Crystal Structure of Solid Solutions. Discussed by Ancel St. John, Edgar C. Bain, Paul D. Merica 14 Peirce, Willis M.-Studies on the Constitution of Binary Zinc-base Alloys. Discussed by George K. Burgess, Willis M. Peirce, D. H. Ingall, J. L. Haughton, K. E. Bingham 16 Webster, William R.-Application in Rolling of Effects of Carbon, Phosphorus and Manganese on Mechanical Properties of Steel. Discussed by George B. Waterhouse, J. O. Liebig, Ralph H. Sweetser, H. T. Morris, F. D. Carney, W. P. Barba, John H. Nelson, George K. Burgess 19 Barba, W. P. and Howe, Henry M.-Acid Open-hearth Process for Manufacture of Gun Steels and Fine Steels. Discussed by W. J. Priestley, Haakon Styri, C. T. Patterson, Harry Brearley, W. P. Barba, George F. Comstock, Alexander L. Feild 24 Kellogg, David R.-Electrolytic Deposition of Iron for Building up Worn or Undersized Parts. Discussed by Jesse L. Jones, William Blum, C. R. Hayward, George K. Burgess, C. P. Perin, David R. Kellogg 33 McQuaid, H. W. and Elm, E. W.-Effect of Quality of Steel on Case-carburizing Results. Discussed by H. J. French and L. Jordan, W. J. Priestley, M. H. Schmid, A. E. White, H. J. Stagg and S. C. Spalding, Henry S. Rawdon, J. S. Vanick 35 Phillips, Arthur and Davenport, E. S.-Malleableizing of White Cast Iron. Discussed by Samuel Epstein, H. A. Schwartz, A. E. White, R. S. Archer.... 58 Priestley, William J.-Effect of Sulfur and Oxides in Ordnance Steel. Discussed by Harry T. Morris, William J. Priestley, C. P. Perin, James H. Gray, W. P. Barba, Haakon Styri, Frank D. Carney, W. L. Harbrecht, George F. Comstock, E. J. Janitzky 67

Jan 5, 1922

By Arthur Redfield

THE year 1923 was marked by slight progress in exploring and developing the petroleum resources assumed to exist in Central America. Actual drilling for oil took place only in Costa Rica and Panama. The Sinclair Consolidated Oil Corpn., through its subsidiary the Costa Rica Oil Corpn., drilled in southeastern Costa Rica.. Its, Panaman subsidiary is reported to have abandoned drilling in Bocas del Toro. The Texas Co. drilled in Chiriqui, and the Panama Gulf Co. in Garachiné, Province of Darién. No oil was obtained in any of these wells;' shows of gas were met in Costa Rica. Concession hunting continued during the year. A number of concessions, several of which appear to be purely speculative, were submitted for ratification. Some confusion has been caused by overlapping concessions and claims to oil lands, caused partly by the imperfection of existing maps. A conflict between the Sinclair, and Gulf companies in Panama has been compromised. The Amory concession in central Costa Rica, held by the British Controlled Oilfields, Ltd., was voided by decision of the arbitrator, Chief -Justice Taft. Geologic exploration took-place in Guatemala and in Panama. The chief contribution of the year to Central American geology was a description by Katherine Van Winkle Palmer of Lower Miocene foraminifera and mollusks from southeastern Costa Rica. A new petroleum law was promulgated in Panama.

Jan 3, 1924

By Richard Schellinger, Ronald H. Carlson, Robert D. Norris

INTRODUCTION A very important key to the success of an in-situ leach venture is proper choice of well field chemistry, in which type and concentration of oxidant plays a significant role. For proper design of well field and plant, an engineer must be able to estimate uranium production levels and their change with time. The rate controlling step in the uranium leach process is generally acknowledged to be the oxidation step (Goddard and Brosnahan, 1980; McKnight and Anthony, 1979; Mays, 1979). Uranium head grade is very dependent upon concentration of oxidant injected into the ore zone. If oxidant levels are too low, uranium production requirements will not be met; if levels ate too high, excess oxidant will be wasted in side reactions with gangue material and leach economics will suffer. To date, no reliable laboratory technique exists for generating data easily translatable to field conditions. Empirical correlations based upon lengthy field testing have been the major tools avail- able to the design engineer to date. During the past five years, FMC has developed lab- oratory techniques for studying uranium leach chemistry under conditions simulating as closely as possible the field situation. Both agitated batch and consolidated core leach procedures have been developed. Results of FMC agitated batch studies are described in detail in a companion paper (Carlson, et. al., 1980). This paper will focus on the technique developed for leaching consolidated undisturbed core under simulated down-hole conditions. Through use of a follow-up computer model (Winkley, 1980), generated data can be translated to expected field response, thus providing the design engineer with valuable information in a relatively short period of time. CHEMISTRY In addition to uranium (+4), other oxidant-consuming species present in uranium ore are iron sulfides and carbonaceous material. Iron sulfides are usually present in concentrations far exceeding those of the other two materials and, therefore, represent the major oxidant-consuming species present in uranium sandstone ore. Previous studies (Carlson, et. al., 1980) have shown that iron sulfides exist in both Texas and Wyoming ores as a mixture of pyrite and marcasite (FeSz); furthermore, uranium mineralization (existing as uraninite) was shown to exist as a fine granular material coating or imbedded in iron sulfide crystals and sand grains (i.e. quartz and feldspars). The leach chemistry of a uranium ore body can be described by the following equations using hydrogen peroxide (Hz021 as oxidant:

Jan 1, 1980

By Walter Miller

With returning prosperous conditions in all industries, oil-refinery engineering has found opportunity for the more extensive application of improvements developed during the several years of depression. The year has brought out little of an entirely new nature, but much in wider application of previous worth-while developments. The greatest volume of work done has been in modernizing the distillation and cracking units of existing refineries, particularly by substitution of combination skimming and cracking units for older equipment, and the installation of cracking plants in smaller refineries where formerly only skimming was practiced. A number of entirely new refineries were installed during the year, two of the most important being the 20,000-bbl. refinery by the Atlantic Refining Co., at Atreco, Tex., and a 12,000-bbl. plant by the Wilshire Oil Co., at Norwalk, Calif., these two embodying some of the latest developments in cracking and treating. Total refining capacity for the United States is now reported as being something over 4,000,000 bbl. per day, but a movement is on foot looking to a complete revision of these figures, as experience has indicated not only some overstatement of capacity of equipment but that considerable equipment is included which because of obsolescence and location will probably never be run again. The 3,000,000-bbl. figure which the industry reached during the year's high consuming period required the operation of probably 95 per cent of the country's efficiently usable capacity. Cracking and Polymerization There were no new outstanding developments in the cracking field, progress being made largely in the further refinement of known principles. Improvements in furnace design and operation have been largely in permitting closer control of the heating curve through the cracking-tube system, assisting in more uniform yield and in the lessening of coke deposition, and permitting longer trouble-free operating time as well as reduction in furnace-maintenance cost. Actual operating polymerization capacity has been increased little during the year, but a number of projects have been started, some nearing completion, the production from which will be available during 1937.

Jan 1, 1937

By F. H. Gilpin

SINCE Noah pitched his ark within and without with pitch, the use of asphalt in human endeavor has been increasing-for Noah's pitch was asphalt. Asphalt is a bituminous material found in nature, either pure or admixed with smaller or greater quanti-ties of mineral and non-mineral materials, or obtained by the refining of crude asphaltic-base petroleum under proper methods of control. Native or "natural" asphalts are scattered through-out the world, though the commercial value of the various deposits varies greatly, depending upon both their accessibility and magnitude and the quality of the material found. It is an acknowledged fact that such asphalts have been produced through natural causes by practically the same application of tempera-ture and pressure as are used in the modern refining of crude asphaltic-base petroleum. The best known of all the native asphalt deposits are those of Trinidad Lake in the Island of Trinidad, British West Indies, and of Bermudez Lake in Vene-zuela. Asphalt from Trinidad Lake, after refining to remove organic and some inorganic diluents, contains approximately 35 per cent, of inorganic residue, and the asphalt thus produced must be fluxed with lighter asphaltic or semi-asphaltic base oil to make it com-mercially utilizable. The refined asphalt obtained from the Bermudez Lake deposit contains from 4 to 6 per cent. of inorganic material which cannot be removed. This asphalt, also, must be fluxed to produce com-mercial products. Small quantities of similar materials are available in other locations. The best pure native asphalt' is known as. gilsonite and is mined in com-mercial quantities in the State of Utah. In numerous places in the United States, particularly Oklahoma and Kentucky, there are deposits of sand¬stone and limestone impregnated with bitumen, which are known as rock asphalts. These rock asphalts may be used, particularly in the paving industry, either as found or by slight fluxing; from some deposits the asphalt is extracted and marketed commercially.

Jan 2, 1923

By Merlyn B. Buhle

FOR the past 20 years electrical earth resistivity exploration has been used in Illinois in many phases of study undertaken by the State Geological Survey, chiefly in locating and outlining deposits of water-bearing sand and gravel from which to obtain ground water for municipal and industrial supplies. At least 43 municipalities in the state derive their total water supply from deposits of sand and gravel discovered by resistivity methods. These deposits occur in both Quaternary and preglacial valleys and within much of the glacial drift which covers .a large portion of the state

Jan 4, 1953

By Lane D. Schultz, John D. McLennan, Jean-Claude Roegiers

During construction of the intake tunnels for a nuclear power facility in Ohio, evidence of a potential geological discontinuity was discovered. Assuming that the discontinuity might still prevail underneath the site, it was decided to measure the stress profile across the discontinuity. This information would be used to assess future stability on the basis of predicted shear stresses acting along the fracture. Seven intervals were hydraulically fractured to determine the magnitude and orientation of the stress tensor, in order to infer the shear stresses acting along the discontinuity. The formation consists of tightly interbedded shales. This, in combination with the shallow depths, would be expected to lead to horizontal hydraulic fractures -- a situation which generally provides limited information. Careful testing procedures, and meticulous interpretation, allowed the determination of the horizontal stress components as well as the vertical component, via the initiation and/or propagation of multiple fractures. The measured stresses fall within the range of stress magnitudes and orientation determined in other areas of the northeastern and north-central United States and in southern parts of Canada. In addition, a small stress gradient anomaly was recorded at depth. On a different scale, the measured stress regime is also evaluated in light of the regional geological setting.

Jan 1, 1982

By A. R. Ledoux

I WAS wondering whether we were going to adhere to our text. It seems to me that we are having a very remarkable meeting of mining engineers this year, because no matter what the texts may be that are assigned to us, we get back toward something higher; we turn to the consideration of questions of ethics, and of applied Christianity. Yesterday we listened to the most eloquent and remarkable address by Mr. Rickard in memory of Dr. Raymond, and it was told us that he was to speak about Raymond's achievements as an engineer. He did say considerable on that subject, but he was himself carried away with the spirit of the man and moved us all by his portrayal of Dr. Raymond's continued and fruitful labors for the betterment of mankind-that is to say his religion. Our President asked me if I would say something this afternoon and I find in the bulletin that the text of the discourses which we are to have here this afternoon is "International Cooperation in Mining in North America." But again I find that the eloquent speaker who has just preceded me has dwelt largely on ethical and spiritual cooperation rather than upon cooperation in mining. That is, cooperation as men, rather .than solely as engineers. The imaginary line dividing Canada from the United States, unmarked by fort or military post, was mentioned by a previous speaker. There are going to be in the future, I am sure, fewer entanglements of the barbed wire of tariff discrimination along our border-to that end let us cooperate. But there has always been a reciprocity in men. A Canadian conceived and created our great transcontinental line, the Great Northern Railway; an American made the Canadian Pacific what it is. In mining and metallurgy, American engineers, backed by American capital, have built up great Canadian industries while Canadian experts have developed some of the resources on this side of the line. They have done much more than develop our resources: some of them have been our leaders in sympathy for labor. It is therefore not a question of creating a spirit of cooperation, but of giving it freer scope and a fuller realization of fraternity-or, to use the .word now more common and of deeper significance-brotherhood.

Jan 4, 1919

By Thomas B. Douglas

INSTRUMENTATION in the process industries can no longer be regarded as a convenience, but rather an absolute necessity. Although many chemical processes must already be conducted with instruments, every properly designed application of automatic process control will improve operation: 1) the product will be more uniform and of higher quality; 2) the manual labor saved will reduce cost; 3) uniformity of flow and uniform control of process will increase production; and 4) surges will be eliminated, making it possible to operate equipment near ultimate capacity at all times. Industrial instruments fall into two general classifications-those that measure and those that measure and control. The cement industry has been using instruments for a number of years, particularly in the burning process, primarily for indicating and recording. Automatic process control makes additional use of these instruments, and others, to control variables. Assisted by the instrument manufacturers, engineers at Ideal Cement CO. achieved considerable progress in determining how well the usual recording instruments could be made to control various phases of cement-making. The results of these experiments were used to make the new plant at Houston as wholly automatic as possible.

Jan 2, 1958