Search Documents

By William J. Gillich, Gerald L. Moss

PREVIOUS studies of the shock loading of randomly oriented polycrystalline aggregates have firmly established that, after rather short load duration, hydrostatic compression closely approximates the shocked state.' However, McQueen deduced from pressure measurements with good time resolution that, during shock loading, metals begin to undergo a stress relaxation at the yield stress. He suggested that the relaxation is due to plastic deformation accompanying the change from a one-dimensional compression to a three-dimensional, hydrostatic, compression.' Stress relaxation may occur faster as stress is increased above the yield stress, but the existence of unidirectionally compressed states for finite times suggests that the concept of a unidirectionally distorted lattice should furnish considerable insight into the mechanical behavior of materials subjected to shock loading. Here, a crystallographic analysis is presented for the hypothetical situation where atom motion may be considered as unidirectional which, as indicated above, is a useful extension of the macroscopic concept of shock loading to the microscopic domain. Only motion caused by the com-pressive forces is treated; i.e., lattice vibrations upon which this motion is superimposed, as discussed by Fitzgerald, are ignored.3 The purpose of the analysis to be presented is to develop a description for single crystals of the lattice rotations that occur for idealized uniaxial strain deformation. The usefulness of such an analysis in realistic deformation is to give a method of specification of those properties of an initially distorted lattice which would affect the subsequent deformation. Non-axial complications that arise experimentally, such as off-axis rarefaction waves, must be treated in proper context. Consider the material element shown in Fig. 1 and let the compression be uniform at all regions of the element. Then, any interior point of the element is displaced in proportion to its distance from the base of the element. Accordingly, if the top of a unit element is displaced by an amount, (-K), with respect to the base, a point P(X, Y) will be displaced by (-KY). Crystal planes are, therefore, rotated by the compression. Analysis of this rotation may be accomplished from the geometry shown in Fig. 1 where the line OP is the edge of the plane {hkl} and N is its normal. The orientation of the crystal plane with respect to the shock direction is specified by the angle, before deformation. After deformation the edge of plane {hkl}

Jan 1, 1969

By Jaime Lomelin

The brines from the sub-surface of the Laguna del Rey dry lake are pumped to Química del Rey, S. A. plant, where they are cooled in adiabatic crystallizers precipitating sodium sulphate decahydrate. This salt is dehydrated in multiple effect evaporators and dried in rotary kilns producing high purity anhydrous sodium sulphate. The spent brines from the sodium sulphate operation are concentrated in solar ponds, precipitating astrakanite and leaving a brine with a higher concentration of magnesium ions. This brine is treated with calcium chloride solution to eliminate the remainder of sulphates, leaving a solution of magnesium chloride ready for the manufacture of refractory grade magnesium oxide or periclase. The magnesium chloride is reacted with dolime to produce magnesium hidroxide which is washed, filtered, and calcined to produce soft burned magnesium oxide, which is briquetted and dead burned to produce the periclase.

Jan 1, 1984

By J. R. O’Connor

Stimulated emission from Nd+3 in yttrium uanadate fYVOJ is reported. Single crystals of YVO4:Nd, obtained from Linde Col-p., have improved substantially in the last several months. Pulsed thresholds of YVO, laser rods are now approximately 2 to 3 5, cowparable to tliose for YAG:Nd. Yttrium uanadate crystalli~es irz a space group similar to zircon. All rare-earth vanadates have this structure. Rare-earth ions sucll as Nd+3 which substitutes for Y+3, aye situated irz a strong tetragonal crystal field which lacks inversion symmetry. This condition increases the p'robability of the parity-forbidden f — f transitions. Yttrium anadate has strong absorption bands beyond -1000A. These are clue to Y-O, V-O charge transfer and molecular transitions. Under 2537 and 3660A irradiation pure YVO, fluroresces u bright yel-LOLO. This fli&orescence is corrzpletely quenched in YV04:Ncl crystals. This and other evidence of energy trut~sjer from the lattice is repovted. Optzcul atz 1user pvope 1-ties o! YI'U4:E[t are brieJy described. THIS paper describes some of the optical and laser properties of Nd+3- and Eu+3-doped yttrium orthovana-date (YVO4). It reports laser action for the first time in this low-symmetry host. For some time we have pursued a research program concerning laser hosts' wherein the rare-earth (RE) ion is situated at a site of low crystal symmetry so as to increase the probability of radiative transitions. Single crystals of doped and undoped YV04 are grown from iridium crucibles in an oxyhydrogen gas-fired furnace by a modified Czochralski technique.' This material crystallizes in a D4li tetragonal space group of the zircon (ZrSiO,) type.3 All RE vanadates have the same structure and form solid solutions with YVO4. Therefore, it will be possible to investigate a variety of cross-pumped laser systems, as in the case of yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG).4 At present, ~d'~-doped YAG is one of the most efficient solid-state lasers.5 Accordingly, most of the material to follow will compare the properties of YV04 to those of YAG. Fig. 1 shows the relative transmission of YAG and two types of YVO4. "Pure" YVO4 has a normal absorption edge and is colorless. A second type has a broad absorption peaking near 4200A and is yellow. Rubin and Van uitert6 suggest the yellow material is slightly reduced. Samples of each type are being investigated by electron spin resonance,7 but these studies are so far inconclusive. The pulsed laser threshold is much lower in the yellow material than in the colorless. Therefore, the absorption at 3500 to 5000.4 transfers energy to the Ndi3 ions. Photons of wave length between 2000 and 4500A cause undoped YVO4 to fluoresce at 4800, 5250, 5460, 5540, and 5750A. This emission, previously reported by Brixner and Abramsom,8 is partially quenched by EU'~ and completely quenched by Ndt3 at room temperature due to energy transfer from the lattice to the RE ions. At low temperatures, some lattice fluorescence is present. This implies that the energy-transfer process is in part phonon-assisted. Although the YVO, single crystals used in this work were prepared from Y2O3 containing less than 0.01 pct rare-earth impurities, there is aopossibility that emission lines between 4800 and 5750A are due to dysprosium, terbium, and so forth. However, these lines are not observed in other compounds, prepared from Y2O3, such as YP04, Y2MoO6, and so forth. Furthermore, extensive absorption measurements on our "pure" YV04 single crystals between 0.4 and 5.0 failed to reveal any characteristic rare-earth lines. Fig. 2 compares the absorption spectra of Ndt3-doped YAG and YVO4from 0.6 to 1.0 . The Ndt3 absorptions are labeled according to free ion, R-S coupling. These term designationsQ are appropriate for YAG:Nd. They appear to be inappropriate for YV04:Nd. In YVO, neodymium must substitute for yttrium. The yttrium site is situated In a strong tetragonal field, where point symmetry is (42m) or possibly lower.1° However, the reduced splitting of the Stark components of the YV0,:Nd spectrum implies that the NdT3 ion is in a cubic site. The only plausible explanation for this discrepancy is that the Ndt3 ion is in a low-symmetry site, lacking inversion symmetry, so that a substantial admixture of 4f and 5d wave functions occurs. In this case, R-S coupling is not valid and J is no longer a good quantum number." Consistent with this view, the 4~ metastable level of YV04:Nd has an oscillator strength larger and a

Jan 1, 1968

By A. W. Ruff

In the last ten years large gains have been made in the field of blasting. These gains have been both in the theoretical and in the practical application of explosives. One of the most publicized changes in the practical application of commercial explosives is the now-prevalent use of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil. The new water-compatible mixture of ammonium nitrate and TNT should also have a large field of application. Most of the theoretical gains have been concerned with the actual rock breakage obtained with explosives. In the last ten years, large gains have been made in the field of blasting. These gains have been both in the theoretical and in the practical application of explosives. One of the most publicized changes in the practical application of commercial explosives is the now prevalent use of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil. The new water-compatible mixture of ammonium nitrate and TNT should also have a large field of application. Most of the theoretical gains have been concerned with the actual rock breakage obtained with explosives. EXPANDING-GAS-BUBBLE THEORY There has been an outstanding change in the conception of how an explosive produces rock failure. The early theory which explained rock breakage was correct for some of the first force-producing agents such as quicklime. When a drillhole was filled with quicklime and water added, the material expanded and steam was generated. The expanding material and the steam exerted a slowly increasing pressure on the sides of the drillhole. The force broke the rock by splitting. Because a great quantity of gas was produced by the deflagration of gunpowder, the same process of the gas pressure splitting the rock was assumed to take place. Even after 80 years of use, the rock-breaking action of all high explosives was thought to be caused entirely by the expanding gas bubble which tore and split the rock. Fig. 1 shows a vertical section through an exploding spherical charge of high explosive. It illustrates the early theory which attributed the entire breakage to the expanding gas bubble. The basic idea of this theory is that the breakage started at the explosive charge and progressed toward the free face. REFLECTED-WAVE THEORY me expanding-gas- bubble theory has gradually been replaced by the reflected-wave theory. The reflected-wave theory explains rock failure by explosives in the following manner: The enormously high gas pressure in the drillhole produces fracturing of the rock on the sides of the drillhole. The fracturing around a 1 1/2-in. diam drillhole is usually confined to an area with about a 6-in. diam. In the fractured area, the pressure of the gas is reduced until the force on the walls is no longer capable of fracturing the rock. Although the gas pressure does not continue to fracture the rock, the pressure imposes a high impact stress on the wall rock. In addition, a pressure or seismic pulse is produced in the rock. The pulse is probably entirely a compression pulse when originally produced in the rock. But, with distance, part of the energy of the compression pulse is transformed into a tension pulse which follows the compression pulse. The explosive charges and burdens used in conventional mine blasting are such that the tension pulse of the original wave is probably too small to be considered in a practical evaluation of the theory. The compression pulse is transmitted through the rock with no associated fracturing.

Jan 1, 1961

By Göckmann. Klau

"IntroductionCopper has been recycled ever since its discovery. Even in Graeco-Roman times recycling of this resistant, and thus valuable material was carried out as a matter of course. Just take, as an early example, the Colossus of Rhodes: after the figure collapsed during an earthquake, the bronze parts were melted down into ingots and sold.Copper is a material which can be recycled again and again because copper produced from recycling is not different from copper originating from primary materials. This is mainly due to electrolytical copper refining whereby not only the base metals but also the precious metals can be removed. In contrast, with aluminum and iron only the more electropositive elements can be removed by refining, and the resultant scrap must, therefore, be sorted mechanically into various alloys for subsequent smelting.The recycling rate for different base metals is given in Table 1. Despite this ideal prerequisite, the generally quoted recycling rate of copper of about 40070 appears rather low. However, it must not be forgotten that the recycling rate is defined as the ratio of the annually utilized quantities of copper scrap and the annual production figures (Table 2). Moreover due to the economic growth over the last 30 years the availability of copper from scrap materials is lower than its consumption because copper is principally employed in very long-life consumer durables and only returns to the recycling circuit after many years. The average time for the copper of some goods to be recycled is detailed in Figure 1."

Jan 1, 1992

By E. Poiate, P. A. L. P. Firme, D. Roehl, M. A. Carrion, A. M. Costa

Drilling high-pressure/high-temperature wells in salt rock formations is still a challenge for the energy industry. Creep and solubility is part of the salt rock physical-chemical behaviour, which must be considered in the design of the wells. The stress redistribution caused by drilling, in addition to thermallyactivated processes, triggers creep deformation, leading to borehole closure and the imposition of loads on the casing. The drilling fluid is designed by computer modeling in order to control the creep strain rate to a limit which allows the drilling operations and the casing setting. Depending upon the composition of the drilling fluid, chemical reactions on the salt wall may occur, especially in case of water-based fluids in highly soluble salt rocks. In those cases, cavities by dissolution (washouts) can be generated and the casing column remains uncovered by the cementation and laterally unconfined along the cavity length. This scenario is propitious to the loss of integrity of the casing due to phenomena such as plastic collapse, buckling and non-uniform loading on the casing provoked by the closure of salt formation around it. The casing should remain intact during the wellbore life-time. In this work, a section of a typical well crossing salt formation composed by halite and carnallite is considered. An idealized-cylindrical washout cavity inside a highly soluble salt layer is assumed. The purpose here is to evaluate the effect of the dimensions of the cavity on the integrity of the casing. Several typical diameters and lengths of the cavity are adopted. Numerical analyses are carried out with an in-house finite-element system composed by the pre-processor MTOOL 3D®, the simulator ANVEC 3D® and the post-processor POS 3D®. Salt rocks are modeled as visco-elastic materials. Creep is simulated by the Double Mechanism Creep Law, widely employed in Brazilian salt rock mechanics research. Cement and casing (steel) are modeled as elasto-plastic materials described by the Mohr-Coulomb and the von Mises criteria, respectively. Casing integrity is evaluated with respect to vertical and horizontal displacements. Vertical displacements imposed to the casing can provoke the failure of the column by plastic collapse or by buckling. Besides that, horizontal displacements of salt due to creep closure shall lead to the undesirable contact with the casing. Failure envelopes based on displacements are generated. The results of the simulations have shown that the casing failure by plastic collapse occurs preferentially in short columns, as well as buckling occurs in long and slender columns. The occurrence of both failure modes is more frequent in large-diameter cavities. Additionally, failure caused by contact between salt and casing occurs preferentially in short-diameter cavities.

Jan 1, 2015

By Jorgen Elbrond, Xiaoli Tang

In this paper we apply continuous-time option pricing theory (Dixit 8 Pindyck 1994) to show how to obtain an optimal investment rule for a mining project which requires sequential in- vestments. The application per se is to some extent very simple. The main purpose of the paper, however, is to draw the attention of mining people to how the option pricing theory may be used to capital investment decisions. This topic in economics is quite new but is attracting a lot of attention.

Jan 1, 1996

A failure criterion for coal is proposed in which a distinction is made between brittle and "pseudo-ductile" failure. This criterion is then used in the development of new equations for coal pillar strength, including a transition from brittle fracture to pseudo-ductile yielding. In addition, equations are obtained which allow the äritical minimum pillar dimensions to be calculated to avoid "catastrophic" and "ultimate failure". The use of these formulae is then demonstrated by comparing the results with pillar case histories derived from the literature.

Jan 1, 1986

By Glen L. Black

Choosing a mining method for an underground orebody is a complicated and often iterative process. Advances in technology have given design teams an array of possibilities for methods and equip¬ment. Hecla Mining's discovery of the deep Gold Hunter ore body challenged the staff at the Lucky Friday Mine to determine the optimum mining method. Taking an ore body from prospect to production requires traditional resource characterization. This includes drilling, delineating and modeling. Developing the mining plan is an evolving process, changing with each new piece of in¬formation as the project progresses through exploration and development. The Gold Hunter deposit is a steeply dipping vein system in the Wallace Formation of Idaho's Coeur d'Alene mining district. Gold Hunter is a misleading name for the ore body. The vein is a silver-rich, lead-zinc deposit with only traces of gold. The Gold Hunter ore body is located about 1.6 km (1 mile) north to northeast of Mullan, ID. The ore body is mined from the Lucky Friday Mine, located 0.4 km (0.25 miles) east of Mullan. Mining began on the vein from an access drift driven from the Lucky Friday Mine's 4900 level. Production from the ore zone is projected to be 771 t/d (850 stpd). The Gold Hunter ore is combined with Lucky Friday ore and milled in the Lucky Friday mill. The combined ore boosted Lucky Friday's 1998 silver production from 62.2 t/a (2 million oz/year) to more than 124.4 t/a (4 million oz/year).

Jan 1, 1999

By F. L. Grammer

The analyses given in Table I. were made several years ago at my request at a plant using Lake ores. They are of two furnaces, one making basic, the other Bessemer pig— they gave 6 casts each in 24 hr., also two flushes of cinder between each cast. They are offered simply for the sake of reference as, so far as I know, it is unusual to find so frequent full analyses made and none are on record. The variations in manganese-content in the first and second flushes on the basic furnace are interesting, if no more than a freak—the first flush being invariably higher in manganese. The iron-content of the two slags from an average of 12 flushes shows: Basic. Bessemer. Per Cent. Per Cent. Total iron...................................... 2.85 1.70 Combined iron................................ 0.72 0.52 Free iron....................................... 2.13 1.18 The greater iron-loss in the basic slag, while known, has never heretofore been so clearly set forth. This may modify the arrangement for handling slag; heretofore usually determined by proximity of the dumping-heap. If a nearby heap is used on contiguous territory, in the past, tilting molten-slag pots were used. If the Pittsburg flood-records for 30 years are a fair criterion the government regulations were inadequate, and molten slag was dumped in such a manner as to throttle the Monongahela at the time of the spring thaws. At Pittsburg the slag, where it is carried to a distance, is frequently granulated in pits and then removed in cars to which it is conveyed by clam-shell buckets. This practice is also quite customary where the slag is intended for the manufacture of slag cement. The production of 500 tons of cast-iron daily means about 300 tons of- slag and at 2.113 per cent. equals 6.4 tons

Jan 1, 1914

Provide the mining industry with a method for determining the gas content of ore bodies and associated strata for use in mine planning, Approach Samples of various rock types are collected and tested to determine gas content in conjunction with sample size, the collection method (i.e. whether the sample was collected from a core sample or by hand) mine gas emission, and the geologic location from which the sample was taken, such as near a fault, outburst area, or other geologic anomaly. How It Works Two methods were developed by the Bureau of Mines to determine the gas contents of rock samples. The first method developed involved dissolving minerals to measure gas emission. This method, however, can only be used with soluble minerals. A second method, therefore, was developed for use with insoluble minerals. With this method, the sample is crushed in a ball mill. Although the dissolution method is faster and more accurate to use, the crushing method is also advantageous because its use can more closely approximate a mining situation; the sample is crushed as in mining and the amount of gas released relates to the amount of gas that would be released during a mining operation. The dissolution method is applied to soluble minerals, such as rock, salt, or trona, in a sealed chamber. Gases released during dissolution are collected for analysis by gas chromatography. One advantage in using the dissolution method is that the test apparatus is relatively inexpensive. In addition, test can be performed at any scale, from single crystal samples to a solution mining operation.

Jan 1, 1983

By C. P. Fiske

THE pottery of the New Jersey Zinc Co. (of Pa.) is equipped to make three classes of refractories; namely, spelter vessels, spelter condensers; and high-grade fire-brick. The most important of these are the spelter vessels, on account of the extreme severity of the service which they must perform, necessitating great care in the selection of materials and in the whole process of manufacture. Next to the spelter vessels in importance? come the condensers, as large numbers are used in the manufacture of spelter, and improvements m quality result in material decreases in working cost. , While the fire-brick which form the laboratory, or high-temperature portion of the spelter furnaces, are placed at the foot of the list, they-are nevertheless of much importance, since high quality will decrease the frequency of the always expensive shutdowns for repairs. To promote simplicity, the manufacture of these three products will be described separately in this paper, except in so far as materials and the crushing and handling system common to all are concerned. Materials Bond Clay.-The bond clay used entirely at the Palmerton pottery is a St. Louis clay furnished by the Grand View Fire Clay Co. It is stored in a system of covered bins, and no attempt is made to weather -it in the, accepted sense of the term " weathering." Some years ago our clay was weathered before pugging, but we did not find the benefit sufficient to offset the additional handling and the loss. of clay incurred. Furthermore, we believe that the rotting of the pugged mix (described later), accomplishes the same results to better advantage. That there is some action taking place in the clay while stored in the covered bins, however, is, evidenced by an increase in volume which at times has caused damage to the retaining walls of the bins. We have at present a stock of bond clay weathering in the open, and when this is put into service an opportunity will be afforded for making comparisons-with the clay as usually handled.

Jan 10, 1917

Mining and reclamation procedures that meet the requirements of SMCRA are illustrated on pages 8 and 9 for each of the three major surface coal mining methods -- area mining, contour mining, and mountaintop removal mining. The three methods involve the same basic steps: clearing the land of trees and other vegetation, removing topsoil and overburden, mining the coal, and reclaiming the land. Although all three methods would not usually occur on any single site, the illustration facilitates comparison of mining and reclamation methods and aids basic understanding of the reclamation processes that take place under SMCRA. Area Mining The area mining method is commonly used to mine coal in the flat to moderately rolling terrain found principally in the western and midwestern states. After the overburden is excavated down to a coal seam, the mining area is enlarged horizontally to expose more coal for removal. In the West, where coal seams are commonly 10 to 20 feet thick (and range up to 100 feet thick in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming), the life of some mines maybe more than 50 years. In the Midwest, coal seams are typically 3 to 7 feet thick and 75 to 100 feet below the surface. Because of the large expanse of area mines and their relatively unrestricted sites, enormous equipment is used to remove overburden and reconstruct the land. The area mining operation in the illustration is on land that was formerly used for farming. The drawing shows that the agricultural use is being reestablished immediately following reclamation. Mining is proceeding across the land toward the left side of the site. The initial excavation was made far enough away from the stream along the right edge of the site to prevent damage to the water supply. The coal under most of the site has been removed, and reclamation has been completed on some of the land. For example, some of the cattle in the foreground and those in the feedlot behind the silo are grazing on reclaimed land that has been mined. At the far left of the illustration, topsoil from the unmined area is being removed by scrapers, transported across the area of active mining, and immediately spread on the land on the right, which is being reclaimed. (Reclamation of mined land as soon as practical, as required by the Act, is called contemporaneous reclamation.) A

Jan 1, 1992

By Samuel M. Cassidy

The exact date of man's first use of coal is lost in antiquity. The discovery that certain black rock would burn was undoubtedly accidental and probably occurred independently and many times in the world over thousands of years. It is quite likely that these independent discoveries were made when primitive man chanced to build camp fires on exposed ledges of a black rock, then was amazed when it caught fire. The Chinese recorded the use of coal 1100 years before the Christian Era and from the Bible we learn that King Solomon was familiar with coal in what is now Syria. In Wales, there .is evidence that the Bronze Age people used coal for funeral pyres, and it is known that the Romans used this fuel. There are other ancient references. So the knowledge that coal would burn, and even some uses of that knowledge, go back thousands of years. However, practical and consistent use of coal seems to date to England in the Middle Ages.

Jan 1, 1981

By Y. C. Kim, C. B. Manula

This paper is concerned with the details of the derivation of an operations research model, specifically linear programming, to solve production scheduling problems. While some results are presented for an actual study, the calculation of cases of a more general nature have not yet been completed. Production managers from those segments of the mining industry that experience a seasonal or highly variable sales demand find it rather difficult to develop overall producing plans for their organizations. In an attempt to solve this technical problem, demands are usually met by keeping production corresponding exactly to sales. This results in a fluctuating production schedule which is costly to maintain because of overtime premiums in periods of high requirements and because of costs associated with an idle mine plant during slack periods. An alternate solution may be to produce part of the desired amount and make up any deficiencies by using overproduction in previous time periods. This tends to smooth the production pattern through the use of a stockpile. However, because of associated storage costs, the solution may again be undesirable if it yields comparatively large surpluses. In general, this type of scheduling problem has an infinite number of solutions which satisfy the requirements. These are largely dependent on the extent to which an operation is geared to changes in production and on the size of its stockpiling facility. The determination of an efficient schedule is implied, therefore, as one lying between two extreme solutions, i.e., one that minimizes surpluses and one that minimizes output fluctuations. These conflicting objectives result in an economic balance problem between the costs of carrying surpluses forward from slack periods versus the cost of high production levels during peak demands. Various methods of operations research have been developed to handle problems whose genesis is explained above. It is very seldom, however, that these quantitative means are used in practice by the mining industry. Those who are familiar with mining operations know that most managers have not progressed satisfactorily in this area. Production planning systems which most mines employ today are often no more than rough records of management's mental planning. For small mines these means are normally sufficient; but as operations grow larger and become more complex, this type of planning ability is no longer adequate. Managers may find themselves losing control of cost relationships, taking longer to outline production sequences, and becoming forgetful of certain resource availabilities. ORIGIN AND SCOPE OF A SCHEDULING PROBLEM The more fundamental aspects of the production scheduling problem can be brought into focus by demonstrating how it exists in a bituminous coal mine* located in southwestern Pennsylvania. This mine, operating in the Pittsburgh seam, uses a definite room-and-pillar block system of mining, which is planned and carried out with only slight variations to meet local conditions. The coal seam, which is firm and varying in thickness from 8 to 9 ft with the bottom 6% ft being extracted, is under 500 ft of cover and opened by a shaft. The bulk of the coal (60%) is obtained from the pillaring activity with the mains and sections, which are considered primarily as development activities, contributing the balance of 12% and 28%, respectively. All coal is won by a ripper-type continuous miner in conjunction with shuttle-cars directly behind a loading machine. Track haulage is employed to move coal from these machine centers to the shaft bottom. The coal, thus mined, is shipped to one destination as part of a mixture of coals to be used in the making of steel. A material flow diagram of this distribution scheme is illustrated in Fig. 1. PROBLEM STATEMENT From the above types of shipments and mining limitations, the basic problem is to determine an economic means of producing and stockpiling a single coal product produced in three different machine centers (main, section, and pillar). Fig. 2 shows total demand for coal as a function of time. Because of the extremely high peak demands, slack period production must be stored and then distributed

Jan 1, 1969

By E. E. Gardner, P. A. Schumann

A description of a new four-point probe configuration which permits measurement of epitaxial layer resistivity is given. An analytic solution to the potential distribution due to a point current source on a multilayered structure is briefly described. Typical solutions for this probe configuration are presented. Probe spacing, layer thickness, substrate resistivity, and substrate thickness enter into the calculation. Correction factors for typical cases are given. A brief description of the construction of a probe which can achieve a small spacing of 15 is presented. The prohe is constructed so that all points are adjustable by micrometers and the probe spacing and configuration can be easily altered. Measurements of layer resistivity with the four-point probe are compared with those taken with the three-Point probe and diode-capacitance techniques. TWO techniques of obtaining profiles of N/N+ epitaxial structures are given. The reproducihility of the probe spacing and resistivity measurement is discussed. The effects upon the resistivity measurement of errors in the measurement of the lager thickness, substrate resistil)itv, and substrate thickness are presented. SINCE its introduction by valdes' in 1954, the four-point probe has been the most widely used tool for determining semiconductor resistivity. Its usefulness ranges from the evaluation of bulk semiconductor ingots to the characterization of impurity profiles in diffused structures. In general the four points, two current probes and two potential probes, are placed on one surface of the material being tested either in an in-line array or in a square array. Numerous correction factors1 8 have been worked out for these configurations which are dictated by the finite geometry of the sample being tested. One method of evaluating thin wafers has been proposed which has two probesg on each side of the wafer. Further modifications have added a fifth'' and a sixth" probe. One paper1' has discussed the accuracy of the four-point probe and the precautions necessary in its use. With the exception of the method where two points are placed on opposite sides of the wafer, the four-point probe is restricted to evaluation of wafers with a homogeneous resistivity or to the case where an isolating junction exists between the substrate and the layer (epitaxial or diffused) being evaluated. Due to the relative resistivities and thickness, the resistance of the epitaxial layer is much greater than that of the substrate, and consequently a majority of the current flows through the substrate. The potential distribution at relatively large distances from the current sources is determined by the substrate resistance, and hence the AV/I value is a measure of the substrate resistivity and not that of the epitaxial-layer resistivity. In the immediate vicinity of a current source the potential distribution is determined by the layer resistivity among other factors. Consequently, if the potential probe is placed very close to the current source, then with appropriate correction factors it is possible to determine the layer resistivity. This was the theoretical basis for using two closely spaced probes on opposite sides of an epitaxial wafer. However, due to mechanical problems, it is desirable to place the four probes on the same side of the wafer. This paper discusses the potential distribution in

Jan 1, 1965

By Robert J. Henning

The term olivine was first used in 1790 by J. Werner, and the corresponding mineral was so named because of its olive-green color (Hunter, 1941). Olivine is the principal component of the rock known as dunite. While by classic definition dunite is composed of 90% or more olivine, commercial use of these terms has resulted in more specific definitions. Commercially, the term olivine is used to designate a material that consists of 85% or more forsterite and contains 45 to 50% MgO, 39 to 42% SiO2, 5 to 8% Fe2O3, and has an ignition loss (LOI) of 1 to 2%. The term dunite designates a rock that contains 36 to 45% MgO, 36 to 39% SiO2, and has an ignition loss of as much as 10% (Teague, 1983). GEOLOGY Olivine is found in basic igneous and basic metamorphic rocks whose age varies from pre-Ordovician to Tertiary. Economic deposits are of magmatic origin and are restricted to the dunite variety of the peridotite group of ultrabasic igneous rocks. Olivine also occurs in basic igneous rocks such as gabbro, basalt, and diabase and more rarely as an accessory mineral in granite and metamorphosed crystalline limestones. Mineralogy The term olivine refers to a group of orthosilicate minerals in isomorphous series with magnesium-rich forsterite (Mg2Si04) as one end member and iron-rich fayalite (Fe,SiO,) as the other. In most olivines the ratio of magnesium to iron varies from 16: 1 to 2: 1. Commercial olivine deposits contain a mixture of forsterite and fayalite with the fayalite content restricted to less than 15% (Reed, 1959; Teague, 1983). Accessory constituents may include primary minerals such as ilmenite, magnetite, diopside, chromite, and garnet and secondary minerals such as chlorite, serpentine, talc, and vermiculite as alteration products. Chemical and Physical Properties The chemical composition of olivine can be expressed as either (Mg, Fe), SiO, or 2(Mg, Fe)O.SiO,. Table 1 presents chemical analyses for some commercial olivines. The physical properties of olivine are shown in Table 2. Distribution of Major Deposits Commercial olivine and dunite deposits are found in Norway, Japan, Spain, India, Italy, the United States, Sweden, Austria, Pakistan, and Mexico. Noncommercial deposits have been reported in New Zealand, Zimbabwe, South Africa, New Caledonia, Greece, Brazil, and Canada (Teague, 1983). The present markets for olivine are characterized by low unit value, high volume, and high sensitivity to freight costs, so few deposits are commercially viable. Literature from the USSR indicates that considerable research on olivine refractories is being done. (Afansa'ev, 1988), lending credibility to the conjecture that commercial deposits are being mined there. In eastern Canada synthetic olivine is being produced by calcining chrysotile asbestos mine tailings. In the United States numerous lenses of olivine extend in a belt from northeast Georgia northeastward across western North Carolina. Total reserves in North Carolina and Georgia are estimated at between 125 and 200 Mt. The largest US deposit is Twin Sisters Mountain, located in Whatcom and Skagit Counties in the state of Washington. This deposit, which has an outcrop area of 93 km2 and a relief of about 1 525 m. is estimated to contain 1 800 Mt of fresh, unaltered olivine (Teague, 1983). In addition, the US Bureau of Mines reports reserves of 50 Mt on Cypress Island in the state of Washington, and the literature reports eight complexes in southeastern Alaska, some containing cores of olivine as large as 1.6 km in diameter (Taylor, Jr., 1967). The world's largest deposit of olivine occurs in the Aaheim area of Norway, where reserves are estimated at a 2 000 Mt. Several other Norwegian deposits contain as much as 5 Mt each. In Japan the production of ultrabasic rocks is currently about 6 Mtpy, but the bulk of this output is serpentinite. Olivineldunite accounts for only 17% of this production. The major olivine deposit in Japan is located at Horoman Hill on the northern island of Hokkaido. Reserves at this deposit are estimated at 100 Mt (Anon., 1990). Spain is one of the largest producers of dunite. Reserves in the La Coruna District in northwestern Spain are estimated at 100 Mt. India, also a major dunite producer, has a large deposit at Salem in Tamil Nadu. In Italy olivine/dunite is mined from a deposit near Turin. In Sweden the largest deposit is at Arutats and is reported to be comparable in size to the Twin Sisters deposit in the United States. At present the only production in Sweden is from a deposit 30 km south of the town of Gallivare. Reserves at this deposit are reported to be between 1 and 2 Mt. Other significant deposits are: 1) in Austria at St. Stefan near Leoben, 2) in the Swat District of the North West Frontier Province in Pakistan, and 3) in Mexico at Cuidad Victoria in Tamaulipas (Anon., 1990).

Jan 1, 1994

By Morris Muskat, J. M. McDowell

In both production and refining operations of the oil industry many processes are controlled by the gas-liquid phase relationships of the hydrocarbon mixtures of interest. The quantitative behavior of fractionating or distillation columns and stills depends on the changes in the equilibrium distributions of the hydrocarbon components between the gas and liquid phases as the pressure or temperature conditions may vary along the length of the column or as the gross operating parameters and compositions are varied. In oil producing operations the nature and amount of gas phase developed within an underground reservoir as it is being depleted and its pressure declines also involve the basic equilibrium gas-liquid phase interactions. The influence of surface conditions of temperature and pressure and various separation procedures on the nature and amount of stock tank oil and natural gas recovered from a given well stream is likewise determined by the same basic phase equilibrium characteristics of the hydrocarbon systems. Such equilibrium separation of the gas and liquid phases in a well stream is of importance both in establishing optimum separator conditions for obtaining maximum stock tank oil yields and in the general problem of crude stabilization. The phenomena involved in these problems and their quantitative aspects can, of course, be established in each individual instance by appropriate laboratory experimentation. It has been found, however, that by associating with the individual hydrocarbon components functional characteristics de- scribing their individual gas - liquid phase equilibrium behavior, the phase properties of the composite mixtures can be predicted by mathematical computation. These characteristics have been termed "equilibrium constants", or "equilibrium ratios"," and are defined by the general equation: where K, is the equilibrium ratio for the jth component, y, is the rnol fraction of that component in the gas phase, and xj is the corresponding mol fraction in the coexisting liquid phase. Considering the Kj as representing available and measurable properties of the individual components of a mixture, and as defined by Eq. (l), it is readily shown that in a coexisting gas-liquid system the rnol fraction concentrations of the individual components in the gas phase, y,, and those in the liquid phase, x,, are given by the expressions: where the nj are the corresponding rnol fraction concentrations in the composite system, and ng is the mol fraction of the whole which is in the gas phase. The basic unknown in Eq. (2) is n,: which gives the gross separation between the gas and liquid phases. This may be determined in principle by imposing the requirement that the sums of the mol fractions in both the gas and liquid phases are unity, i.e. by the equations: The solution of the equivalent Eqs. (3) lying between 0 and 1, when inserted into Eqs. (2), provides a complete description of the compositions of the coexisting gas and liquid phases. While the Eqs. (3) are essentially equivalent to polynomial equations, such transformations are of little value when dealing with multicomponent sys-

Jan 1, 1949

By J. M. McDowell, Morris Muskat

In both production and refining operations of the oil industry many processes are controlled by the gas-liquid phase relationships of the hydrocarbon mixtures of interest. The quantitative behavior of fractionating or distillation columns and stills depends on the changes in the equilibrium distributions of the hydrocarbon components between the gas and liquid phases as the pressure or temperature conditions may vary along the length of the column or as the gross operating parameters and compositions are varied. In oil producing operations the nature and amount of gas phase developed within an underground reservoir as it is being depleted and its pressure declines also involve the basic equilibrium gas-liquid phase interactions. The influence of surface conditions of temperature and pressure and various separation procedures on the nature and amount of stock tank oil and natural gas recovered from a given well stream is likewise determined by the same basic phase equilibrium characteristics of the hydrocarbon systems. Such equilibrium separation of the gas and liquid phases in a well stream is of importance both in establishing optimum separator conditions for obtaining maximum stock tank oil yields and in the general problem of crude stabilization. The phenomena involved in these problems and their quantitative aspects can, of course, be established in each individual instance by appropriate laboratory experimentation. It has been found, however, that by associating with the individual hydrocarbon components functional characteristics de- scribing their individual gas - liquid phase equilibrium behavior, the phase properties of the composite mixtures can be predicted by mathematical computation. These characteristics have been termed "equilibrium constants", or "equilibrium ratios"," and are defined by the general equation: where K, is the equilibrium ratio for the jth component, y, is the rnol fraction of that component in the gas phase, and xj is the corresponding mol fraction in the coexisting liquid phase. Considering the Kj as representing available and measurable properties of the individual components of a mixture, and as defined by Eq. (l), it is readily shown that in a coexisting gas-liquid system the rnol fraction concentrations of the individual components in the gas phase, y,, and those in the liquid phase, x,, are given by the expressions: where the nj are the corresponding rnol fraction concentrations in the composite system, and ng is the mol fraction of the whole which is in the gas phase. The basic unknown in Eq. (2) is n,: which gives the gross separation between the gas and liquid phases. This may be determined in principle by imposing the requirement that the sums of the mol fractions in both the gas and liquid phases are unity, i.e. by the equations: The solution of the equivalent Eqs. (3) lying between 0 and 1, when inserted into Eqs. (2), provides a complete description of the compositions of the coexisting gas and liquid phases. While the Eqs. (3) are essentially equivalent to polynomial equations, such transformations are of little value when dealing with multicomponent sys-

Jan 1, 1949

By C. V. Millikan, Herbert F. Beardmore

Declining Productivity Index, as considered herein, is a productivity index that has a substantially and consistently decreasing value when measured over a period of a few hours. If not recognized, it may be interpreted as representing an unsettled or unstable condition in a producing well. It forms the basis of a number of predictions as to future performance compared with the performance of wells in which the productivity index does not decline. The nost important of these are that: (I) the rate of oil production will decline more rapidly, (2) the gas-oil ratio will usually increase abnormally, (3) the amount of water ultimately produced will be negligible, if any, (4) stop-cocking will increase current production and decrease gas-oil ratio. When such relative well performance is indicated, it follows that certain reservoir performance and operating practices may be anticipated: (I) disappointing recovery, (2) longer natural flow, (3) no active water drive, (4) better evaluation of acidizing, shooting and reworking, (5) intermittent operation of wells, (6) smaller pumping equipment required. It is significant that the basis of these important predictions is bottom-hole pressure tests that can be made immediately after completion of the wells. Introduction "'Productivity index" is the number of barrels of oil produced per day per pound per square inch of differential pressure between the reservoir and the bottom of the well. "Declining Productivity Index," as considered herein, is a productivity index that has a substantially and consistently decreasing value when measured over a period of a few hours. Productivity index can be determined only when the rate of production can be stabilized. In most wells the rate of production and bottom-hole pressure are easily stabilized to give a constant productivity index for a period of many hours. A few produce so erratically as to preclude probability of an acceptable test in the usual sense. A satisfactory productivity index can be determined in some wells only by gauging the production accurately by hours, measuring the bottom-hole pressure continuously, and from these data calculating the productivity index for successive hours. Such figures frequently will have a decreasing value—that is, a declining productivity index—and when plotted on double. logarithmic cross-section paper with productivity index as ordinate and time as abscissa will be a straight-line curve. The angle between the curve and the abscissa is referred to as the rate of decline. Declining productivity index may appear to be the result of change in permeability to oil due to decreasing saturation of oil and increasing saturation of gas in the reservoir. It is possible that such is in fact the cause, but if so, more is involved than merely relative saturation of oil and gas. This seems evident because the rate of decline in productivity index is substantially the same regardless of the pro-

Jan 1, 1945