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Yallourn brown coal and its characteristics have been the subject of innumerable papers and discussions. The Lurgi process adopted for the production of Towns gas by the gasification of brown coal has been described frequently in literature.The application of the Lurgi process for the gasification of Yallourn briquettes has naturally lead to some unexpected problems. Rather than attempt to review the whole field of experience gained in the first two years of operation of the gasification plant at Morwell, this paper attempts to describe two problems encountered, peculiar to the fuel used, and the steps taken in overcoming them.THE PROCESS AND PLANTTo clarify the conditions surrounding the problems, it is necessary to briefly describe the gasification and cooling processes and plant.Brown coal briquettes are gasified in a pressure generator, using a mixture of steam and oxygen as a gasifying medium. Crude gas produced in the generator is washed and cooled in the waste heat boiler and coolers. Figure 1 shows an arrangement of the generator and coolers. The gasifying medium enters the generator through a hollow shaft in the base. This shaft drives the grate, which has three purposes: (a) to distribute the gasifying medium into the fuel bed; (b) to extract the ash from the fuel bed; (c) to support the fuel bed.Briquettes enter the top of the generator through the coal lock chamber and the fuel bed is maintained at a reasonably...

Jan 1, 1960

By Y. H. Wang

During the last two decades many research projects were conducted to study the load requirements for the powered supported longwall faces (1-6). Significant results had been achieved by these researches. Most of the previous studies were rarely designed to understand the mechanisms of interaction between the supports and the surrounding rock, or to correlate the stress conditions around longwall faces to the mining operations both in time and space. In case of the shield supported faces, the roof-to-floor convergence is very difficult to measure due to the high percentage of roof coverage. The external load on the supports can not be determined from the leg pressure data alone due to the existence of the lemniscate links. Therefore, there is a real need in that a simple engineering method be developed to monitor the variations of roof load on the shield supports, the roof-to-floor convergence and the roof stress restoration in the gob area as the mining proceeds. Only with the results of these measurements, a further understanding about the mechanisms of interaction between the supports and the surrounding rock can be achieved and a criterion of designing or selecting the optimum mechanical parameters of the shield supports can finally be developed.

Jan 1, 1986

By J. P. Zannaras

If we assume that testing of the model started at time t1, that time t2 was the instant at which the elastic limit of the material was passed at the points of the maximum stress, and that at time t3 the failure of the model was completed as shown in the typical photograph (Fig. I), then actually the photograph shows the final results of what took place between time t2 and t3. By the principle of similitude all conclusions drawn from the behavior of the model were applicable and valid for actual mine roofs up to the time t2 after time t2 motions and friction came into play during the destruction of the model. The events between t2 and t3 and the photograph itself are not representative of the events expected in an actual mine roof unless corrections imposed by the principle of similitude are made. It can therefore be stated that all conclusions and observations of the author from the photographs are applicable only to his small-scale experiments and not to actual mine roofs. Without investigation of the true stresses or the combined maximum stress induced in the beds it has been assumed by the author that failure occurred solely due to bending stress caused by loading of the beds. (The author states that D was taken to be the theoretical strain given by elementary beam theory.) Fig. 1 shows that the beds were clamped together. This clamping was necessary to prevent slipping of the beds due to the horizontal shear. However, this clamping caused an uncontrolled and undertermined com-pressive stress S at the end of the beds, and this com-pressive stress caused a true tensile stress ?S (? PoiS-son ratio). This true tensile stress combined with the tensile stress produced at the end of the beds due to loading (fixed beam uniformly loaded), and the horizontal shear which is maximum at the end appears to be the most probable maximum stress produced in the beds. It is therefore evident that the author in performing this experiment has introduced stresses in the model not existing or dissimilar to actual mine roofs, and therefore his conclusions may be applicable to his small-scale experiments but inapplicable to actual mine roofs. Louis A. Panek (author's reply)—The discusser's difficulty is related to mechanics of materials rather than similitude. The effect of time did not enter into the tests in any way, being simply excluded from consideration in this study, because all quantitative results entering into the design equations are based on measured (between time t1 and time t2) bending strains that are well below the breaking strain (i.e., in the elastic range) for the model material. Time does not become a significant factor until the rock stress reaches 80 to 90 pct of the breaking stress." The objective of this investigation was not to predict that bolted roof will fail after time t, but was instead to develop a safe roof, that is, roof in which the bending strain is much less than (say less than 50 pct of) the breaking strain. The models tested to failure had no direct bearing on the design equations. Although for some rocks time may influence the magnitude of stress or strain at which fracture occurs, breaking stress or breaking strain values were not employed for any purpose in this investigation. Tests to failure were made only to obtain additional evidence regarding the behavior of the bolted laminae' as evinced by the locations of the cracks. As stated in the last paragraph of the paper, if one wishes to predict the time or stress conditions for which the roof will fail, additional information is required. The reason for clamping the laminae is to make them behave liked clamped beams, which closely approximate the clamped-plate condition of the actual mine roof beds (Ref. 5, p. 1; Ref. 6). The writer has previously demonstrated that the bending stresses induced by centrifugal loading in a clamped model beam are in agreement with those predicted by theory;' hence clamping has no significant effect on the bending ,trains measured during a test. Moreover, actual ,in, roof beds are likewise subject to a clamping effect due to weight of superincumbent strata carried by the pillars or ribs on each side of the opening. It is emphasized that this study was restricted to evaluating only the reinforcing effect produced by the bolts. Procedures employed in the experiments and in the data analysis were such as to deliberately exclude the effects of other factors. The objections offered are therefore invalid,

Jan 1, 1957

By C. E. Birchenall, C L. McCabe

IN attempting to extend vapor pressure measurements of the type previously reported by Schadel and Birchenall1 for silver and by Schadel, Derge, and Birchenall' for silver-silicon to other systems, it was observed that the materials melted at indicated temperatures 10" to 15" below their accepted melting points. Further investigation revealed that the thermocouple readings were in error due to appreciable conduction losses along the reference thermocouple wires. If the wire diameter of the reference couple inserted into the Knudsen cell was reduced, the correction for the indicating couple changed in a manner tending to explain the melting behavior. When extrapolated to zero wire diameter from measurements with several reference thermocouples of different wire thickness, the melting point of silver then agreed with the indicated temperature at which silver chips were observed to coalesce into a sphere. Approximately the same calibration was given by observing the melting of small wires of silver or gold in the Knudsen cell connected in series with an ammeter, where the leads into the cell were very fine in order to minimize heat conduction. Unfortunately neither of these methods seemed to yield a sufficiently precise temperature calibration to match the apparent precision of the other aspects of the vapor pressure measurement. It was decided. therefore, to redetermine the vapor pressure of silver in another setup under conditions permitting precise temperature measurement. The vapor pressure of pure silver could then be used as an internal calibration of temperature in the older unit in making runs on alloys. This has been done; the present report is a correction to ref. 1. Experimental Procedure The apparatus, shown in Fig. 1, was very similar to that employed by Harteck,3 except that the orifice sizes were smaller and the residual pressure in the vacuum system was probably much lower. A small, sharp-edged hole, nearly circular in shape, was ground into the rounded end of a quartz tube. The orifice area was then measured by tracing the image at known magnification on graph paper and counting the squares enclosed. The silver specimen was sealed into the tube to make a Knudsen cell. A tantalum jacket surrounding the cell served to increase the uniformity of temperature. This assembly was placed in the bottom of a long quartz tube with an inside diameter of about 1 in., which was connected to the vacuum system through a ground joint sealed with picein wax well removed from the furnace. A thermocouple tube inserted through the top of the vacuum line reached into the tantalum jacket so that the thermocouple junction was immediately adjacent to the Knudsen cell except for the protection tube wall. A resistance furnace could be raised to cover the end of the quartz tube containing the cell in such a way that the cell was in the uniform temperature zone 13 in. from the end of the furnace. An ionization gage was included in the vacuum system in the cold lines of wide diameter, immediately beyond the ground joint. The vacuum system consisted of a mercury one-stage diffusion pump, backed by a Welch duo-seal mechanical pump. The pumps were separated from the reactor chamber by a dry ice trap. The ionization gage always read less than 10-5 mm Hg after initial outgassing and before each run was started. Each newly filled Knudsen cell was evacuated at high temperature overnight before the first weighing was made. The cell was returned to the system, heated for a measured time at constant temperature, cooled, and reweighed. The heating and cooling times were quite short since the hot furnace was raised to receive the reactor at the beginning of the run and removed again at the end. The tube heated or cooled quickly. The total mass loss was attributed entirely to effusion of silver vapor from the quartz cell, since empty quartz cells maintained constant mass through similar heating cycles. The vaporized silver condensed on the cold walls of the quartz tube extending above the furnace. Earlier studies in the induction heated unit had shown that the same vapor pressure was found for silver, whether the silver was in contact with the tantalum metal cell or with porcelain or quartz liners. The Pt-Pt-10 pct Rh thermocouple was calibrated against a secondary standard of the same material and found to agree with the published tables. Always operating in air at temperatures below 100O°C,

Jan 1, 1954

By E. M. Porbansky

DURING the investigation of the electrical transport properties of copper, it became necessary to prepare large single crystals of the highest obtainable purity. In an effort to meet these demands, single crystals of copper have been grown by the conventional pulling technique—as has been used for the growth of germanium and silicon crystals.' Low-temperature resistance measurements made on these crystals show that, as far as their electrical properties are concerned, they are generally of significantly higher purity than the original high-purity material. The use of these pure single crystals with very high resistance ratios has made possible the acquisition of detailed information regarding the electron energy band structure of copper2-' and has stimulated widespread effort on Fermi surface studies of a number of other pure metals. It is the purpose of this note to describe our method of preparing very pure copper crystals by the Czochralski technique. Precautions were taken to prevent contamination of the melt from the crystal growing apparatus. A new fused silica growing chamber was used to prevent possible contamination from previous groqths of other materials such as germanium, silicon, and so forth. A new high-purity graphite crucible was used to contain the melt. This crucible was baked out in a hydrogen atmosphere at -1200°C for an hour, prior to its use in crystal growth. Commercial tank helium, containing uncontrolled traces of oxygen, was used as the protective atmosphere. A trace of oxygen in the atmosphere appears to be necessary for obtaining high-purity copper single crystals. A 3/8-in-diam polycrystalline copper rod of the same purity as the melt was used as a seed. The copper rod was allowed to come in contact with the melt while rotating at 57 rpm. When an equilibrium was observed between the melt and the seed (that is, the seed neither grew nor melted), the seed was pulled away from the melt at a rate of 0.5 mils per sec. As the seed was raised, the melt temperature was slowly increased, so that the grown material diminished in diameter with increasing length. When this portion of the grown crystal was -1 in. long and the diameter reduced to less than 1/8 in., the melt was slowly cooled and the crystal was allowed to increase to - 1-1/4 in. diam as it was grown. By reducing the diameter of the crystal in this manner, the number of crystals at the liquid-solid interface was decreased until only one crystal remained. Fig. 1 shows a typical pulled copper single crystal. The purity of the starting material and the crystals was determined by the resistance ratio method: where the ratio is taken as R273ok/R4.2ok. The starting material, obtained from American Smelting and Refining Co., was the purest copper available. Most of the pulled copper crystals had much higher resistance ratios than the starting material. The highest ratio obtained to data is 8000. Table I is an example of the data obtained from some of the copper crystals. Note that Crystal No. 126 had a lower resistance ratio than its starting material and this might be due to carbon in the melt. The melt of this crystal was heated 250" to 300°C above the melting point of copper. At this temperature it was observed that copper dissolved appreciable amounts of carbon. The possible presence of carbon at the interface between the liquid and the crystal will result in reducing conditions and negate the slight oxidizing condition required for high purity as discussed below. The possible explanations of the improvement in the copper purity compared to the starting material are: improvement in crystal perfection, segregation, and oxidation of impurities. Of these, the latter seems to be most probable. A study of the etch pits in the pulled crystals showed them to have between 107 and 108 pits per sq cm. The etch procedure used was developed by Love11 and Wernick.10 The resistivity of the purest copper crystal grown was 2 x 10-10 ohm-cm at 4.2oK; from the work of H. G. vanBuren,11 the resistivity due to the dislocations would be approximately 10-l3 ohm-cm, which indicates that. the dislocations in the copper crystals would contribute relatively little to the resistivity of the crystals at this purity level. Segregation does not seem likely as the reason for purification of the material, since the resistivity of the first-to-freeze and the last-to-freeze portions are approximately the same, as was observed on Crystal No. 124. On most of the crystals that were examined, the entire melt was grown into a single crystal. If the

Jan 1, 1964

By R. V. Smith

The theoretical background for calculating friction factors for flow in gas wells by two methods is presented. The first method, requiring pressures, temperatures and specific volumes of the flowing fluids at various depths in the well bore, shows how the mechanical-energy-balance equation for vertical flow may be graphically integrated over the actual path of the expansion of the fluid in the well. Thus, assumptions regarding the effective temperature and effective compressibility of the fluid in the well are avoided. The second method presents an equation derived on a basis of the assumptions that both the temperature and the compressibility are fixed at constant effective values throughout the flowing column of gas. The second method provides a convenient and practical means of calculating friction factors for gas wells and lends itself readily to the problem of calculating subsurface pressures in a flowing gas well. The application of both methods to actual test data taken on a flowing gas well is illustrated in the paper. INTRODUCTION As friction factors for the producing strings of flowing gas wells cannot be measured directly and must be calculated from flow-test data, study of the methods of arriving at friction factors is a necessary adjunct to understanding the characteristics of flow in gas wells. There are two methods of calculating friction factors for gas wells; they differ from one another mainly in the treatment of the path of expansion of the fluid in the well. In the flowing well, the energy consumed in lifting the fluid from the bottom to the top of the well, overcoming the friction between the moving fluid and the pipe walls, and increasing the velocity of the fluid as it flows up the producing string is supplied by expansion of the flowing fluid. The available energy is determined by the expansion of the fluid that follows a path determined by conditions of temperature, compressibility and phase changes of the fluid during the expansion. A means of evaluating the available energy in a flowing gas well and determining the proportion of the available energy used in lifting the gas, overcoming friction, and increasing the velocity of flow is developed in this report. Knowing how much energy is consumed in overcoming friction makes it possible to calculate friction factors for given flow rates in given sizes of pipes in wells. Friction coefficients, as used in this report, are dimension- less proportionality multipliers used in the flow equations to satisfy the equality between the terms of the equation. The square root of the reciprocal of the friction coefficient is termed the friction factor. It has been known for many years that friction factors may be computed directly from mathematical formulas based on certain assumptions regarding the temperature and compressibility of the moving fluid in a well. A general equation is presented in this report without assumptions for vertical flow of fluids and a conventional-type equation is derived on the basis of assumptions that fix the temperature and compressibility at constant values. Accurate pressures at the sand faces in wells are required in the method of determining the productivity of gas wells, as outlined by Rawlins and Schellhardt1 in Bureau of Mines Monograph 7. Where measurements are not made with subsurface-pressure gauge; or static gas columns are unavailable, flowing pressures customarily are calculated at the sand face in the well by the use of the well-known Weymouth formula1. Natural gas engineers have realized that errors introduced by the use of friction factors as given by the Weymouth formula are relatively unimportant in testing low-capacity gas wells; they also know that such factors are important considerations in testing large-capacity gas wells. Accordingly. present research on the productivity of gas wells at the Petroleum Experiment Station of the Bureau of Mines, Bartlesville, Okla., is being directed toward measurement of the pressure loss due to friction in flowing gas wells. It is beyond the scope of this report to show how friction factors vary with rate of flow and in pipes of different diameters, as it is intended only to develop and illustrate the use of mathematical expressions for calculating friction factors from flow-test data. The equations presented apply only to turbulent flow in circular pipes. ENERGY RELATIONS FOR FLOW OF FLUIDS2 The concept of conservation of energy is usually the basis of any study of fluid flow through vertical pipes as in gas wells, horizontal pipe lines, or orifices. In deriving equations, the following symbols are used:

Jan 1, 1950

By R. W. Heckel, H. W. Paxton

The growth of grain boundary films and Widmanstiitten plates of proeutectoid cementite in hypereutectoid steels ulas considered quantitatively in three plain carbon steels and one "pure" iron-carbon alloy. Growth was found to take place at a slower rate than would be predicted on the basis of a model invoking rate control by long range diffusion of carbon. The films in the pure alloy grew faster than those in the plain carbon steels. A possible explanation is suggested. In 1904, Nernsst' and Brunner2 postulated that ionic crystals growing in supersaturated aqueous solutions grew at rates determined by diffusion through the solution to the growing crystal interface. The gradient down which the diffusion took place was assumed to be fixed by the supersaturated bulk solution concentration, the concentration dt the crystal surface and some arbitrary distance. The flux of material to the crystal was described as Flux where D is the diffusion coefficient, A the crystal surface area, Ci the bulk solution concentration, Co the saturated solution concentration, and 6 the thickness of the diffusion zone. It is obvious that the expression is an adaptation of F+ick's3 first law of diffusion (steady state). This was the initial formulation of what will be defined here as "diffusion controlled growth," i.e., growth limited by the long range diffusion of a component either to or from the advancing interface assuming both phases at the interface to be in equilibrium. This idea of equilibrium interface concentration implies an infinite reaction rate at the interface. Volmer, Zener,' and 11schner6 have derived expressions for the diffusion controlled growth of spherical precipitates in metallic systems. These analyses agree that the growth in a given direction should be parabolic with time. Brown and Hawkes7 observed that graphite, formed both from the decomposition of cementite and from the decomposition of eutectoid austenite in cast irons, grew according to a parabolic relationship and, therefore, concluded that the laws of diffusion controlled growth, as defined above, were obeyed. They, among others, failed to consider, however, that parabolic growth is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for diffusion controlled growth. Mehl and Dube"' have pointed out that equilibrium may not be realized because the concentration at the interface cannot change instantaneously from that of the bulk to the saturation value. Furthermore, they propose that an equilibrium solute concentration in the parent phase adjacent to the precipitate would remove the thermodynamic activity gradient across the interface and, thus, stop the growth process. Frisch" has also emphasized the importance of interface concentrations that vary throughout the growth of a new phase. The variation in activity across an interface, as discussed by Onol' and Cahn and Hilliard,12 is of fundamental importance to this question. Ham13 considered the data of Turnbull14 on the growth of barium sulfate in aqueous solutions. He concluded that the data could be analyzed in terms of a radiation-type boundary condition. Flux across interface = K (c, - C,) [21 where C, is the concentration in the solution at the interface, Co the saturated solution concentration, and K the proportionality constant. The edgewise growth of Widmanstlitten plates, frequently referred to as the rate of lengthening, was first considered by Zener.'' Basing a mathematical analysis on steady-state (constant velocity) growth he concluded that where G is the growth rate, D the solute diffusivity, Ci the concentration in the bulk, Co the equilibrium interface concentration, C, the concentration in the precipitate, a a constant, Y the radius of curvature of the edge of the plate, and rC the critical radius, i.e., the radius which would increase the activity of solute at the interface at equilibrium under the influence of capillarity to that of the bulk. Zener1'

Jan 1, 1961

By G. W. White

Over the past several years, the steady progress of gas lift from a mysterious art into a developing science has been traceable through the many fine papers that have appeared in Journal of Petroleum Technology. Consequently, this magazine has rightly become a standard for the serious students of gas lift all over the world. The following discussion is offered in a sincere attempt to accurately present certain topics covered in the subject paper in the light of acknowledged state of the art procedures. INSTALLATION DESIGN The first point to be questioned is the author's installation design, beginning with Eq. 6. The use of 1,200 psi in the spacing equation instead of the 1,275 psi noted as available seems, at first glance, to be a simple arithmetic error. Upon further examination, it appears evident that both this 75 psi plus the 100-psi safety factor must be subtracted from available kickoff pressure because of conditions imposed by the characteristics of the ASC valve (see Fig. B-1). Pressure-charged valve design is incorrectly penalized by spacing the first valve using only 1,100 psi. The use of such a high back-pressure makes it appear that a typical ASC installation would require no more valves than a comparable conventional valve installation. Using a value of 100-psi tree pressure, the well could be valved to 11,000 ft very conservatively with seven pressure-operated valves, but would still require 11 ASC valves. The use of 400-B/D spacing gradient for a 140-B/D rate is not an accepted practice using precharged valves. The author would have done well to note the advantages to be gained by reducing the 500-psi tree pressure, which is clearly explained by Beadle, Harlan and Brown.' In Step 1 of Part III of the continuous flow discussion, the author incorrectly applies the Poettmann and Carpenter curves.2 Item 2 is an incorrect statement. An excellent reference on this point is the paper by Baxen-dell and Thomas.' VALVE MECHANICS The next topic relates to the mechanics of precharged valves. Eq. 2 for the ASC valve can be used to describe the condition of equilibrium, wherein the valve is closed with opening pending. When this equation is used to determine relative values of casing, dome and tubing pressure with conditions approaching the transition value, some strange results are obtained. The following uses the author's symbols and values given on page 689. Fig. B-1 shows the condition that exists at the moment an ASC valve has been uncovered during the unloading process (Condition I). The obvious result is a locked condition. The basis for the curve is shown on the figure which includes 1,000 psig casing pressure to uncover the valve. If injection gas is not bled off the casing until the pressure is decreased by an amount exceeding the stabilizer discharging valve pressure, upward adjustment of the casing pressure is mandatory for the valve to open and unloading operations to continue. In Condition I the dome pressure exceeds the casing pressure by 20 psi, and the tubing pressure required to open the valve is 1,212 psig. This tubing pressure would not exist under the assumed conditions. In Condition I1 the casing pressure is increased to the dome pressure, and the tubing pressure required to open the valve is 1,102 psig. It is apparent that the casing pressure must be increased to a value exceeding the dome pressure before unloading operations could continue. In Condition I11 a maximum casing pressure of 100 psi (stabilizer charging valve set pressure) above the dome pressure is reached, and the tubing pressure required to open the valve is 549 psig. The author's statement after Eq. 5 that "the minimum tubing pressure required to open an ASC valve is equal to the casing pressure at depth less the transition pressure of the valve" is incorrect except for Condition I11 only. Otherwise, the equation is invalid.

Jan 1, 1965

By Martin Weinstein

A technique is described for preparing finegrained lead telluride by ultrasonic agitation of a solidifying melt. Material prepared by this technique is dense and chemically homogeneous. N-type PbTe, containing 0.03 mole pct PbIz, has been made and its thermoelecCric Properties have been measured as a function of temperature. For comparison, the properties of similarly doped PbTe made by cold pressing and sintering, and by extrusion, have also been measured. The ultrasonically prepared material compares favorably with the others in its thermoelectric-efficiency factor. Comparison of compressive-flow curves for the three kinds of PbTe show that the ulhasonically prepared material has much superior ductility. The cleavage strength of the ultrasonic material is related to the grain size, D, by the Petch relation:Extrapolation to infinite grain diameter yields a fracture strength of 5000 psi for single-crystal PbTe. WHEN metals and semiconductors solidify in a mold they normally assume one of three cast structures illustrated in Fig. 1.' Solidification in a casting starts at the mold walls where a large number of fine crystals of random orientation can be nucleated to form the chill zone. Because of the anisot-ropy of the growth rate, those crystals whose direction of maximum linear growth is parallel to that of the heat flow grow faster and crowd out the crystals of less favorable orientation. A second zone, having a preferred orientation, called the columnar zone, thus forms adjacent to the chill zone. The speed of growth of the columnar grains will depend, in the case of limited undercooling of the melt, on the rate at which heat can be abstracted. The columnar zone can extend to the center of the casting, Fig. l(a), but it is frequently followed, in solid-solution alloys, by another zone of equiaxed randomly oriented grains in the central portion of the casting, Fig. l(b). The equiaxed structure in Fig. l(c) represents the completely grain-refined case where the equiaxed grain size is small. The third type of structure is the most desirable because it imparts a somewhat higher strength for all except high-temperature applications, it reduces segregation of the doping constituent, and it reduces the possibility of hot tearing (the separation of grains due to the melting of a low-melting point constituent in the grain boundaries). In order to obtain fine-grained castings, the nu-cleation frequency must be increased and grain growth must be restricted. Various techniques have been employed for obtaining this end, namely: rapid cooling, vibration, and inoculation of the melt. The success of these techniques depends upon the characteristics of the metal species and on factors controlled by heat transfer through the crucible walls. Recent studies2" have shown that the application of ultrasonic energy to the solidifying ingot is an extremely powerful tool in the improvement of the crystalline structure of metallic castings. Both the mechanical properties and homogeneity of the ingots are improved. Ultrasonic oscillations may affect the crystallization process by 1) permitting subcritical nuclei to agglomerate and thus form nuclei of sufficient size to cause crystallization, 2) changing the state of surface adsorption of various catalysts found in the liquid melt, 3) breaking pieces of solid from the solidified surface near the supercooled region thereby increasing the number of possible nuclei, 4) causing temperature fluctuations to occur in certain parts of the melt thereby increasing the supercooling at specific points in the liquid, and 5) decreasing the critical nucleus size by increasing the pressure at specific points in the melt.' Various investigators have concluded that the effectiveness of the ultrasonic oscillations results from cavitation which disrupts the growing solid-liquid interface The present paper describes the application of ultrasonic oscillations to the crystallization of the semiconductor N-type PbTe. The purpose of this study is to prepare crystalline

Jan 1, 1964

By A. S. Yue, A. G. Guy

A study was made of the effects of a prolonged flux of zinc atoms through the a solid solution of zinc in copper. The experimental arrangement consisted essentially of a copper disk about 0.01 in. thick, at one of whose surfaces a gaseous atmosphere containing zinc atoms was maintained, and at the other surface a gaseous atmosphere with a minimum of zinc atoms was maintained. During prolonged theothersurfaceexposure at high temperatures the zinc content of the copper disk gradually built up to the steady-state concentration distribution and then remained at this value. The concentration-distribution curves for various conditions were determined by chemical analyses. The results showed that the condition of steady-state diffusion was achieved. The diffusion coefficients calculated from the experimental data, although not of high precision, agreed with the values obtained by other workers using unsteady-state methods. Relatively slight porosity developed in the specimens in the course of diffusion. A LTHOUGH most diffusion studies have been made under unsteady-state conditions, it is known' that the steady-state method is often superior with respect to the directness and accuracy of interpretation of the data. Steady-state diffusion of gases through metal diaphragms is well known. Also, Harris' and Smith" have used the steady-state method in studying the diffusion of carbon in aus-tenite. The accepted mechanism in this system involves the motion of the interstitial carbon atoms in the rigid framework of the lattice of iron atoms. Thus, there is little difficulty in visualizing the steady flow of the small carbon atoms through the austenite. The situation in substitutional diffusion is quite different. Here the atoms are comparable in size, and it is not evident how a steady flow of one of the atoms through the solid solution might be achieved. At the time the present research was started, it was known that a previous exploratory attempt to produce steady-state diffusion in a substitutional alloy, the Au-Ag system,' had been unsuccessful and had indicated that perhaps there were basic difficulties that could not be ovei-come. Therefore, the present research began as a study of the effect of a prolonged flux of metal atoms through a substitutional solid solution. Eventua.lly, it was possible to produce actual steady-state diffusion in the system chosen for study, the a Cu-Zn alloys. Experimental Procedure The aim in the experiments was to maintain a high zinc content, about 30 pet, at one surface of a copper sheet, and to maintain a low zinc content, near 0 pet, at the opposite surface. The zinc would then diffuse into and through the copper, first building up to the steady-state concentration distribution and then maintaining this distribution. The three types of specimens that were used are shown in Fig. 1. In type A specimens the copper disk through which diffusion occurred was welded to the top of a cylindrical molybdenum tube, the bottom of which also was sealed by welding. At the diffusion temperature the brass chips in the molybdenum container were the source of the zinc vapor which maintained the lower surface of the copper disk at 30 pet Zn. The upper surface was maintained at 0 pet Zn by the vacuum in which type A, and also type B, specimens were diffused. Since the molybdenum container was impervious to zinc vapor, it was intended that the only path of escape for the vapor from the brass chips would be through the thin copper diffusion disk. However, it was found that small leaks often developed at the welded joints during the diffusion treatment, and in most specimens some of the zinc was lost in this manner. Although even small losses of this kind were a serious handicap in attempting to determine the flux through the disk, they did not prevent the maintenance of satisfactory boundary conditions for the attainment of the steady-state condition. Type B specimens differed from type A in having a weight of about 300 g supported on the copper disk by 15 to 20 short quartz rods. This change was made when it was observed that the copper disk was being bowed upward by the difference in the pressures acting on its two surfaces. Since the grain-boundary cracking which occurred in the bowed specimens could be attributed largely to the accompanying creep,3 it was desirable to minimize this effect. The counterweight was effective in significantly decreasing both bowing of the disk and cracking at grain boundaries. Type C specimens differed considerably from the others in that the low-zinc atmosphere at one sur-

Jan 1, 1959

By S. A. Bradford

Internal-oxide precipitates in decarburized a iron alloys were studied by microscopic and X-ray methods. Diffusion of oxygen is primarily trans-granular, although large amounts of manganese or PhosPhorus cause preferred grain boundary dimsion at temperatures below 1450OF. Transgvanular internal oxidation follows the parabolic rate law with an apparent activation energy of 60 kcal per g-atom for decarburized rimmed steel and around 50 kcal per g-atom for higher alloy contents. The internal oxide is (Fe,Mn)0. Evidence was found for a miscibility gap in the FeO-MnO system. UNTIL very recently, the internal oxidation of metals was studied primarily as a scientific curiosity or, in a few cases, as a means of strengthening alloys by precipitation hardening. However, with the recent development of low-carbon enameling sheet steel, internal oxidation has become a problem of practical importance to the steel industry. For example, in 1961 it was reported1 that internal oxidation of steel can occur during decar-burization by open-coil annealing and will reduce the notch ductility of the sheet unless the process is carefully controlled. The present study was therefore undertaken to learn more about the rates and mechanism of oxygen diffusion and oxide formation in iron alloys. BACKGROUND The process of internal oxidation has been well-defined in the literature:',' oxygen dissolves in an alloy, diffuses inward from the surface of the metal, and reacts to form a precipitate with the alloying element that will provide the most stable oxide. he growth of the finely divided so-called subscale, i.e., the internal-oxidation zone, depends on the diffusion rates of both the oxygen and the reactive element.4 Investigators have generally found that increasing the temperature increases the size of the oxide particles, the rate of subscale growth, and the tendency to transgranular diffusion. With very few exceptions, the square of the thickness of the internal oxide layer is directly proportional to the reaction time. Given two conditions easily satisfied for iron systems— a) an oxygen solubility much less than the concentration of the alloying metal and b) an oxygen-diffusion rate to the oxide boundary much faster than that of the alloying element—then the general expression developed by Rhines and co-workers5 for the parabolic growth rate of the internal-oxide zone can be simplified to the following form: where Co and CM are, respectively, the solubility of oxygen and the concentration of the alloying element, DO is the diffusion coefficient of oxygen, O/M is the weight ratio of oxygen to metal in the precipitated oxide, and x is the thickness of the internal-oxide zone after an annealing time t. Both the oxygen solubility and diffusion coefficient can be approximately expressed as functions of temperature by Arrhenius-type equations: in which H and Q are, respectively, the heat of solution and the activation energy of diffusion. Consequently, the apparent activation energies calculated from Arrhenius plots are the sum of the heat of solution of oxygen in iron and the activation energy for diffusion of oxygen. The data, if not the interpretation, of Schenck et al.8 bear out the fact that oxygen diffuses in the atomic form. The general rate law for atomic diffusion is: the reaction rate being proportional to the square root of the pressure at low pressures. Benard and Moreau8 studied both the surface oxidation of Fe-Ni alloys and the gradual penetration of oxygen into the metal. They observed that oxide particles first form along grain boundaries and then grow to form continuous films that eventually envelop the grains. The parabolic rate law does not usually apply in these cases, especially at the higher temperatures. The oxide formed is wustite which gradually transforms into Fe3O4 and finally into Kennedy and coauthors8 examined Fe-Ni alloys with 26, 75, and 84 pct Ni oxidized at 800°C and

Jan 1, 1964

By H. H. Evinger, M. Muskat

A method has been developed whereby one may calculate the productivity factors of producing formations from a knowledge of the reservoir conditions. Account is taken not only of the heterogeneous character of the gas-oil flow system but also of the detailed variations with pressure of the shrinkage and viscosity of the oil, the solubility of the gas in the oil, and even the variability of the gas viscosity and the deviation of the gas from ideal behavior. Curves are shown giving the results of numerical calculations on the production rate as a function of the pressure differential for a high-prcssure and a low-pressure system, three values of gas-oil ratio being treated in each case. Curves are also given showing the variation with distance from the well of the pressure, oil saturation, and permeability. The effect of connate water is briefly discussed in relation to the apparently large discrepancies between the calculated and observed productivity-factor values. Introduction The significance of the productivity factor as a measure of the capacity of an oil-bearing formation to produce is well recognized; for it is the composite and integrated resultant of the physical prop-crties of both the porous medium and the fluid stream passing through it with respect to the ease with which the particular petroleum fluids present in the formation can flow through it and into producing wells. The most direct method of determining the productivity factor of a well consists, as is well known, in the simultaneous measurement of reservoir-pressure differentials and rates of production and the expression of the data in terms of rate of flow per unit pressure drop.' Actual measurements carried out in this manner on producing wells have given factors that generally lie in the range of o to Ioo bbl. per day per pound pressure drop. This wide range arises not only from variations in permeability but also from the varying sand thickness of producing formations. One of the aims of developing a theory of the mechanics of oil production obviously is that of predicting what the productivity factor should be from a knowledge of the individual characteristics of the producing formation and the fluids produced. For homogeneous fluid systems passing through a porous medium into a producing well, it has been known for some time that the steady-state rate of liquid flow Q is given by the formula:* Q ? u log r?/r? where k is the sand permeability, h its thickness, µ the liquid viscosity, ?p the pressure drop between the well and the distant parts of the reservoir, in particular that at a radius re, and r? is the well radius. This gives the productivity factor: f= Q/kh?p ? 2p/µ log re/r? f=Q/ kh?p ? 2p/µ log re/r? which will have a numerical value for a

Jan 1, 1942

By M. Muskat, H. H. Evinger

A method has been developed whereby one may calculate the productivity factors of producing formations from a knowledge of the reservoir conditions. Account is taken not only of the heterogeneous character of the gas-oil flow system but also of the detailed variations with pressure of the shrinkage and viscosity of the oil, the solubility of the gas in the oil, and even the variability of the gas viscosity and the deviation of the gas from ideal behavior. Curves are shown giving the results of numerical calculations on the production rate as a function of the pressure differential for a high-prcssure and a low-pressure system, three values of gas-oil ratio being treated in each case. Curves are also given showing the variation with distance from the well of the pressure, oil saturation, and permeability. The effect of connate water is briefly discussed in relation to the apparently large discrepancies between the calculated and observed productivity-factor values. Introduction The significance of the productivity factor as a measure of the capacity of an oil-bearing formation to produce is well recognized; for it is the composite and integrated resultant of the physical prop-crties of both the porous medium and the fluid stream passing through it with respect to the ease with which the particular petroleum fluids present in the formation can flow through it and into producing wells. The most direct method of determining the productivity factor of a well consists, as is well known, in the simultaneous measurement of reservoir-pressure differentials and rates of production and the expression of the data in terms of rate of flow per unit pressure drop.' Actual measurements carried out in this manner on producing wells have given factors that generally lie in the range of o to Ioo bbl. per day per pound pressure drop. This wide range arises not only from variations in permeability but also from the varying sand thickness of producing formations. One of the aims of developing a theory of the mechanics of oil production obviously is that of predicting what the productivity factor should be from a knowledge of the individual characteristics of the producing formation and the fluids produced. For homogeneous fluid systems passing through a porous medium into a producing well, it has been known for some time that the steady-state rate of liquid flow Q is given by the formula:* Q ? u log r?/r? where k is the sand permeability, h its thickness, µ the liquid viscosity, ?p the pressure drop between the well and the distant parts of the reservoir, in particular that at a radius re, and r? is the well radius. This gives the productivity factor: f= Q/kh?p ? 2p/µ log re/r? f=Q/ kh?p ? 2p/µ log re/r? which will have a numerical value for a

Jan 1, 1942

By John W. Roberts

The Federal income tax law permits as a deduction in determining net income "in the case of mines,... a reasonable allowance for depletion and for depreciation of improvements, according to the peculiar conditions in each case, based upon cost, including cost of development not otherwise deducted: Provided, that in the case of such properties acquired prior to Mar. 1, 1913, the fair market value of the property (or the taxpayer's interest therein) on that date shall be taken in lieu of cost up to that date." The law provides for a reasonable allowance but the regulations provide for a definite method of computation that possesses more the virtue of simplicity than that of reasonableness. Article 210 of Regulations 45 reads: "When the cost or value as of Mar. 1, 1913, or within 30 days after the date of discovery of the property shall have been determined, and the number of mineral units in the property as of the date of acquisition or valuation shall have been estimated, the division of the former amount by the latter figure will give the unit value for purposes of depletion, and the depletion allowance for the taxable year may be computed by multiplying such unit value by the number of units of mineral extracted during the year." This is simple, but is it reasonable? The intent of the law is clearly that the cost of the ore in the ground shall be considered as part of the cost of the same ore when removed and sold. The regulations fail to carry out that intent, because of the unwarranted assumption that all the ore in the mine cost the same amount per ton. This is what gives the Treasury Department's method its simplicity, but at the same time robs it of its reasonableness because the assumption is contrary to fact. It is self-evident that a ton of ore near the surface or exposed by present workings is worth much more than a ton buried so far down in the earth that it cannot be removed for many years. If no improvements in mining methods were expected, the value of deeply buried ore would be further reduced by the greater expense that would be required to

Jan 1, 1922

By C. Hertzler

The difference of means of milling characteristics by rock and ore type is tested in a statistical manner in the paper. The null hypothesis being tested is that the sample means of two different populations are equal. It is assumed that the null hypothesis is true when performing the test. Because of this, acceptance of this hypothesis leads to the conclusion that the sample means of the two different populations are equal (or there is no significant difference between the sample means), not that the samples come from the same population, as the author asserts. Rejection of the null hypothesis leads to the conclusion that the sample means of the two different populations are not equal. A P value for this test is reported in Table 2 and is incorrectly identified as the probability that the two samples came from different populations. Actually, what was recorded was 100(1 - p) where p is the usual p-value. The usual p-value measures, on a scale of zero to one, the extent to which the data agree with the null hypothesis. It is the probability of observi" a value of the test statistic (Z score) that is at least as contradictory to the null hypothesis as the one computed from the sample data (McClave and Dietrich 11, 1982). The author makes no mention of the fact that were these tests to be conducted together, the chances of determining that the null hypothesis is not true when it is really true are increased considerably (Snedecor and Cochran, 1980). This is a multiple comparisons problem and should be dealt with accordingly. The usual methods involve adjusting the level of the individual tests. Table 2 reports an incorrect 100(1 - p) value in the comparison of concentrate grades for other rock types with .30 to .69% Cu vs other rock types with .70 + % Cu; 86% should be 98.6%. Although the article can be criticized for poor data presentation and discussion of that data, the point the author makes regarding the use of these statistics in the ore reserve estimation process is well taken. It does not appear that inaccuracies in the statistical interpretations have hindered that usefulness.

Jan 1, 1985

By V. F. Marsters

THE oil-producing territory of Peru is confined to the province of Tumbes and the department of Piura, located in the extreme northern end of the republic and adjacent to the southern border of Equador. The first real production came from Zorritos field, located on the shore line and in the province of Tumbes. The production of this territory was soon exceeded by that of the Negritos field, also located along the shore line and in the northwest corner of the department of Piura. Talara, lying a short distance north of the original or early producing area was made the shipping port. This field was developed by the London Pacific Petroleum Co.; it is now-operated by the International Petroleum Ltd. (Toronto, Canada). A little later, the Lobitos field came into prominence; it was first exploited by the Lobitos Oil Co. At present, it is operated by the British Oilfields Ltd. This field is located between Talara, on the south, and Zorritos, on the north. It is now the second largest producing area in the country, the Negritos being by far the largest both in area and production. In other parts of Peru, there have been periods of desultory prospecting, particularly in the department of Puno. This work was carried on in the surrounding region of what,is locally known as the "Pirin" field, developed by the Brown Brothers. It lies between Juliaca, a railway junction point and Lake Titicaca. No favorable results from the latest prospecting have been reported. During the past few months, an opinion has been expressed in various journals that it is doubtful if commercial production will be found in the high plains of the Lake Titicaca region. It is, however, due to the Peruvian oil industry to remember that the Pirin field, although covering but a small area, was a fair producer even under adverse circumstances. If the author's interpretation of the geology of the Titicaca section is correct, certain sections of the high plains will be found to be commercially productive, not-withstanding the unfortunate geographical position from the standpoint of transportation; or its elevation.

Jan 3, 1925

By Stanley Herold

A FEW notes on the occurrence and significance of mud volcanoes in Colombia may be of interest at the present time, owing to the renewed activity in geological exploration of, the coastal regions bordering the Caribbean Sea. The best-known volcanoes are found a few miles from the seacoast. One is situated to the south of Puerto Colombia; the second, to the east: of Cartagena near the village of Turbaco; and the third, near the village of Puerto Escondido south of the Sinu River. Others. are reported in more inaccessible localities. Usually they stand 2 1/2 or 3 ft. (0.762 or 0.914 m.) above the surrounding ground at the crater, though several craters from 10 to 20 ft. (3.04 to 6.09 m.,) apart will often build up an extensive mound at low gradient. The shallow mound may cover 1/2 or 3/4 acre (0.2 to 0.3 ha.) with an elevation of 12 or 15 ft. (3.65 or 4.57 m.) at the center. The craters are formed of hardened blue clay; the inside diameters vary from 14 to 24 in. (35.56 to 60.96 cm.). The rim is continuous, except on one side where there is usually a cut 3 or 4 in. deep, thus allowing an overflow. The craters are filled to the rim-cut- with a thick mixture of blue clay mud and water, which is kept in agitation by escaping gas. Fig. 1 shows the bubble in the act of bursting and Fig. 2 the appearance of the surface of the viscous fluid a second or so later. The frequency of the explosions is determined by the weight of the column of fluid in the neck of the volcano, consequently, such explosions are not synchronous in a group of craters. Ordinarily, there are two or three explosions in about 3' minutes. The supply of gas is small but steady and sufficient pressure must accumulate before the bubble can enter the column of fluid. The water is derived from the surface and enters the sedimentary strata not` far distant from the volcano. During long dry seasons, as the supply of water fails the volcano dries and geyser action ceases.

Jan 7, 1919

G. McMEANS*—This paper is a very good demonstration of the use of a new tool for the solution of industrial problems of a physical nature. To have solved this problem without the use of radioactive tracers would have required a far greater amount of investigation and work. The authors have described their work in such detail and in such a manner as to suggest the possibilities of the use of such tracer studies in the solution of many perplexing problems of industry. R. E. BREWER †—The authors are to be congratulated on this very excellent paper, which describes the results obtained by utilizing radioactive tracers in investigating the complicated reactions in the coking process. The paper has especial merit because the study was made under typical operating conditions in a commercial coke oven. Considering all the difficulties involved, the results obtained are excellent. My brief comments will relate primarily to the method used for determining the sulphur in the gas and to the value of the data obtained in stimulating further research. In discussing their results, the authors state (p. 17) that "Of the total sulphur charged to the oven in the coal 95 pct was accounted for in the coke and gas. Most of the sulphur unaccounted for is believed to have been lost in the gas, since the gas sampling system removed all the H2S but probably only part of the organic sulphur compounds present in the gas. Although sulphur in the acid-insoluble tar residue in the gas scrubbing bottles was determined and added to the total sulphur determination of each sample, it is doubtful whether an aliquot portion of tar for each sample was obtained." The reviewer believes that the authors might have obtained a better sulphur balance had they used an improved procedure for determining sulphur in the gas. The absorption train should have included a trap to remove the tar and am-moniacal liquor and a wash bottle containing 5 pct sulphuric acid to remove ammonia in the coke-oven gas before it entered the gas scrubbing bottles containing the ammoniacal cadmium chloride solution. Sulphur in the tar and

Jan 1, 1950

By A. P. Yovanovic, P. Bonadia, M. N. Moraes, C. F. Matos

"The magnesite flotation operation of Magnesita Refractories, in Brumado – Brazil, has four parallel ball mills working in closed circuit with hydrocyclones to grind the ore for the reverse flotation of silicates in mechanical cells. The modification proposed here opens the circuit for three of the ball mills so that their products are collected together to feed a high frequency screen. The oversize of the screen feeds the fourth ball mill in closed circuit for secondary comminution. The product reports to dewatering and flotation. The undersize undergoes desliming and subsequent flotation operation. According to pilot tests performed, the modification on the magnesite flotation operation will promote a 20% increase in the productivity, 8.5% increase in mass recovery and a 26% reduction in water consumption. The gains are due to the fact that the silicates in the feed are concentrated in the smaller particles (<100µm) with over grinding in the existing closed comminution circuit, making it impossible to take advantage of this natural selectivity. The combination of open circuit, more selective milling, and the high frequency screen, ensures high efficiency particle size classification. This renders the process more effective, both to the screen undersize with its high contents of silicates and fines, and to the screen oversize, which is almost without fines and has a higher magnesite grade. This situation allows for the setting of specific parameters for the flotation of both the primary milling undersize and the secondary milling product.INTRODUCTIONMagnesita Refractories, with its operations site in Brumado, is the largest producer of high purity dead burned magnesia (DBM) in Latin America. The magnesite ore is extracted from an open pit mine, named Pomba, after which it is crushed and handpicked. Due to the presence of disseminated silicate the ore has to be ground and concentrated by means of reverse flotation, before feeding the high temperature kilns for sintering and conversion to DBM.The magnesite flotation unit has an impact crusher to reduce the size of the feeding ore, which is transported to the mills by conveyor belts. The milling operation is composed of four ball mills in closed circuit with hydrocyclones. The closed circuit generates a high circulating load with excess fines, which is detrimental to the selectivity of the desliming and flotation operations, reducing both mass andmetallurgical recovery.In the current scenario, the capacity of the flotation plant is insufficient to meet the demand of the DBM kilns, forcing the operation to work with high purity ores in order to attain the highest possible mass recovery in the concentration process. This is not an ideal situation as it requires the mining site to work with higher stripping ratios.The objective of this work was to improve the magnesite flotation unity to increase its productivity. After a detailed analysis, the milling was identified as the limiting process, which made the authors to focus on this operation."

Jan 1, 2016

By T. S. Taylor

THE development of the linear hot-wire anemometer has been chiefly clue to the efforts of L. V. Kings1 and A. E. Kennelly and H. S. Sanborn.2 The anemometers used by these investigators consisted essentially of a fine heating wire having attached leads for resistance measurements at distances of 10 or more centimeters from each other. In using such an anemometer, the current is measured that is necessary to maintain the resistance of the wire, between the two leads, constant for different air velocities. Thus resistance is always so chosen that the temperature of the heating wire will be sufficiently high to make the observations practically independent of small variations in the temperature of the gas in which the anemometer is placed. The measurement of the resistance of the anemometer wire requires a Kelvin bridge set up, which for commercial work is not altogether desirable. The cooling effect clue to different air velocities depends on the temperature difference between the wire and the gas and the total quantity or mass of gas passing the wire per unit tine. Since the temperature of the wire is maintained constant, the effect observed in the change in the heating currentfor a given change in air velocity is a measure of the difference between the gas flow in the two cases. Such an anemometer, therefore, measures the average gas flow for a length depending on the distance between the two resistance leads. Therefore the instrument in the form used thus far is not very satisfactory for measuring gas velocities in small tubes or in places where the velocity varies rapidly across the line of flow. For the purpose of measuring gas flow through relatively small tubes, where the velocity changes rather rapidly across the tube, the hot-wire anemometer has been modified in the manner shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1. It consists essentially of a platinum heating wire H about 0.007 in. (0.178 mm.) in diameter and ½ to 1 in. (12.7 to 25.4 mm.) long stretched across a suitable framework, say of glass. This wire has

Jan 9, 1919