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By L. J. Parkinson

IN striking contrast to American mining engineering schools, in Europe a new president, known as the Rektor Magnificus, is elected each year or alternate year. An exception is Italy, where election is for a period of three years. The Rektor, who is elected by the full professors, must also be a professor and full-time member of the faculty. In most cases there is a Senate, composed of 5 to 14 full professors, some elected and some appointed, which controls the Rektor in policy decisions, but in some institutions there is no such controlling body. In the same way deans for each faculty or college are selected at the same intervals from among the full professors concerned.

Jan 1, 1958

By John C. Machisak

INJURY DATA and experience at, coal mines in the United States for 1953 and 1954 are presented in this publication with a minimum of interpretation and comment because of the numerous tables required to afford detailed comparisons between the 2 years. Corresponding tables for 1953 and 1954 follow in consecutive order under the following general sections: (A) General injury experience: Tables 1 to 11: Contain current data on number of fatal and nonfatal injuries, frequency and severity rates, and average severity and time-loss rates. (B) Selected injury data: Tables 12 to 85: Contain current data on causes of injuries, distribution of injuries by part of body injured, days of disability, extent of hand and machine loading, experience by employment and production groups, and various other operating factors and physical conditions related to the occurrence of injuries at the Nation's coal mines.

Jan 1, 1958

By R. O. Pynnonen

Tunnel-driving is recognized as a hazardous occupation; adequate support of roof and sides for preventing accidents from falling material is usually one of the most important safety problems. Where extraordinary conditions of sand and water are found, this problem becomes even more difficult. Tunneling at the Tioga No.2 mine was stopped when a 22-foot bed of water-saturated, fine gray sand was encountered. The tunnel, designed to house an ore-conveyor belt, was being driven from both ends. Driving was extremely difficult at both the upper and lower faces when the sand horizon was reached. A distance of 178 feet remained between the faces. Heavy pressures deformed the steel-supporting rings at the upper face, and there was an inrush of mud and sand at the lower face.

Jan 1, 1958

"Acta Metallurgical, C E Birchenall, Dec '58 Alfred Noble Joint Prize Committee F B Foley, Dec '61 American Association for the Advancement of Science J T MacKenzie, Dec '58, 0 B J Fraser, Dec '57 American Geological Institute Charles F Park, Oct '58, Arthur Montgomery, Oct '59 Committee on Government Relations American Power Conference J P Weir, T D Hess American Standards Association , Mining Standards Board E R Borcherdt, Jan '59, Otto Herres, '59, J K Richardson, Dec '58, Alternate E W Bullard

Jan 1, 1958

By John B. Goodman

This report presents a study of a modification of the precision laboratory carbonization-assay apparatus that renders the unit capable of performance at low-, medium-, and high-temperature assay levels and permits, under controlled conditions, evaluation of the relationship between carbonization temperature and the yield of pyrolysis products. Second, the interest and value derived from the temperature study data directly apply to the particular semiplant carbonization processes and techniques currently being investigated in this laboratory. Data obtained with the assay apparatus enables the fuel technologist to predict the probable yields of carbonization products from pilot-plant operations under various carbonizing conditions. Data obtained with the assay apparatus has been used to predict the product yields of industrial carbonization plants at Kemmerer, Wyo., and Rockdale, Tex. The assay provides a useful tool in detecting, from the carbonized plant product, the degree of effectiveness of pilot-plant operation. Third, the residual volatile matter in some industrial carbons has broad significance. Evaluation of the volatile material remaining with or in the carbon may be assessed through the high-temperature-assay technique. The low-temperature carbonization assay devised by the writers has proved to be a versatile tool in predicting the probable product yields from pilot-scale carbonization processes. The apparatus described in previous publications has been modified to extend the range of testing above 500° C. without impairing the accuracy and reproducibility obtained in the low-temperature range. Results presented here include product yields from a typical Texas lignite and Wyoming subbituminous-B-rank coal over the temperature range 150° to 1,000° C.

Jan 1, 1958

By Nicholas J. Grant, Henry Epstein, John Chipman

FOR many years steel producers have been concerned with the presence of hydrogen in steel. Hydrogen dissolved in excess of its solid solubility at the melting point may cause bleeding and gross unsoundness in ingots and castings. In fully-killed steels the hydrogen content which results in these difficulties varies with the alloy content1 and may range from 6 to 12 ppm.* It is also recognized that of heat treatment diminishes rapidly as the size of the part to be treated increases. The time required to remove a specified fraction of the hydrogen present increases as the square of the diameter of the section, making the treatment of large- sizes impractical. In order to prevent bleeding and gross unsound-ness due to hydrogen, and in view of the inadequacy of corrective heat treatment alone to provide optimum properties when hydrogen is present in large sections, efforts to limit the hydrogen content must be taken while the steel is still liquid. The main subject of this paper is a discussion of the factors affecting the hydrogen content of liquid steel in acid and basic open hearth, and basic electric two-slag furnace processing. Literature Survey Because many of the results and observations reported in the literature have a direct bearing on the results obtained in the present research and form part of the basis for conclusions reached, a brief summary of the findings is necessary. Methods for experimental investigation of hydrogen in liquid steel are comparatively new. The first attempts to estimate the hydrogen content of the open hearth bath were by Kalling and Rudberg,6 who devised a method for collecting gases evolved from the boiling bath of a basic open hearth furnace. They found that the gas during the boil generally contained 2 to 3 pct H2. From this and Sieverts'

Jan 1, 1958

By John E. Bailey

The advent of Nuclear Energy has caused a phenomenal growth in the uranium mining industry. To keep abreast of this surge the mining industry has located many ore bodies, determined the best types of mining adaptable to this particular type of ore and developed a highly specialized type of operation. But, has the mining industry gone far enough in the planning? Has ?built-in? safety been included in the efficient methods of operation? Preplanning safety in the mining industry, as in all industries, takes engineering and ingenuity combined with the experience and cooperation of all concerned. A system of mining can be planned on a map and it will look good. However, when the actual mining takes place, conditions may be such that deviations from the original plans may be required because of excessive water faults or other conditions encountered. With safety we may also be required to change, to conform to the characteristics of a particular operation. People in the mining industry are well aware that loose back has killed miners each year. This condition occurred in practically all types of mines. The condition is not new to us. It is also known that explosives, haulage, machinery and conditions common to all types of mining have taken a heavy toll of human life in mining. In addition to these hazards in the uranium mines, the hazard of radon is also present, Radon is a radioactive gas liberated from ores containing radium. This gas is released into the active workings by the blasting or breaking up of the ore. Sometimes it is caused by radium contaminated water seepage from abandoned workings or from the ore body itself. Until the action of this gas on the human was known, many miners were affected. Un- less adequate precuations are taken to protect the people in these mines,, they may be exposed to this hazard, Health researchers made a study of this substance to determine how it would affect the health of the men, They also studied men who had worked in previous years, in mines known to have contained radioactive materials. All of this research contributed to the present knowledge of radon and its daughter products. It is not flammable nor explosive, but, if allowed to enter the body through the respiratory organs it can cause serious damage. Mines have been operated in the past and are still being operated, which were known to contain explosive and noxious gases, indicating that this problem can be controlled. Several states have instituted laws that make it mandatory to provide adequate ventilation and use of monitoring devices to limit radon and its daughter products to a maximum of 300 micro-microcuries per liter of air. This is considered a safe limit for sustained periods of human exposure. While the findings of research do not prove conclusively that the inhalation of excessive radon or its daugher products cause lung cancer, indications point to this as a possibility, particularly radium A and radium C1 of the daughter products. The threshold limits set by law in most uranium producing states are believed to be safe. In a few years, when tests and data now in the process of collection by interested state officials and laboratories is complete, these limits may be found to be ready for revision. Studies such as these take time. At present, the limits that are used are based upon estimates. The permissible limits of exposure to radon and daughter products include a large safety factor. It is considered that a good supply of fresh air delivered to the working places, adequate dust control, the sealing of unused or abandoned workings, the removal of mine water which is generally contaminated and a safe waiting period after blasting, will hold to a minimum the dangers from this source. There are, of course, problems accompanying each of these procedures. For example, the ventilating of untimbered raises and bringing fresh, uncontaminated air to the working places may be a problem. However, a good mining man can solve these problems as they apply in each particular operation. From the information available at the present time, the daughter products containing polonium and emitting alpha radiation, may be a health hazard. Fortunately, the half life of most of the daughter products is short, however, radium D has a half life of 22 years and presents a problem of contamination in the storage of old tailings. So we can see that failure to comply with the accepted good mining practices may have harmful effects on the health of miners. It is gratifying to note the interest in this potential hazard by the officials in the uranium ore producing states, who are making extensive studies and keeping records of the men who work in this type of mining. This all provide information necessary for preplanning safety. By contrast, little has been accomplished to control the injuries and deaths from some other factors connected with most underground mining operations. I would like to discuss briefly one of the hazards which take an annual toll in our underground mines, this is falls of back and walls. This problem or hazard is present, and will be

Jan 1, 1958

By William A. Vogely

HIGH ACTIVITY, continuing the substantial recovery from the slump of 1954, characterized the domestic nonfuels-mining industries during 1956 Income generated in producing nonfuel minerals and mineral products3 increased 9 percent over 1955 as compared with a 6-percent increase for all industries. Thus, the 1956 performance of the mineral industries, while not as dramatic as the 27-percent increase obtained in 1955, continued to exceed the gains of the total economy. Other measures of mineral activity strengthen this conclusion. The index of physical volume of mineral production, presented for the first time as an integral part of this review, reflects significant gains in all major sectors during 1956; and, although the overall increase was diminished somewhat by the steel and iron-ore strike in July 1956, the all-mineral index (including fuels) reached a new high.

Jan 1, 1958

By Walter B. Hester

All persons and communities that have experienced strong-motion earthquakes are convinced of the importance and complexity of earthquake problems thatmust be solved in order to reduce the personal hazards and property losses to a reasonable minimum. It is also clear that absolute elimination of all risks is impossible. Reduction of existing hazards and precautionary measures which will minimize chances for disaster can be accomplished by realistic appraisal of the effects of recent earth- quakes on modern structures and installations. Localities that have reason to expect so-called strong- motion earthquakes can anticipate these effects by taking appropriate steps. Valid earthquake information can only be obtained from earthquakes. Each earthquake contributes to the body of knowledge by additional facts and by clarification of previous observations. Rational interpretation of the data followed by practical application of the conclusions can contribute greatly to the safety of persons and property. The general public expects the architectural and engineering profession to accept this obligation and render this service. Most earthquake hazards are man-made and arise from the imperfections of the works of man and his failure to anticipate the consequences when the natural characteristics of his environment are ignored. If it is not given to man to prevent such natural phenomena as earthquakes, it is sometimes within his power to control their destructive effects and to reduce to a minimum the toll of life and human suffering.

Jan 1, 1958

By Joseph L. Gillson

IT is a somewhat curious circumstance that the newest of the Institute's several awards should be conferred in the oldest of our several professional fields—for there is little question that geology and mining have antedated metallurgy and petroleum. Perhaps so did geophysics. After all, one geophysical instrument, the magnetic compass, has been successfully employed for many centuries. Young in years the Jackling Award may be, but in distinction—whether in terms of the title it bears or in terms of the first three medalists (Reno Sales, E. D. Gardner, and the late Father MaceIwane)—the Jackling Award is already one of the ranking awards of the Institute. The name of the 1957 medalist will bring added luster to an already illustrious roll. J. L. Gillson was born and brought up in Evan-ston, Ill., in an area characterized by singularly flat and uninspiring topography, and devoid of ore deposits and even of bedrock—a most unlikely environment from which to expect a future Jackling medalist to emerge! On graduating from high school he enrolled as a chemistry major at Northwestern University. At the end of his frkshman year his scholastic prowess had won him a prize of two chemistry books. But these went unread, for about this time he came under the spell of U. S. Grant, that distinguished and enthusiastic geologist who for many years was head of Northwestern's geology department. From thence forward Joe was a dedicated geologist. After a Navy interlude in World War I, he went to MIT for graduate work, substituted for the late Professor Palache for one year at Harvard in mineralogy, received his doctorate at MIT and stayed on as a meniber of the MIT faculty, where the geology department was headed by that great dean of all economic geologists, Waldemar Lindgren. In 1926 Joe spent a summer looking into barite deposits for the du Pont Co., and since 1928 he has been du Pont's chief geologist. Do men who lead such active lives in our exploration organizations generally have permission to publish their observations? Do they generally find time to publish, even if they have permission? Alas, no. But in Joe Gillson's case, yes. His bibliography runs to well over two score papers, including one of the very first papers in this country on the applications of petrography to problems of Portland cement. He has written on such topics as the origin of talc and the genesis of ilmenite, fluorspar, and alkaline rocks. Each year for a number of years his annual reviews of industrial minerals in the Mining Congress Journal have been eagerly awaited. - Do men who do so much to advance their science have anything left to give to the advancement of their profession? In Joe Gillson's case, yes. He has been a vice president of the Mineralogical Society of America and has been active in the councils of the Society of Economic Geology, particularly in their research programs. This year he is president of the American Geological Institute, currently perhaps the most challenging post to which a geologist may be elected. His contributions to AIME scarcely need documentation, so I shall mention only three—his chairmanship of the Committee on Democratization of the Institute, a committee whose work and recommendations brought a new and hopeful leaven to AIME at a time when this was sorely needed; his chairmanship, a few years ago, of the Industrial Minerals Division; and his current place on the Board of Directors as Vice President of the Institute. Such' a catalogue of contributions and achievement, even as condensed as I have had to make it, certainly merits the Jackling Award. Yet, implicit although not often expressed in the conferring of most awards is the hope that besides recognizing a distinguished career, it will provide stimulus for further effort. In the present instance, such an expectation is already well on the way to fulfillment. Only recently Joe Gillson has undertaken the editorship of a new and greatly revised edition of the Institute's Seeley Mudd volume, Industrial Minerals and Rocks. And so, Mr. Chairman, it is with pleasure and enthusiasm that I present Dr. J. L. Gillson for the 1957 Jackling Award.

Jan 1, 1958

By E. M. Furness, A. S. Henderson

ORIGINALLY the Babbitt experimental plant grinding circuit consisted of one rod mill 101/2 ft diam by 12 ft long in open circuit followed by two ball mills 101/2 ft diam* 12 ft long in parallel cir- the slow-speed ball mills. The next step was to improve rod mill operation by changing the speed of this mill. Such an attack would affect only one mill and would allow slower speed on the ball mills. The rod mill, as originally purchased, operated at 15.45 rpm. Additional pinions were purchased to test this mill at 16.45, 17.45, and 18.45 rpm. When the mill speed was increased by the use of these pinions, rod breakage with this short mill increased out of all proportion to the improved grinding, until at 18.45 rpm breakage became as high as 7 lb per

Jan 1, 1958

By R. D. MacDonald, John Dasher, A. M. Gaudin

ION exchange is a widely used unit operation in water treatment and elsewhere in chemical industries. It has occasionally been used in hydro-metallurgy for treating plating, pickling, and rayon wastes Concerning ion exchange in extractive hydrometallurgy—for treating ore leach solutions— the literature prior to the Geneva Conference has given only hints."-" Yet most of the ore leach plants now being built or completed in the last three years use ion exchange for this purpose. Most of these plants are used for extracting uranium. The overall process for leaching low grade uranium ores and the history of its development have been given in the authors' previous papers.',' The object of this paper is to discuss certain engineering aspects of the new application of ion exchange to recover dissolved values from ore leach solutions. Necessarily the illustrations will be taken from the first application—to uranium metallurgy. Although ion exchange processes have been devised in which separation of spent residue from pregnant liquor is not required, as in the RIP process,"-'I only ion exchange operation, in which the resin is contacted with a clear solution, will be discussed in this paper. Uranium exists in acid leach liquors mainly as the cation UO," and can be adsorbed completely by cation exchange resins, but the adsorption is not selective as other cations such as Fe++, Fe+++, Al+++, Mg++, Mn", and Ca++ are also adsorbed. Uranium, however, forms complex anions with sulfate, phosphate," Carbonate"~"~ and even with chloride if the solution is strong enough.15 These anions can be adsorbed by anion exchange resins. The strong base anion exchangers have a very strong preference for these complexes and hence this adsorption is very selective. In this paper, the examples concern acid sulfate leach liquors from which uranium is adsorbed as UO,(SO,),-% and UO,(SO,),". Materials and Equipment Ion Exchange Material—Ion exchange materials include natural and synthetic; organic and inorganic; cationic and anionic; and weak, intermediate, and strong varieties. They consist of fragments or beads normally in the size range —16 to $50 mesh. The newer varieties have been developed to have greater stability, chemical strength, and/or capacity than earlier varieties. The resin used for uranium recovery is a strong base anion exchanger.* To make * Such as Rohm and Haas Amberlite IRA-400 series, British Permutit DeAcidite FF. Permutit lonac SE. and Dow Nalcite SAR. this resin, styrene plus a few percent divinyl benzene are polymerized into long chains with occasional cross links. This resin in bead form is then reacted to introduce quaternary amine groups onto most of the aromatic rings.' These resins are water-avid gels of specific gravity of about 1.1, which shrink and swell by osmosis when the ionic content of the surrounding solution is changed. The beads which are shown in Fig. 1 can be broken like an onion by rapidly replacing 15 pct H,SO, with water. This organic gel can also be broken by mechanical handling as by a centrifugal pump. Otherwise it is remarkably stable. It is unharmed by fairly strong acid or alkali, oxidizing or reducing agents, and heat up to 70°C. The strong base resin when completely in the chloride form (with a chloride anion on each quaternary amine group) holds over 107 g of C1- per dry kg. As all these chloride ions can be displaced by other anions, the resin has an exchange capacity of over 3 g equivalents per dry kg. However, the resin is sold and used by moist volume. The moist resin contains about 50 pct water, weighs about 43 lb per cu ft, has 40 pct voids, and an exchange capacity of over 1 g equivalent per liter of bed volume. Ion Exchange Equipment—Ion exchange equipment used for recovery of uranium from leach solutions is substantially identical to that developed for water treatment and other applications.'" The resin beds are held in closed tanks or columns which, in the uranium plants, have been standardized at 7 ft diam and 12 ft high. The resin bed

Jan 1, 1958

By M. Bourgon

The conductivity of liquid copper sulfide has been measured as a function of the mole fraction of sulfur in the melt at three temperatures: 1170°, 1250°, and 1300°C. The results show that a) the conductivity of copper-rich Cu,S is independent of the sulfur pressure in the furnace, and b) the conductivity of sulfur-rich copper sulfide increases rapidly with sulfur pressure. Assuming that the band theory is applicable to liquids leads to the conclusion that copper-rich copper sulfide is an intrinsic semiconductor, in which case electrons act as carriers. The activation energy for conduction in this case has been calculated to be 0.7 ev. On the other hand, sulfur-rich copper sulfide behaves as a p-type semiconductor, positive holes being responsible for conduction. IN order to elucidate the structure of Liquid copper (1) sulfide, Derge, Pound, and Osuchl have studied the electrical conductivity of this compound as a function of temperature. Their results showed that the conductivity is rather high, of the order of 100 ohm" cm", and that the temperature coefficient of conductivity is positive. This high conductivity seemed to indicate electronic rather than ionic conduction. This conclusion was checked further by Derge, Pound, and Yang,2 who measured the current efficiencies of copper sulfide melts at various temperatures. In all cases, the current efficiency was found to be nil, indicating the absence of appreciable ionic contribution to the conduction in

Jan 1, 1958

By G. H. Lair, B. J. Langford, S. H. Rockwood

Volumetric reservoir analysis is dependent upon a firm relationship between porosity, connate water, and net pay. Capillary presswe data on core samples interrelate these three factors. It is shown that other reservoir problems may be resolved: (I) whether water production is indigenous or extraneous to the oil producing interval, (2) an oil-water contact is being approached, and (3) whether the oil-water contact is remotely situated. INTRODUCTION Volumetric analysis of carbonate reservoirs challenges the ingenuity of the reservoir engineer due to an absence of data on the minimum oil-bearing and oil-producing pores of a given reservoir rock. Many studies with this as the ultimate objective are available on the physical characteristics and fluid-flow behaviors of the carbonate reservoir. Some of these publications are: Hassler, Brunner and Deahl's1 study of the role of capillarity in oil production; Jan Law's' and A. C. Bulnes3 statistical treatment of core analysis data; Chalkley's method4,5 or estimating specific surface areas and porosity; Walter Rose's9 report on porosity, reserves, and recovery; Archie's78 tex-tural classification of carbonate rocks; Stewart and Spurlock's9 large core analysis; Purcell'sl0 mercury injection method in studying capillary pressure phenomena; Stewart, Craig, and Morse's" model multiple-phase flow test in investigating the relative permeability effect; and Fatt's12 illumi-nating network model of porous me-dia. The present study shows that the static reservoir parameters of porosity, connate water, and net productive thickness may be interrelated by utilizing a statistical arrangement of mercury capillary pressure data in addition to routine core analysis. This report summarizes the techniques that are followed to obtain these relations which are applicable to carbonate and sandstone reservoirs that do not contain clays. Capillary pressure statistical studies may be extended to include clay-bearing rocks by utilizing water capillary pressure data. POROSITY It is necessary that the laboratory determine the porosity value that includes the pores that are filled with hydrocarbons and water in the reservoir. This is the reservoir's total porosity. When true total porosity values are not available, correlations between porosity and capillary pressure characteristics lose their significance since they cannot be related through oil-base mud core data to the porosity and connate water values found in reservoirs. Methods used to obtain reliable porosity data will not be discussed; however, care should be exercised in selecting samples for measurement. In homogeneously porous formations, small core plugs sampled frequently will furnish adequate information. Where heterogeneity, particularly vugginess, is present, large-core porosity data may be required; in such reservoirs a suite of capillary pressure samples may be selected from small plugs. CAPILLARY PRESSURE Capillary pressure data provide a method for relating two carbonate reservoir parameters, porosity and connate water saturation, which in turn permit delineation of productive rock types necessary for selecting the third parameter, productive thickness. Specific applications of capillary pressure data to petroleum reservoirs were suggested by Archie8 and Pur-cell."' Their work demonstrated that in preferentially water-wet rock, porc

Jan 1, 1958

By R. L. Smith, J. L. Rutherford

ALTHOUGH considerable effort has been devoted toward the determination of the mechanical properties of pure metals, it is extremely difficult to compare the results of such work. This is because of differences in method and type of test, grain size, heat treatment, and purity of material. There is very little information on the properties of most of the high melting point reactive metals with purities greater than 99.9 pct. Previous evidence concerning the tensile properties of unalloyed metals show that: body-centered-cubic metals are brittle at low temperatures; face-centered-cubic metals remain ductile; some hexagonal metals remain ductile, others become brittle. It may be that traces of impurities decrease the low temperature ductility of the body-centered-cubic lattice. This would suppose that a body-centered-cubic lattice free from impurities would exhibit nearly the same ductility as a face-centered-cubic structure. The present investigation has been an evaluation of the tensile properties of zone refined iron in order to determine whether higher purity material than that previously evaluated behaves differently. Experimental Procedure In this investigation, high purity iron was zone purified using the floating zone method.' The starting stock was obtained from two sources. The first,

Jan 1, 1958

By Milton B. Hall

This report discusses in detail laboratory and pilot-plant tests conducted from January 1951 until January 1955 at the Northwest Electrodevelopment Experiment Station of the Bureau of Mines, Albany, Oreg., on defluorination and recovery of evolved fluorine from phosphate rock. Results of use tests of defluorinated phosphate rock by cooperating agricultural colleges and the United States Department of Agriculture are also included. In 1954 the consumption of fluorspar, the only domestic fluorine-bearing mineral of commercial importance, was approximately 478,000 short tons; 245,000 tons was from domestic mines. The production of marketable phosphate rock in the same period was about 13,800,000 long tons. Of this total amount, approximately 15 percent was produced in the West. From the viewpoint of conservation and utilization of fluorine as a natural resource, it is interesting to note that the total estimated quantity of fluorine in domestically produced phosphate rock is more than double that present in domestically mined fluorspar.

Jan 1, 1958

By T. M. Geffen, J. L. Sanderlin, F. F. Craig, D. W. Moore

Scaled reservoir models have been used to study the effect of gravity on oil recovery performance in frontal-drive operations; namely, water, gas, or solvent flooding. The difference in density between the reservoir oil and the injected fluid causes their segregation, resulting in a non-uniform advance of the fluid front. In the laboratory flow tests, which simulated both five-spot and linear injection operations in flat reservoirs, the viscous, capillary, and gravity forces present in these operations were scaled. Dyed fluids were used so that the gross movement of the injected fluid could be observed. The studies covered a range of injection rates, formation thicknesses, and rock and fluid properties normally encountered in field operations. The results of the model tests indicate that the volume of the reservoir contacted by the injected fluid at its breakthrough into the producing well is less than that expected based on information which neglects gravity effects. This difference can often be as much as 80 per cent by gas or water injection in uniform sand bodies. Preliminary flow tests on a non-uniform sand body indicate that the uniformity of the flood fronts may in some situations be influenced to a much greater degree by permeability variations within the rock body than by gravity effects. The magnitude of fluid segregation due to gravity is controlled by the average injection rate, rather than day to day or week to week variations. INTRODUCTION One of the important factors controlling the oil recovery from a frontal-drive operation, such as water, gas, or solvent injection, is the volumetric sweep efficiency. This factor is a measure of the gross portion of the reservoir that is contacted by the displacing fluid. The volumetric sweep efficiency is influenced by gravity effects, well arrangements, and variations in rock permeability within the reservoir. The gravity effects are due to the displacing fluid being of different density than the reservoir oil. This causes the displacing fluid to move preferentially toward either the top or bottom of the formation. Non-uniform advance of the flood front can be caused by the relative positions of the injection and production wells. Variations in rock permeability also result in an uneven advance of the displacing fluid. Gas zones, representing paths of low resistance, may result in non-uniform movement of the injected fluid. The more uneven the advance of the displacing fluid, the lower is the volumetric sweep efficiency and thus the lower the oil recovery efficiency. The effects of well arrangement and permeability variations, upon the gross movement of the injected fluid have been the subjects of extensive investiga-ti0ns.1,2,3,4,5,6 Gravity effects have been recognized as being present in frontal-drive operations'.' but there has been little quantitative measure of their magnitude. Very likely the reason gravity effects have not been studied is that this problem does not lend itself to simple experimental or mathematical analysis. The development of reservoir modeling techniques has made possible a quantitative determination of the effect of gravity on fluid segregation and thus upon the oil recovery performance of frontal-drive operations. This paper presents a progress report on a laboratory investigation of gravity effects in fully liquid-saturated, horizontal, uniform as well as non-uniform systems. These results were obtained from scaled experiments on both linear and five-spot systems within the range of conditions normally encountered in secondary recovery operations. This study is concerned with the gross movement of the injected fluid to the time it first reaches the production wellbore. Therefore, it should be emphasized that the results of this paper can not be used to determine the effect of gravity segregation on oil recovery efficiency at abandonment conditions. MODEL SCALING The science of scaling models is relatively new as applied as petroleum production problems, Many of the scaling techniques have been adaptions of those used in basic studies of heat and fluid flow. There are

Jan 1, 1958

By M. R. Tek

General equations relating the pressure drop necessary to sustain the flow of a fluid through a porous matrix at a given rate have been developed. The results indicate that at high values of flow rate the pressure-flow behavior may not necessarily satisfy the usual Darcy equation. The mathematical analysis, carried through the micro-pore geometry and extended through the macro-reservoir scale, indicate that Darcy's law, of limited applicability to certain ranges of Reynolds numbers, can be generalized through the inclusion of some additional parameters. The "generalized Darcy equation" has also been formulated in dimen-sionless form permitting the evaluation of its predictive accuracy with regard to literature data. A comparison between predicted and experimental values indicates that the generalized Darcy equation predicts the pressure drops with good agreement over all possible ranges of Reynolds numbers. INTRODUCTION The limits and the nature of validity of Darcy's law' has been a subject of every-day interest to the industry for many years. It is well known that as the Reynolds number, characteristic of the fluid flow through porous media, becomes large, Darcy's law gradually loses its predictive accuracy and ultimately becomes completely void. For the last 20 years much has been said and written on this subject. Unfortunately little has been accomplished to bring about a satisfactory agreement, at least on the nature of the threshold of validity of Darcy.'s law. Fluid dynamists, geo-physicists, and engineers all had their individual views, explanations, interpretations and concepts on the subject. To some, a mechanistic analogy with pipe-flow proved a satisfactory explanation.' To others,' turbulence, in its random character, was incompatible with the geometric structure of consolidated porous systems. To some,4 turbulence merely represented a factor influencing the permeability measurements and again to others5,6,7 em-pirical or semi-empirical correlations proved satisfactory from an engineering viewpoint. Deviations from Darcy's law at high flow rates have been studied by systematic experiments by Fancher, Lewis, and Barnes.' In an article on the flow of gases through porous metals, Green and Duwezs conclude that the onset of turbulence within the pores appears unsatisfactory to explain deviations from Darcy's law. This view is held by many others. While the subject remained controversial for many years, the development of vast natural gas reserves throughout recent years further justified considerable interest on this problem from the standpoint of gas reservoir behavior. As large amounts of field data became available from the operation of many gas fields, it became evident that the steady-state behavior of gas wells was not, in general, in agreement or compatible with Darcy's law. This suggested a careful reconsideration of all mechanisms which may account for pressure drops in addition to viscous shear. In a series of articles9,10 . Hou-peurt indicated that deviations from Darcy's law may be explained on the basis of kinetic energy variations and jetting effects without resorting to assumptions on turbulent flow conditions. Another article by Schneebeli11 indicates that special experiments by Lindquist clearly demonstrated that the onset of turbulence does not necessarily coincide with conditions of deviation from Darcy's law. This view is also held by M. King Hubbert.12 Starting with the basic pressure-flow relations suggested by Houpeurt, the derivation, development and extension of analytical expressions to -supplement and generalize Darcy's law has been the objective of this work. MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS Derivation of Dimensionless Pressure-drop, Flow-rate Relations In considering the flow of a fluid through a porous matrix geometrically represented by a succession of capillary passages in the shape of truncated cones,810 an approximate expression may be derived relating viscous and inertial, i.e., total pressure drop to the physical properties of the fluid, geometric properties of the rock matrix and the rate of flow: ?P/?r = µ/k V [ 1 + c(m4 - 1) p V/16n" mµ w] ..........(1) Let us formally set: c (m4 - 1) / 16n" m = a d ......(2) Such a representation is equivalent to assert that the term [c(m4 — 1)/ 16n"m], variable with various porous media and probably highly variable within a given porous medium, may be macroscopically defined as equal to a lithology factor times the aver-age grain diameter d. In view of the usual grain and pore size distribu-

Jan 1, 1958

By L. Wahl, M. Allard, B. Trentini

REMOVAL of sulfur in steelmaking is presently a problem of utmost importance as requirements on final sulfur contents in finished steels become increasingly strict. This is in spite of often increased sulfur contents in the fuels used during the different stages of steel processing. According to local conditions or current economic factors, sulfur can be removed during one or more of the processing operations; for instance, in a blast furnace operated under high temperatures and with a high slag basicity ratio and also by means of high inputs of manganese into the burden. These methods of proceeding are, however, expensive and in contradiction with the acid practice which is gradually being developed owing to the fact that it allows coke and lime savings and usually permits an increase of productivity. In the melting-shop, desulfurization can proceed in the open-hearth or electric furnace with one or several very basic slags, or with special prefused slags (Perrin process) mixed with steels poured from the open-hearth, electric furnace, or converter. Liquid pig iron has also been treated separately before being used in the melting shop, in order to reduce high sulfur contents. This external desul-furization has been developed in Europe for the basic Bessemer Thomas process, which is again in favor owing to the great flexibility of such installations and to the fact that the steel produced is not polluted by impurities coming from the scrap. Since the basic Bessemer process, as usually practiced, has a low desulfurizing power, external desulfurization is generally carried out in ladles by means of alkalies such as soda ash. This method, which has the advantage of being simple and costing little, has only a medium desulfurizing power, which implies the necessity for repeating the operation several times when a substantial amount of sulfur has to be removed or when very low sulfur contents are desired. Thermal losses are high and there is a considerable decrease in output. Moreover, the resulting fluid and corrosive slag, which is extremely difficult to eliminate, attacks the refractory linings of the mixers and steel furnaces. Therefore, it seems necessary to devise a simple method for external desulfurization which would not only remove substantial quantities of sulfur from the hot metal coming from an acid blast furnace, but which would also bring the sulfur contents down to the low level required in the making of high quality steel and iron. Principle of the Process In this paper a new method will be described for desulfurizing hot metal. It has been perfected by

Jan 1, 1958

By Chester S. Conrad

SEVERAL years ago Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Co. intensified efforts to combat the hazard of mine fires. The program consisted of three parts in the order of likely accomplishment: 1) Purchase and installation of newer and more practical fire fighting equipment. 2) Establishment of trained fire fighting teams at every mine plant. 3) A drive to remove the causes of mine fires. Experimentation with alternating current on section equipment is a major development in this part of the program. Use of alternating current to power mining equipment had been recognized as being most practical from the standpoint of safety. A means to re- place the d-c traction motor is all that has delayed complete section mechanization with a-c power.

Jan 1, 1958