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By W. K. Overbey

The Bureau of Mines conducted surface joint and stress measurements, airborne remote sensing imagery studies, compass-oriented borehole televiewer surveys, numerical simulation of fractured wells, and well productivity studies in a four-quadrangle study area of Ohio, to determine the effects of earth fracture systems on the deliverability of gas storage fields. The results of these studies indicate that much useful information about a gas storage reservoir can be obtained and put to practical use by studying--(1) oriented cores for fractures and directional permeability, (2) orientation of induced hydraulic fractures for alignment of well patterns, and (3) aerial photos and multispectral scanner imagery for general surface geology comparison and to determine if some, development patterns can be generated by such results. The absence of known tectonic elements associated with flat-lying sediments, such as faults or fracture zones that can be seen on the surface, indicates that the use of remote sensors such as radar or aerial photography is not likely to be useful in picking well locations for drilling. Studies similar to those discussed here should be conducted in gently folded and strongly folded sedimentary formation areas to determine if the increased knowledge of earth fracture systems under these conditions might be beneficial in gasfield and gas storage reservoir development.

Jan 1, 1974

By L. B. Pankratz

The heat content above 298.15° K was determined for crystalline vanadium silicide of the composition V3Si. This substance has a minor thermal anomaly (probably a heat-capacity maximum) near 560° K; the extra heat absorption is about 50 cal/mole. The original heat-content data are presented, and smooth values of the heat content and the corresponding entropy increments are listed for the temperature range from 298.15° to 1,500° K. Equations representing the heat- content values and derived heat capacities are also included.

Jan 1, 1963

By John M. Gomes

A two-phase molten halide-silicate technique for extracting tungstic oxide (WO3) from scheelite (CaW04) and wolframite [(Fe, Mn)W04] was investigated. The halide phase extracted over 99 percent of the was, whereas the lower silicate phase retained about 90 percent of the calcium, iron, or manganese oxides. The most efficient extraction and separation of tungsten from scheelite was accomplished at 1,080° C in a molten system containing, in mole-percent, 9 calcium tungstate (CaW04), 42 sodium chloride (NaCl), 28 sodium fluoride (NaF), 17 sodium metasilicate (Na2SiO3), and 4 alumina (Al2O3). Wolframite was also treated at 1,0800°C; the molten system contained, in mole-percent, 11 (Fe, Mn)W04, 74 NaCl, and 15 Na2 SiO3.

Jan 1, 1968

By S. E. Bronisz, Dana L. Douglass

a Uranium was deformed by cold rolling, and the effects of this plustic deformation on the microstruc-ture of the metal were observed by the technique of transmission elecbon microscopy. The recrystalli-zation of selected cold-wmked samples was also studied by this method. The samples were prepared for examination by electrolytic thinning in a standard metallographic electrolyte which has not been previously reported as being used in producing thin foils of uranium. The microstructural changes observed in the a uranium were generally similar to those seen by optical microscopy. The changes in the microstructure of a uranium following cold work and recrystallization treatments have been the subjects of several studies employing optical and X-ray techniques.12-19 These studies indicated that twinning was the redominant mode of deformation at room temperature20 and that the regions of high energy associated with the deformation twins were preferred sites for the initiation of recrystallization.15,18, Recently several workers have prepared thin foils of uranium suitable for examination by transmission electron microscopy.'-lo The foils thus prepared have been used to study fission fragment damage; a particular dislocation reaction,' and gas precipitation." At this laboratory the microstructural changes occurring during the cold working and recrystallizing of a uranium samples have been studied by using transmission electron-microscopy techniques. The foils used in this work were electrolytically thinned in a polishing bath not reported previously in the literature as being used for this purpose. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The uranium used in this investigation was depleted a uranium sheet 4 mils thick. The results of a spectrochemical analysis of this material are shown in Table I. The as-received uranium was cut into strips, 1 in. wide by 5 in. long, and annealed in vacuo at 600°C for 2-1/2 hr. The resulting microstructure consisted of relatively uniform, equiaxed grains having diameters of 10 to 50 p. Cold Working. The cold-worked samples were prepared by rolling several of the annealed uranium strips to various thicknesses. The strips were reduced 3.5 ± 0.5, 6.0 ± 0.6, 10.0 ± 0.5, 19.5 ± 1.0, and 28.5 ± 2.0 pct in thickness. It was not possible to achieve these reductions with a single pass through the rolling mill, so the strips were turned end for end during the rolling procedure. The cold-rolled strips were stored in dry ice until samples from them could be thinned and examined (within 24 hr after rolling). Annealing. The samples used in studying the re-crystallization behavior of a uranium were obtained by annealing sections of the strips which had been reduced 10.0 and 28.5 pct. These samples were sealed in evacuated Pyrex capsules and were annealed in a tube furnace at temperatures from 200" to 600°C and for times from 1/2 to 2 hr, see Table l. Thinning: The samples from the rolling and heat treatments were prepared for examination in the electron microscope by electropolishing in a bath composed of 25 g chromic acid, 133 ml glacial acetic acid, and 25 ml water. This electrolyte has been used and recommended for preparing specimens for optical metallography It was necessary to mask the edges of the sample with a stop-off paint in order to prevent preferential attack in these areas. The paint used was made by dissolving polystyrene in benzene. The electrolytic cell consisted of a cylindrical stainless-steel cathode placed in a beaker containing the electrolyte, with the sample as the anode positioned at the cell axis. The temperature of the electrolyte was held below 15°C by cooling with liquid

Jan 1, 1963

By Svend [Bue] Rondum

The final report contains a summary of the work performed under this contract, In addition to the report itself, other products were derived from this effort. Several hardware items were prototyped for use with underground belt conveyors, and a manual for installation and maintenance procedures was developed and published under separate cover. Recommendations have been included for implementation of the tools and the manual or, an industry-wide basis.

Jan 1, 1982

By L. L. Brown

As part of the Federal effort to help maintain an adequate supply of fertilizer materials, the Bureau of Mines conducted research to characterize complex low-grade Michigan phosphate materials and to devise methods for recovering fertilizer-grade phosphate concentrates. The rock is from middle Precambrian sedimentary formations in the Marquette Range located in the central part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Occurrence of phosphate-bearing sediments in Precambrian rocks is rare. This deposit, containing 12 to 15 pct P205, is believed to be the richest Precambrian phosphate deposit in the United States. Petrographic examination showed that the conglomeritic rock contains crystalline apatite both in "black pebbles" and in quartz matrix. Attrition scrubbing and sizing tests showed that there is no tendency for phosphate to concentrate in any of the sized fractions. In beneficiation tests, which included grinding to minus 325 mesh followed by phosphate mineral flotation using a fatty acid-fuel oil collector, a phosphate concentrate was obtained that had a grade of 30 pct P205 and a P205 recovery of 72 pct. This concentrate should be suitable for fertilizer manufacture.

Jan 1, 1981

By Dino Kartofilis, Rick Deschamps, Giovanni (John) Bonita

"Anew condominium complex in Arlington, Va., presented some formidable constraints. One was the requirement for a permanent retaining wall to support a 48.5-ft (15-m) cut and an existing 16- story building on top of the slope. Another was the adjacent property owners’ refusal to allow tieback anchors to encroach on their property. The General Contractor (GC) proposed an innovative design incorporating vertical concrete load-bearing elements (LBEs) supported by post-tensioned tiedowns. The owner accepted and the project was successfully completed in 2007.The original designer had proposed a system that included a temporary, raked soldier pile and lagging wall and a permanent cantilever retaining wall with a large piled footing. The system was potentially costly and its constructability questionable.The GC then asked for a design-build alternative to reduce costs and enhance the schedule. The first idea was a diaphragm wall with vertically anchored T-sections. However, configuring a crane to excavate perpendicular sections using grab equipment seemed impossible. There were also utilities approximately 25 ft (9 m) from the existing building, two tiered retaining walls down the slope and a large swimming pool at the base. However, the GC was committed to providing a stable bench 20 ft (6 m) wide along the wall alignment to support the crane.The design evolved to single bite panels using diaphragm wall technology, commonly called LBEs, or barrettes, when they carry vertical loads. For this project, 44 LBEs were horizontally spaced at 9 ft (2.75 m) on center, oriented perpendicular to the wall, extending into bedrock and anchored vertically on the upslope side to resist overturning moments. They were essentially large soldier piles that provided both temporary and permanent support of excavation.An unusual formal agreement was established with the GC to complete the work based on pricing, and prior to completion of final design. This arrangement allowed for an exchange of ideas that increased project efficiencies and lowered costs — without the fear that design concepts would be “shopped” to competitors."

Jan 1, 2009

By Luiz A. Teixeira

A process is described whereby worn, deffective or crystallized photoconductive Se-As layers can be stripped off from aluminium photocopier drums, using hydrogen peroxide solutions in conditions such that the aluminium substrate is preserved from chemical attack. The process allows the stripped drum to be recoated with a new photoconductive layer, and to be put again in use.

Jan 1, 1990

By Richard E. Bischke

Computer assisted finite element model analysis, originally developed to study stress distributions in aircraft, has been modified into a versatile mining program, that can be used to assist the engineer with predictions of mine subsidence. International Exploration, Inc. has developed an in-house finite element model program which incorporates a multitude of factors influencing mine subsidence such as mine design, physical rock properties, structure, faults, joints and topography. Finite element analysis of a mine model can mathematically determine the magnitude and direction of the principal stresses within each of the elements forming the model. By comparing the calculated in-situ stresses to the actual rock strengths, high risk regions within a mine can be identified. These potentially unstable regions of the mine can be allowed to fail within the model and the resultant stress redistribution and element movement calculated. Thus, the effects of the mine collapse at the surface can be predicted for the purpose of determining the potential damage, if any, that could occur to surface structures from deep mine failure. Stabilization materials can also be mathematically inserted into the model to design and analyze the effectiveness of subsidence prevention programs. Two examples are presented of the finite element program being used to predict mine subsidence at substantially different geologic and mining provinces in Pennsylvania.

Jan 1, 1984

By William R. Barton

Sampling to determine development potential of beryllium deposits was conducted at 31 New England localities. A total of 54 additional areas where the geochemical environment appeared favorable were sampled to determine if economically interesting percentages of beryllia (BeO) might occur. Newry Hill-Plumbago Mountain, Maine, Iron Mountain, N.H., and Long Island, Maine, were investigated in some detail to determine the size and grade of deposits. The mineralized pegmatites at Newry Hill-Phunbago Mountain are extensive but very low grade; at Iron Mountain the ore bodies are very rich but of small volume; at Long Island beryl occurs with molybdenite, wolframite, and scheelite, but the tonnage of ore was not determined.

Jan 1, 1968

By Huayang Luo, Hui Li, Wei Zhou, Gang Chen, Scott Huang

Abundant beach and offshore resources of gold deposits are demonstrated along the coast of Alaska, and Nome is one of the richest places. Considerable amounts of mineral resources data were collected and stored in geodatabase of ArcGIS. In searching for the best model for the interpretation of the Nome offshore gold placer deposit and accurate estimation of the reserve, the data were processed and visualized using ArcGIS. The gold concentration data collected from the Nome offshore deposit are of characteristics such that: (1) near lognormal distribution of data, (2) high positive skewed distribution, (3) a small number of extreme values dominating the reserve estimation, and (4) apparent anisotropy of the variogram. These characteristics make the development of an interpolation model for the gold deposit a challenging task. In this study, it is determined that five geostatistical methods provided by ArcGIS with visualization capability, i.e., Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW), Ordinary Kriging (OK), Ordinary Kriging with lognormal transformation (OK-log), Simple Kriging (SK) and Indicator Kriging (IK) are suitable candidates for the development of an interpolation model. The five algorithms are evaluated and compared with each other in the study. Cross-validation technique is employed to examine the accuracy of the five approaches. It is determined that the OK and SK algorithms are not suitable for this dataset because of the difficulty of fitting the semivariogram model despite their lower RMSE (Root-mean-square error) and the higher RMSS (Root-mean-square Standardized). The OK-log algorithm does not provide satisfactory prediction either, because it places too much weight on the role of extreme values resulting in overestimation and extremely high RMSE. Reserve estimation of each blocks is conducted using each of the interpolation methods and compared with the reserve calculated using the conventional polygon method. The IWD and IK algorithm seem to provide estimations more agreeable with the conventional polygon method.

Jan 1, 2005

By R N. Robson, A B. Christie, I J. Graham

Strategy development by the minerals industry identified the fragmented management of mineral resources as a significant impediment to the discovery and development of New Zealand Æs mineral resources. The total gross value of New Zealand Æs potential resources of coal and minerals is estimated at about $400 billion, but their potential value is not being realised. The management of minerals is now largely under the control of 86 local authorities (regional and district councils) and the lack of recognition of the significance of the sector has lead to inconsistencies in the way minerals are managed. The industry strategy influenced science funding for minerals, with the result that the 'mineral wealth' component now includes research on making better use of resource data in minerals management. Initially this research has targeted Otago and Northland regions where a number of initiatives are now in progress.   In Otago the Regional Council has budgeted to contribute $1 million towards a regional geophysical survey to advance mineral exploration and the management of subsurface resources in the region, to work cooperatively towards improving public awareness of the significance of minerals to regional economic activity, and to better coordinate policy-making for minerals at regional and district levels.   Crown Minerals, and the Far North and Whangarei district councils are considering providing funding support for an economic study of the mineral potential of Northland, building on a mineral resource assessment undertaken by GNS Science. Enterprise Northland is adding minerals to their list of potential growth sectors, and is supporting the operation of a Northland region minerals focus group.   Regional development agencies and local authorities have shown that they are willing to include mineral resources in their development strategies and to provide for them in policies and plans when supplied with information and assisted with technical support.

Jan 1, 2006

By M. G. Zabetakis

This publication contains highlights of a 4-hour lecture and demonstration by the Bureau of Mines on the fire and explosion hazards of flammable liquids and solids, oxidizing materials, corrosive liquids, and compressed gases. The authors first presented this material as part of a 2-week course given to officers and enlisted men at the U.S. Coast Guard's Dangerous-Cargo Handling School, established at Fort Eustis, Va., in 1959. The Bureau was asked to present the lecture and demonstration because of the extensive experience of its researchers in handling certain harardous commodities.

Jan 1, 1961

By D. Lindeman, R. M. Nendick

"From a technologist's point of view, there have been few fundamental 'breakthroughs' in the process of gold extraction since the turn of the century. However, the industry has made a great deal of progress in its response to the problems that have arisen: a changing demand for products, lower grade and more refractory ores, inflated labour and materials cost and the increasing control of governmental legislation. The trend in North America and South Africa to alleviate these problems has been to adopt a common policy to process larger tonnages of lowgrade ore through more efficient milling circuits. Here, however, is where the similarity ends.The purpose of this paper is to emphasise the different principles of practice employed by extraction plants in North America and South Africa to achieve the same common goal, namely gold bullion.2.0 INTRODUCTIONTwo very important aspects of extraction metallurgy for which the metallurgical engineer is responsible are plant design and plant commissioning.In North America and South Africa the importance of these aspects is due to the fact that both are related to the financial success of the project of which they form part. Good design is imperative if the capital invested in both the plant and the whole mining undertaking is to reap maximum profit. Furthermore, good design leads to a carefully planned and well executed start-up procedure resulting in bringing the plant into production on time, at designed efficiency and within budget.Due to the competent nature of the quartz pebble conglomerate and quartzite ore on the South African Witwatersrand, the characteristics of the ore type are not much different from one mine to the other. Thus a significant operating knowledge and experience has been built up over the years and there is considerably less risk in selecting a gold extraction process route."

Jan 1, 1992

By T. A. Rickard

The notion prevails that writing is a knack, that the skilful use of the pen is a gift of nature. This is an error. Dogberry may be responsible for it; he said: "To be a well-informed man is the gift of fortune, but to write and read comes by nature". Because Dogberry said it, we may be sure that Shakespeare thought otherwise. Ability of any sort may be partly innate, but my own observation and experience lead me to conclude that most of the easy writers have become so by constant practice. As I recall the names of men successful with the pen, I remember that most of them have written a great deal and have taken particular pains to improve their style. The suggestion that proficiency in the difficult art is a happy accident provokes a sardonic smile. The larger part of the great writing in our literature is the result of persistent effort. An easy fluency has been the undoing of many; their flamboyant and fantastic scribbling has proved as perishable as froth. This criticism applies to technical writing also; in order that a technical description or discussion may hold the interest of the reader, at least long enough to cause him to read it to the end, the writing must be done carefully and systematically; otherwise it will fail in its purpose of conveying information. Clearness is absolutely essential. "It is not enough to use language that may be understood; it is necessary to use language that must be understood."* The purpose of writing, at least of that which is meant to be read by others, is not only to express ideas but to communicate them. Lack of perspicuity may prove as %ad as

Jan 1, 1931

By P. M. Kelly, E. P. Butler

Four Mn-CLL alloys, containing 60, 70, 80, and 90 pct Mn, respectively, have been examined in the quenched and the quenched and aged conditions using electron microscopy and electron, neutron, and X-ray diffraction. After certain heat treatments the alloys transform from fee to fct and in the tetraom1 condition show a domain structure parallel to {101} planes. Neutron diffraction indicates that the domains are antiferrornagnetically ordered. The domain boundary contrast has been examined using bright- and dark-field microscopy, and the contrast effects observed under favorable conditions have been used to deduce the c axis orientation in each domain. The domains are extremely mobile and can be nucleated at precipitate particles and screw dislocations. The domain mobility is responsible for the high damping capacity. In the aged material a Mn precipitates in the Kurdjumov-Sachs orientation and results of both electron microscopy and neutron diffraction indicate that the matrix separates into two components—one rich in manganese and the other rich in copper. ALLOYS of manganese and copper have the unusual combination of a high damping capacity and good mechanical properties and have been the subject of a number of investigations as part of a general interest in high damping capacity alloys for engineering purposes.&apos;,&apos; SO far, however, there has been no reported electron metallographic study of these alloys. The Mn-Cu system has an extensive range of solid solubility at high temperatures, and the equilibrium phases are expected to be y (fee) and a Mn. The high damping capacity is associated with a metastable tetragonal structure of variable c/a ratio, which forms from the high-temperature y phase. This latter phase becomes more difficult to retain as the manganese content increases, and alloys containing more than 82 wt pct Mn undergo a reversible martensitic fcc — fct transformation on quenching. The X-ray work of Basinski and christian3 showed that the Ms temperature for the transformation was below room temperature for alloys in the range 70 to 82 pct Mn and increased linearly with manganese content. When quenched from the y region, alloys in the range 50 to 82 pct Mn are cubic at room temperature, but become tetragonal if aged at temperatures between 400" and 600°C. The martensite transformation occurs on cooling from the aging temperature. Tetragonal alloys have a banded microstructure and the bands analyze to be traces of (110) planes. Similar microstructures have been observed in In-Tl4 and in other manganese-base systems, such as Mn-Au5 and Mn-Ni.6 The mobility of the bands in Mn-Cu alloys can be demonstrated by optical examination of a polished specimen surface subjected to a cyclic stress.7 The bands appear and disappear as the stress is varied, and X-ray measurements of the (200,020) and (002) peak intensities confirm that a reversible reorientation of the tetragonal structure occurs. Meneghetti and sidhu8 investigated the magnetic structure of Mn-Cu alloys and found antiferromagnetic ordering in furnace-cooled alloys of composition >69 at. pct Mn. Magnetic super lattice reflections occurred at the (110) and (201) positions and the proposed structure was fct with the spins along the c axis. A more complete investigation by Bacon et al.9 confirmed this structure. The magnetic ordering temperature Tn was found to increase linearly with manganese content in the same way as the Ms temperature, and at any composition, Tn > Ms. This relationship suggested that the magnetic ordering was responsible for the cubic — tetragonal transformation in the manganese-rich alloys. The purpose of this investigation was to study the mechanism of high damping and the structural changes that occur on aging. The main technique used was transmission electron microscopy, but X-ray and neutron diffraction experiments were also carried out. EXPERIMENTAL Materials and Heat Treatment. The four alloys, provided by the Admiralty Materials Laboratory. were of nominai composition 60, 70, 80, and 90 Mn and all had low impurity levels, <0.05 pct C, <0.2 pct Fe. This material was cold-rolled to 200-µ strip with intermediate annealing and then given a final heat treatment of 24 hr in the range 800° to 900°C followed by water quenching. An identical heat treatment was given a length of 3/4-in.-diam bar of the 70/30 alloy from which the neutron diffraction specimens were machined. It was suspected that the tetragonal structures would be metastable at room temperature, and so the alloys were not aged until required for experiments. After aging in a salt bath the alloys were water-quenched. Thin Foil Preparation. Initial thinning to 50 to 75 µ was possible in a solution consisting of: 50 ml nitric acid 25 ml acetic acid 25 ml water The surface deposit and grain boundary etching was removed by a final electropolish at around 20 V in an electrolyte consisting of:

Jan 1, 1969

By W. Rostoker

INTRODUCTION THE process of diffusion alloying of mixed powders offers attractive possibilities both commercially and experimentally. It avoids the fabrication difficulties arising from high alloy contents. Indeed, the process is facilitated by larger alloy additions. The direct formation of the part or test piece and the opportunity to perform machining operations under more favorable conditions are of no small importance. However, it is necessary to make only brief mention of the interesting features. As yet there have been few attempts to study this process in detail and to carry it to completion, if such is possible. It was intended not only to measure the intermediate and optimum magnetic properties of sintered alloys but to use magnetic testing itself as a means of following the progress of alloying under various conditions. Having established that alloys could be successfully synthesized by this technique, the opportunity was taken to study the magnetic properties of several alloys of iron and silicon which had hitherto been too difficult to prepare in suitable test piece form, While avoiding some of the difficulties inherent in the fabrication of alloys by orthodox methods, the diffusion alloying process introduces a few of its own. The first of these is the evaluation of the approach to homogenization. In recent years some notable contributions have been made to this question, but considerable uncertainty remains in its definition and evaluation. This work has concerned itself with further study of this problem and it is hoped that more light has been shed on it, The second of these difficulties arises from the presence of porosity. It is inevitable that in the consolidation of a loose bulk of powder, there should remain some voids unless extremely high pressures are repeatedly applied. It was therefore of importance to investigate their effect on magnetic properties. Recently this effect has been studied and certain predictions made of its behavior. It is believed that the experimental results presented here provide a sound substantiation of the theoretical treatment. The attempt has been made to synthesize five alloys of the iron-silicon system and three each of the iron-nickel and iron-cobalt systems. A series of experiments was also conducted on some of these alloys to test their susceptibility to heat treatment. Some unfortunate experiences have provided opportunity to report data on the deleterious effects of nitrogen on magnetic properties when present as a contaminant in protective atmospheres. MATERIALS, PREPARATION OF SAMPLES AND TESTING The purest materials available were employed for this work. A specially purified,

Jan 1, 1948

By Roy H. Grau, John C. LaScola

"This Bureau of Mines report contains a tabulation of methane emissions during 1980 for all coal mines located in the United States with emissions greater than 0.1 MMcfd. Listed for each mine are methane emission quantity, location, and coalbed. The report also compares records of 1975 and 1980 and describes relationships between emissions in 1980 and the Bureau's coalbed gas content data on 11 mines.INTRODUCTIONMethane gas is a threat to safety in underground coal mines. Research by Government and industry has led to great gains in reducing methane gas ignitions and explosions. The development of advanced methane control techniques is necessary for the safe operation of more gassy mines and the implementation of rapid mining techniques.As part of this research, the Bureau of Mines has surveyed total methane emission data from underground bituminous coal mines in the United States and tabulated emissions from mines producing over 0.1 MMcfd of methane. This report is an update of similar studies previously described in Information Circulars 8733, 8659, and 8558 (2-4).3The data from 1980 were compiled from Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) records of air quality-quantity inspections made quarterly at each mine. The inspections involve measuring airflow and collecting air samples in the main returns. From these data, an average methane emission is calculated and used to represent the daily mine emission for each quarter. The methane emissions given in this report are the averages of the four 1980 quarters and do not include mine emissions from other sources such as degasification projects. Since a previous Bureau study showed that emissions from mines emitting less than 0.1 MMcfd represented only 2 pct of all emissions, 0.1 MMcfd was chosen as a lower limit for data collection (4)."

Jan 1, 1982

By F. F. Craig

Many full-scale waterflooding operations are preceded by pilot floods, one purpose of which is to provide an estimate of recoverable oil. A laboratory model study was made to determine the influence of the producing wells&apos; effective productivity on the oil recovery efficiency of single five-spot pilots, as well as single injection well pilot floods. The effective productivity is indicated by the value of Condition Ratio, defined as the actual well productivity to that of on undamaged and non-stimulated, normal-sized well in the same formation. The effects of initial gas satrcration and mubility ratio on recovery eficiency were also investigated in this model study. Model test results skowed that at favorable mobiliry ratios, a five-spot pilot flood can provide a direct quantitative estimate of the recoverable oil in the pilot area. If the pilot producer&apos;s Candition Ratio is 2.2 or more, upwards of 90 per cent of the recoverable oil in the pilot area is recovered from the inside producer, regqrdless of the mobility ratio or initial gas saturation. This Condition Ratio can be achieved with preyent fracturing techniques. Model studies also showed that over the range of imposed injection pressure differences and regional pressure gradients normally encountered in field operations, there was no effect on the recovery efficiency of a five-spot pilot waterflood. Model studies of single injection well pilot waterfloods showed that with no initial gas saturation, the total oil recovery at the offset producing wells can indicate the oil recovery possible by full-scale waterflooding. It is essential that the Condition Ratios of the offset wells be above 1.4. If an initial gas saturation exists prior to water injection, the recoverable oil cannot be directly evaluated by a single injection well pilot flood. However, the production per formance of such a flood can be used to provide information on volumetric sweep efficiency. INTRODUCTION Oil reservoirs are conlplex structures and cannot always be fully studied in the laboratory. Therefore, many operators consider it prudent to evaluate a waterflood prospect by means of a pilot flood. Pilot waterfloods generally involve one of two well arrangements: a single five-spot pilot waterflood, involving four injectors and an internal pilot producing well; and a single injection well pilot flood (sometimes called an inverted five-spot pilot) having one injector and four sur- rounding pilot producers. Some pilot floods are composed of multiple five-spot pilot patterns. To yield information applicable to field-wide performance, the pilot must be located in a representative portion of the reservoir. Pilot floods generally are conducted for one or more of the following reasons: (1) to determine whether water could be injected at desirably high rates, (2) to determine whether an oil bank or zone of increased oil saturation is formed by water injection, and (3) to estimate the oil recovery by waterflooding. Many of the early pilot water-floods were conducted for only the first two reasons. As soon as a buzz in oil production was obtained in the pilot, water injection was initiated throughout the entire lease or field. A number ot laboratory studies have been directed toward determining conditions under which a pilot flood could yield a quantitative estimate of the oil recovery possible by full-scale pattern flooding. One of the early studies of single five-spot pilot flooding&apos; showed that well damage to the inside pilot producer could reduce the total amount of oil recovered. In a study of the single injection well pilot flood pattern,&apos; the results indicated that if the model boundaries were no closer than a half-well spacing beyond the pilot pattern, the pilot performance in the laboratory is unaffected by these boundaries. In another study,? he effect of initial gas saturation and mobility ratio on the ratio of production to injection rate for various groupings of five-spot patterns was defined by mathematical and analog methods. In a study4 involving both potentiometric and flow model experiments at a mobiliry ratio of unity, four different pilot patterns were studied. These included a single five-spot, a single injection well pilot, a cluster of four single injection well pilots and six inverted five-spots. In this study the ratio of well diameter to the distance between injection and producing wells was held constant at 1:1000. The effect of the 7 ratio-—the ratio of the pressure drawdown at the producing wells to the pressure build-up at the injection wells on the pilot performance-was studied. The values of 7 ratio ranged from 0 to 0.34. Results showed that both the total oil recovery and the total fluid production from the pilot relative to the cumulative injection increased with increasing values of the 7 ratio. The effect of both the ratio of injection to producing rates and mobility ratio on the oil recovery performance of a liquid-saturated single five-spot pilot flood was studied in a series of flow model tests.5 Rate ratios ranged from one to four, and mobility rates ranged from 0.1 to 10. Resulls of these tests showed that at low rate ratios, the pilot producers may recover up to four times the recover-

Jan 1, 1966

By Yongfu Yu, Xiaotie Wang, Fuguang Zhang, Liping Che

"Rare Earth water dregs is the drained waste dregs, which contains over 0.2 percent thorium dioxide and about 6-10 percent di-Rare Earth trioxide, which is beyond the standard of draining off that China governments set, so that the Rare Earth water leach dregs must be sacked and laid down in storehouse, which costs lots of money. It is a pity that the RE and thorium compounds very useful elements in industry are discarded. A lot of work must be carried out so that this resource was fully developed.In this paper, four separation techniques of recovery Rare Earth minerals and enrichment thorium element and reduction thorium content of drained dreg for the different test samples of Rare Earth water leach dregs which is radioactive waste dregs got from diverse locus are studied, respectively, and the separation characteristic and the separation process are described, using several combination processes of classification and gravity and flotation separation which were prepared according to the characteristic of test samples and technology. The test results show that the combination processes are the more remarkable separation techniques and the flotation reagents used in test can be applied to utilizing synthetically radioactive waste dregs. Through the combined technique process, three parts of products were obtained, namely, Rare Earth concentrate collected, the thorium product enriched and a large amount of the waste dregs product that can be directly drained and the total quantity is 50%-60%. In order to determine optimum technical condition, the effect factors of separation process were investigated in the test."

Jan 1, 2003