Search Documents

By R. J. Gajan

As part of its research program on secondary metal refining, the Federal Bureau of Mines has developed a fast method for determining aluminum, iron, copper, cadmium, and lead in zinc-base alloys. The new method is intended for use by trained technicians in laboratories with inexpensive equipment. It can be used either in the analytical laboratories of the many small plants that are characteristic of the secondary metals industry or in laboratories engaged in basic research to improve refining processes. A complete analysis for the foregoing elements can be made in less than 3 hours from a single sample in solution. The method is especially helpful when a small amount of sample is available. Aluminum and iron are determined spectrophotometrically and the other elements polarographically. The new method is now being used for control analysis in metallurgical research, and the results compare favorably with previously used spectrographic methods. Luke and Braun4/ described a photometric method for the determination of aluminum in zinc diecasting alloys in which the aluminum was complexed with Aluminon reagent (ammonium salt of aurintricarboxylic acid), forming a red lake. An adaptation of this method was used for determining aluminum. Beers law is obeyed between 0.01 and 0.06 milligram of aluminum.

Jan 1, 1961

By K. B. Nowels

"INTRODUCTION For the last several years the oil industry has been turning more and more toward conservation arid the study of related production problems. It is generally conceded that ultimate recovery is increased by holding the natural gas in thy sand which is net needed in lifting the oil. The retained gas lowers the viscosity and surface tension of the oil and helps flow the oil from the sand. Lewis states that ""while the operator can not control the original conditions of energy and resistance in the sand, he can partly control the efficiency of expulsion. As it is the energy contained in the compressed and absorbed gas rather than the oil that is exhausted, it is but logical to judge the efficiency of a producing method largely by the relative quantities of gas produced with each barrel of oil. If by a change in method the producer lessons the proportion of gas with each barrel of oil, he should increase the total recovery- of oil correspondingly, even if the rate of production is temporarily reduced somewhat.""The effect of ""pinching in"" or controlling the flow of oil wells in an effort to lessen the proportion of has never been definitely known. The general belief has been that ""pinching"" a flowing well causes the oil and gas volumes to be reduced proportionately, maintaining the same gas-oil ratio as before the reduction in flow was made. Studies of gas-oil ratios in many fields have shown that much gas has been wasted, insofar as its effectiveness in oil production is concerned. Swigart and Bopp carried."

Oct 1, 1927

By K. E. Stanfield

[Asphalt and road oil are the principal products manufactured from Wyoming ?clack oils? which, because of their high asphalt an high sulfur content, are difficult and costly to refine into high-grade motor fuels, burning oils, and lubricants by pre sent methods. Accordingly, the remand for these asphaltic residuums for the construction of roads and other uses is a controlling- factor in the quantity of crude oil produced. The increasing utilization of special asphalts as inexpensive bonding, insulating, and waterproofing materials indicates the desirability of obtaining information on the yield and properties, of asphalts from Wyoming black oil to promote a wider and more stable caret for these asphaltic materials.]

Jan 1, 1941

By Henry Kreisinger, L. P. BRECKENRIDGE, WALTER T. RAY

The investigations of fuels conducted by the technologic branch of the United States Geological Survey had their inception at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904. By an act approved Febru- ary 18, 1904, Congress authorized the work of analyzing and testing at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition the coals and lignites of the United States, under the supervision of the Director of the United States Geological Survey. An appropriation of $30,000 was made for this purpose. In the general deficiency bill dated April 27, 1904, the sum of $30,000 was added to the appropriation. To carry out these investigations the Director of the Geological Survey appointed a committee consisting of E. W. Parker, statistician of the Geological Survey; Joseph A. Holmes, State geologist of North Carolina; and Marius R. Campbell, a geologist of the Geological Survey. Under the first act authorizing this work all of the machinery and coal for the tests was to be furnished the Government free of charge. The buildings containing the testing apparatus were all paid for out of the first appropriation. After the close of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition every Congress made an appropriation for continuing these fuel tests. These subsequent appropriations permitted the purchase of appliances better adapted for the testing work.

Jan 1, 1912

[Module 10. Internally Cued Operating Contingencies Prerequisite: Modules 1-7 - Estimated Instructional Time: 2.42 hrs. Module Abstract Trainees, using programmed instruction, describe the cues, consequences, operational sequences, and possible causes resulting from loss of air pressure from power fluctuations, and from a failure of the automatic lubrication system. Although some of the contingencies may be initially signaled by an alarm or from the oiler, each trainee will demonstrate proficiency in the appropriate operating techniques and procedures. This module also includes a review component for those trainees identified in the assessment exam as requiring less detailed instruction.]

Jan 1, 1976

By S. Stephen Uslan

The purpose of the study was to demonstrate the effect of positive reinforcement, specifically, social reinforcement (SR), on the frequency of eye, hand, and back injuries at four experimental salt mines. Injury data was collected from January, 1976, for the prePOMOST period and from the onset of training to September, 1978, for the post-POMOST period. All data was collected on a month-by-month basis. For the training period approximately 100 managers and supervisors from five plants were trained in the use of positive reinforcement for occurrences of "safe behavior." Each supervisor was also provided manuals and other supportive materials. Additionally, following training, all supervisors were provided some coaching experience to keep the knowledge and capabilities gained during training from being extinguished. The analysis showed significant injury reductions in two sites and no injury reductions in the other two. When the injury data was corrected for the additional man hours expended in the postPOMOST period, a third site showed reduction in injuries. Similar findings were shown when the experimental sites were compared to other sites in the industry. The results were interpreted to support the hypothesis that the application of social reinforcement is related to a reduction in injuries.

Jan 1, 1978

By K. K. Kelley

The first bulletin (269) 3 in this series, which appeared in 1932, compiled the entropy values then available for the elements and in-organic compounds, results being listed for some 150 substances. Elaborations and revisions followed in 1936 (272) and 1941 (280), when over 500 usable entropy values were tabulated. The present bulletin constitutes a further elaboration and revision. The accumulation of data since 1940 has been marked, and 800 entropy values now are available. The present bulletin also contains all the pertinent explanatory matter that appeared in its predecessors. Thus, it retains the same dual purpose of assembling the available values of the entropies at 298.16° K. of the elements and inorganic compounds and giving enough explanation of methods of calculating entropies to make the results comprehensible.

Jan 1, 1950

By Eric S. Weiss

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) conducted joint research to evaluate explosion blast effects on typical U.S. mine ventilation stoppings in the NIOSH Pittsburgh Research Laboratory?s (PRL) Lake Lynn Experimental Mine (LLEM). An innovative Australian-designed brattice stop-ping was also evaluated. After mine explosion accidents, MSHA conducts investigations to determine the cause(s) as a means to prevent future occurrences. As part of these postexplosion investigations, the condition of underground stoppings, including the debris from damaged stoppings, is documented as evidence of the approximate strength and the direction of the explosion forces. The LLEM data showed that a typical dry-stacked and coated solid-concrete-block stopping survived a total explosion pressure of ~6.7 psi (~46 kPa) and was destroyed at a total explosion pressure of ~7.6 psi (~52 kPa). In comparison, a typical dry-stacked and coated hollow-core concrete block stopping survived a total explosion pressure of ~3.4?4.3 psi (~23?30 kPa) and was destroyed at a total explosion pressure of ~3.6?5.2 psi (~25?36 kPa), depending on the length of the pressure pulse and the value of the pressure-time integral. A typical steel panel stopping design survived a total explosion pressure of 0.8 psi (5.5 kPa) and failed at a total explosion pressure of 1.3 psi (9 kPa). The LLEM data also showed that an obstacle blocking the path of a pressure wave resulted in a higher reflected pressure at the obstacle. An 8-in (20-cm) thick wet-laid solid-concrete-block stopping coated on one side survived a total explosion pressure of ~26 psi (~180 kPa); this stopping was not tested to failure. A 6-in (15-cm) thick wet-laid solid-concrete-block stopping coated on one side survived a total explosion pressure of ~14 psi (~97 kPa) and was destroyed at a total explosion pressure of ~25 psi (~172 kPa). An innovative Australian woven cloth stopping survived an explosion pressure of 4.0 psi (27 kPa) and was destroyed at an explosion pressure of ~6.1 psi (~42 kPa). These results will help investigators determine the approximate explosion forces that destroy or damage stoppings during actual coal mine explosions.

Jan 1, 2008

By Loren R. Anderson

This volume documents the use of the probabilistic slope stability program PROBISH. The probabilistic slope stability program is an interactive program and is essentially self-tutorial. It prompts the user for the required input data as it is needed, and allows the user to correct mistyped data before analysis is initiated. The program computes safety factor probable Width of failing and probability of failure for a given circular failure surface. Four example problems are included to illustrate its use.

Jan 1, 1982

By Kevin Ashley

Because toxicities may differ for Cr(VI) compounds of varying solubility, some countries and organizations have promulgated different occupational exposure limits (OELs) for soluble and insoluble hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) compounds, and analytical methods are needed to determine these species in workplace air samples. To address this need, international standard methods ASTM D6832 and ISO 16740 have been published that describe sequential extraction techniques for soluble and insoluble Cr(VI) in samples collected from occupational settings. However, no published performance data were previously available for these Cr(VI) sequential extraction procedures. In this work, the sequential extraction methods outlined in the relevant international standards were investigated. The procedures tested involved the use of either deionized water or an ammonium sulfate/ ammonium hydroxide buffer solution to target soluble Cr(VI) species. This was followed by extraction in a sodium carbonate/sodium hydroxide buffer solution to dissolve insoluble Cr(VI) compounds. Three-step sequential extraction with (1) water, (2) sulfate buffer and (3) carbonate buffer was also investigated. Sequential extractions were carried out on spiked samples of soluble, sparingly soluble and insoluble Cr(VI) compounds, and analyses were then generally carried out by using the diphenylcarbazide method. Similar experiments were performed on paint pigment samples and on airborne particulate ?lter samples collected from stainless steel welding. Potential interferences from soluble and insoluble Cr(III) compounds, as well as from Fe(II), were investigated. Interferences from Cr(III) species were generally absent, while the presence of Fe(II) resulted in low Cr(VI) recoveries. Two-step sequential extraction of spiked samples with (?rst) either water or sulfate buffer, and then carbonate buffer, yielded quantitative recoveries of soluble Cr(VI) and insoluble Cr(VI), respectively. Three-step sequential extraction gave excessively high recoveries of soluble Cr(VI), low recoveries of sparingly soluble Cr(VI), and quantitative recoveries of insoluble Cr(VI). Experiments on paint pigment samples using two-step extraction with water and carbonate buffer yielded varying percentages of relative fractions of soluble and insoluble Cr(VI). Sequential extractions of stainless steel welding fume air ?lter samples demonstrated the predominance of soluble Cr(VI) compounds in such samples. The performance data obtained in this work support the Cr(VI) sequential extraction procedures described in the international standards.

Jan 1, 2009

By John Durkin

Electromagnetic narrow-band signals were transmitted through the earth at 27 coal mines located throughout the United States. From those Bureau of Mines tests, apparent earth conductivity values were derived based upon a homogeneous half-space model of the earth. The derived conductivity values were found to be inversely proportional to the transmitted frequency and mine depth. A linear regression model relating the logarithm of the conductivity to the mine depth was formulated, and the results indicate that the mine depth can be an adequate predictor of the apparent earth conductivity above coal mines. Apparent earth conductivity was found to decrease with mine depth.

Jan 1, 1984

By John Durkin

Electromagnetic narrow-band signals were transmitted through the earth at 27 coal mines located throughout the United States. From those Bureau of Mines tests, apparent earth conductivity values were derived based upon a homogeneous half-space model of the earth. The derived conductivity values were found to be inversely proportional to the transmitted frequency and mine depth. A linear regression model relating the logarithm of the conductivity to the mine depth was formulated, and the results indicate that the mine depth can be an adequate predictor of the apparent earth conductivity above coal mines. Apparent earth conductivity was found to decrease with mine depth.

Jan 1, 1984

By K. C. Dean

A semiquantitative test for the presence and identification of cesium and rubidium in rocks, clays, and mineral waters has been developed by the Bureau of Mines. The test can be used in the field, as a guide for the prospector, geologist, or mining engineer engaged in location or development [w]ork. It comprises two simple spot tests of a solution prepared from the [m]ineral sample. Phosphomolybdic acid, added to a drop of the test solution, [d]etects cesium, rubidium, and potassium in quantities as low as 60 parts per [m]illion. Silicomolybdic acid, added to a second drop of test solution, enables the operator to distinguish between cesium and/or rubidium and potassium. Test procedures, equipment requirements, and limitations of the method are described in this report. Cesium and rubidium were discovered in 1860 and 1861 by Bunsen and Kirchhoff with a spectroscope. The elements usually occur together, particularly in granite and granitic pegmatites. Rubidium does not occur as an essential constituent of any known mineral, yet it is found as a minor element in so many minerals that rubidium is 16th in abundance in the earth's crust. Cesium, which ranks as the 37th most abundant element, is the principal component of pollucite and a minor element in a wide variety of minerals.

Jan 1, 1960

By E. E. Harton

Bureau of Mines Information Circular 16, Bibliography of Investment and Operating Costs for Chemical and Petroleum Plants, was published in October 1949 as an aid in making estimates of investment and operating costs of processes for manufacturing synthetic liquid fuels. Development of such processes by the Bureau of Mines was authorized by Public Law 290, 78th Congress. This bibliography included refer¬ences to and abstracts of publications appearing from 1930 to September 1948 on all processes in general use in the petroleum refining and chemical industries. Publications in this field have been numerous since compilation of the above bibliography, and the present report was prepared to cover the field from September 1948 through June 1952.3/

Jan 1, 1955

By Victor E. Kral

The Modarelli iron deposit , formerly known as the Requa iron deposit , is 44 miles by road south of Palisade , Nev . , on the Southern Pacific and Western Pacific Railroads . Construction of 10 miles of new road, which is necessary in case the property is exploited , will reduce this distance to about 28 miles . The deposit was discovered in 1905 , and patent was obtained in 1907 . The present owners obtained title to the property in recent years by paying the delinquent taxes . There has been no production . The ore deposit is a replacement of a Tertiary volcanic believed to be a rhyolite . Except for evidence of slight shearing , the deposit has no apparent structure . Hematite is the principal ore mineral ; it is fine-grained and is associated with very fine-grained apatite and unidentified minerals assumed to be alteration products of residual rhyolite minerals .

Feb 1, 1947

By O. C. Baptist

This report presents results of an investigation undertaken by the Bureau of Mines to determine the clay content of typical petroleum reservoir sands in Wyoming and the effect of clay content on the permeability behavior of the sands. These results should have significance in determining the feasibility of injecting water into the sands for secondary recovery and in estimating the probable damage incurred by these sands if invaded with filtrates from water-base drilling muds. The results of air-, brine-, and water-permeability determinations are given for reservoir sands in three Wyoming fields. The amounts of materials of "fine silt and clay size" (Wentworth scale) in the sands and the types of clay minerals present, as identified by X-ray diffraction methods, are also presented and discussed.

Jan 1, 1955

By McHenry Mosier

The application of diamond drills for blast holes is limited to the special Job of extracting floor and stope pillars, and therefore their operation is intermittent. The zinc ore drilled occurs in metamorphosed dolomitic limestone. The mining method is sublevel open-stoping on 200- foot lifts. Ample fresh air is provided by mechanical ventilation. Diamond drilling blast holes began in August 1944. Drills were mount- ed on a 3-inch quarry bar. The contract price for labor for operating equipment owned by the company was $0.23 per foot. The diamond bits were cast-set at the factory in a sintered tungsten matrix. Bit replacement costs were $0.15 to $0.20 per foot drilled. The feet drilled per bit ranged from 87 to 258. The feet drilled per diamond-drill shift ranged from 121 to 129. Holes were loaded with 60-percent special gelatin dyna- mite and fired electrically. In percussion drilling, the estimated feet drilled por machine shift with hand-held sinkers was 65. The tons broken per machine shift averaged 40 throughout the mine. Detachable bits have been adopted recently. The principal advantage of diamond-drilling blast holes at the Balmat mino is the extraction in a safe manner of ore not minable by short-hole drilling. The principal disadvantago is the greater cost per foot of holo in comparison with percussion drilling.

Jun 1, 1947

By D. Harrington, C. W. Owings

The mining industry is gradually realizing that safety education and safety inspection are economic factors that may not be overlooked as a means of reducing operating costs . Many mine operators , however , have failed to realize the benefits of safety , and the efforts of the more progressive mining companies are offset by the carelessness of neighboring companies when the accident records of a community or a State or the nation as a whole are considered . This tendency is indicated by the data collected by the safety division of the United States Bureau of Mines . During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1930 , relatively definite information: was secureä concerning 34 mine explosions , 24 mine fires , and 29 miscellaneous accidents ; these accidents are by no means all of the explosions , fires , and miscellaneous accidents which occurred in the mines of the United States during the period; but the data on the fires and explosions constitute a record of all of those types of accidents that were called specifically to the attention of the safety division , and the miscellaneous accidents include those on which definite , detailed data were obtained by the safety division .

Jan 1, 1931

By Susan Brink

The U.S. Bureau of Mines is investigating the potential of in situ leach mining a variety of Cu, Mn, and Au-Ag ores. Geologic characterization of ore samples from laboratory leaching experiments is conducted both prior to and after leaching to assess the effects of leaching on the chemistry, mineralogy, and texture of the rocks. The identification and chemical compositions of ore, gangue, and reaction products are determined by a combination of techniques such as reflected and transmitted light microscopy, X-ray diffraction, electron diffraction, electron microprobe analysis, and backscattered electron imaging with scanning electron microscopy. The distribution of the desired metal in various mineral phases can be illustrated using elemental X-ray maps. The potential of reactive gangue minerals to rob Cu from leach solutions is investigated with the aid of transmission electron microscopy. Porosity and permeability are measured to determine how effectively the host rock can transmit leach solution. Textural relationships between ore, gangue, secondary reaction products, and fluid channelways are determined by petrographic examination and are documented by optical photomicrographs and secondary electron imaging. Representative sample selection is described, and several epoxy impregnation and sample mounting techniques are discussed.

Jan 1, 1991

By James T. McCartney, Joseph D. Davis

For more than 10 years coke-oven technologists have been investigating the expanding properties of coal on a scale larger than that afforded by laboratory test tubes. Koppers 4/ was among the first to realize that coals can not be differentiated satisfactorily with respect to expansion in coke ovens by the simpler test-tube methods; in his first method 80 grains of fine coal were coked in a cylinder heated from the bottom, so that the zone of fusion (plastic layer) advanced from the bottom to the top. The scale of test was too small; it has been modified by other investigators, but without significant improvement in practical application of the results. Somewhat later Koppers and Jendne 5/ experimented with a small-scale coke even, one wall of which was movable, in which the layer-coking in a coke oven could be simulated closely. This oven was heated from both sides. Their results with this oven showed a peak in the time-pressure curves near the end of the coking, period when the two plastic layers, advancing from opposite walls, meet. They also found that although the smaller oven was heated from one side only and did not show the Pressure peak characteristic of two-sided heating, it still gave results entirely too high. Russell built an oven similar to the movable-wall oven of Koppers and Jenkner and compared results obtained in it on Beckley expanding coal with these obtained on the some coal in the Altieri 7/ small-scale apparatus. Both tests were conducted at the same constant pressure, but heating was from two sides in Russell's oven and from one side in the Altieri tester. Russell found that the two types of test gave comparable results under constant pressure conditions even though the heating procedures were quite different. He showed later, however, that a "borderline" coal 8/ that contracted in the Altieri tester at constant pressure developed a peak pressure of 4 pounds per square inch in the movable-wall oven heated from both sides at constant volume. He concluded from this that testing at constant volume gave results more accurately indicative of dangerous expansion tendencies than those at constant pressure. He also found that heating from both sides in this oven gave higher pressure than heating from one side only.

May 1, 1942