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By John P. Norton

Microcrystalline silica has been mined in Illinois from the Clear Creek Formation since the turn of the century, especially in the area around Tamms in Alexander County, in the southernmost part of the state. This silica is consumed mainly by the abrasives and coatings industries, but is also sought after for many filler/extender uses. Production has grown with the economy with several new applications overshadowing traditional markets in recent years. Many of these applications are directly or indirectly related to energy saving factors. As a result of the "energy crisis" and "resin crunch," fillers have received a great deal of renewed attention as a desirable way of stretching the available resin supplies. With feedstocks in short supply and shortages existing in the entire petrochemical industry, the use of bulk materials to improve and extend existing resin is becoming an every increasingly important facet of plastics and coatings technology. Silica is the choise of fillers in applications where inertness, hardness, and low absorption are necessary characteristics. Microcrystalline silica has the additional advantage of being relatively easy to grind because the crude ore is a friable rock composed of tiny crystallites, many less than 0.1 u in diameter. Grinding represents a significant energy input in the production of silica flours. With energy costs increasing rapidly, comparable grades of silica flour made from microcrystalline silica have advanced less in price and it is expected this trend will continue in favor of the microcrystalline silica.

Jan 1, 1978

By AIME AIME

UNDER the auspices of the Institute's Committee on Industrial Preparedness, a symposium was arranged for the Annual Meeting on the subject "Ores, Metals, and the War," with many well-known Government men and industrialists participating. Wilfred Sykes, president of the Inland Steel Co., of Chicago, presided, with C. K. Leith and Clyde Williams as vice-chairmen, Mr. Williams presiding over the latter part of the meeting. On the Auditorium stage in the Engineering Societies Building was a formidable corps of "experts," with an audience of several hundred to hear what they had to say and to ask questions.

Jan 1, 1942

The Joint Session on Continuous Cast- ing, of the Institute of Metals Division and the Iron and Steel Division of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, convened in the Jade Room of, the Hotel Waldorf-Astoria, New York City, on Feb. 23, 1944, at 9:15 o'clock, Carl E. Swartz presiding. C. E. SWARTZ.-It is gratifying to see so many out at what may seem an early hour for the beginning of A.I.M.E. sessions, but I think this number-some fifty or sixty of you-is an adequate expression of the interest in these processes all over the United States, and possibly in foreign countries. I would like to ask those who feel that this type of program is of value to you to write or speak to some one of the Institute of Metals Division officers and suggest other topics for symposiums. We have a feeling that some of these current practices are of interest and we believe that under proper sponsorship many of the companies will be willing to give publicity to processes such as those that will be discussed today. Also, we would like suggestions and criticisms, so that the next ones can be better. The subject of continuous casting is not new, of course. The two papers on the program this morning will adequately cover the history and some of the earlier processes, some of the theory and some of the practice, some of the reasons why these various methods did not work. I was rather interested in discovering, when thumbing through one of the A.I.M.E. publications the other night, an article on continuous casting. I was not aware that the A.I.M.E. had published any papers on continuous casting, but there may be a number. The one that I happened to find was published in the 1915 volume, on the Mellen rod- casting process, and so we might say this is not the first session in which these subjects have been under discussion. However, there have been many improvements since then in all fields of metallurgical and mechanical engineering; consequently, I think that the papers today will be a little more involved and a little more complete in their technique. The first paper today will be given by one of our gentlemen of the press, who has done one of the outstanding jobs in this country in calling to our attention some of the newer processes that are being considered and being used in the metallurgical indus-

Jan 1, 1945

By A. L. Field

Bureau of Mines Technical Paper 189 consists of a record of the scientific data obtained in the iron blast-furnace slag investigation which is reported in Technical Paper 187, "Slag Viscosity Tables for Blast-Furnace Work." It includes a description of the method of preparing the synthetic melts, construction of an improved electric furnace, and refinements in laboratory methods of measurement. Only the general features of the work and the conclusions drawn from the experimental data can be given attention here. Silicates in the Liquid State In the manufacture of refractories, Portland cement, glass, and porcelain, and in pyrometallurgical operations, importance attaches to the behavior of silicate compounds at temperatures beyond the range of common experience. This field of research has not been investigated as carefully as its scientific and industrial importance would seem to warrant. Probably the most important of the unsolved problems in the, chemistry of silicates is the question of their stability in the liquid state. That little progress toward the solution of this problem has been made is not strange if there be borne in mind the difficulties attending experiments made at temperatures at which silicates become fluid, and the comparatively short time since it became possible to measure these temperatures. On the other hand, considerable progress has been made in the study of the compounds in the solid state because of the directness and simplicity of methods of optical examination.

Jan 12, 1917

By W. J. Slatosky

As a means of effecting better control of endpoint temperatirres at the Jones & Laughlin basic oxygen furnace plant, a set of mathematical equations has been developed. The eqlutions are the product of a themlochemical anaysis of the process and aye designed to calculate the required scrap, lime, and hot metal additions in terms of a number of independent variables. Results of test heats have warranted adoption of this technique by the Prodrrction Department. BECAUSE of the autogeneous nature of the basic oxygen steel-making process, bath temperature can be controlled without an external fuel supply by charging the furnace with additions that are thermally balanced. The thermal requirements of the charge materials are such that, during the refining process, they throttle the heat generated by the metallurgical reactions in a manner designed to result in a speci-fied temperature at the completion of the heat. In the past, operating personnel at the basic oxygen furnace plant of Jones & Laughlin's Aliquippa Works relied on their experience and technical knowledge of the process to determine the quantities of charge additions needed to result in a finishing temperature in the range 2880"to 2920" F. (The charge consists primarily of 93 tons of scrap and hot metal plus an amount of lime sufficient to maintain a basicity ratio of 2.8 to 3.2). Estimates of these materials are based on a consideration of the effects on finishing temperature of 1) iron silicon content, having a variation of 0.8 to 1.8 pct; 2) iron temperature, ranging from 2250°to 2600°F; and 3)any excessive cooling of the furnace due to a production delay. The end temperature of the preceding heat also serves as a guide in that, if a heat was within the specified temperature range, the succeeding heat could be charged with materials of nearly the same proportions, provided the hot metal used in each of the two charges was of approximately the same temperature and composition. On the other hand, if a heat was outside the specified tapping range, or if the hot metal used in that heat was of different analysis and temperature from that of the iron to be charged, an adjustment in the proportion of additions is in order for the following heat. Due to the complex thermochemical behavior of the process and to the inexact and subjective nature of the described method of determining charge additions, consistently accurate temperature control was not to be expected. Therefore, those heats out- side the specified tapping range necessitated subsequent adjustments by either reblowing the cold heats for a suitable length of time so as to elevate the bath temperature to the desired level, or cooling hot heats with a proper amount of scrap. Because extra time is required to make these adjustments, production is delayed. In an attempt to devise a method for improving temperature control, an analysis of the thermochemistry of the process was undertaken. This, in turn, led to the development of a set of mathematical equations which enable the calculation of the quantities of scrap, lime, and hot metal needed to result in any specified tapping temperature range. The analysis was not intended to be a repetition of work done by others such as McMulkinl or ~hilbrook.' It was meant to be an extension of their work so that charge additions could be calculated not in terms of silicon alone but, rather, as a function of all independent variables. This paper presents the derivation of these relationships, their effectiveness in controlling bath temperatures, and a method of utilizing them on an operational basis. The Heat Balance—The first step undertaken in the analysis of the problem was the enumeration of the pertinent variables. A list is presented in Table I where it is noticed that these quantities have been separated into the following three categories: important variables, variables considered as constants, and variables to be neglected. The breakdown was an arbitrary one designed to facilitate the analysis; otherwise, the mathematical treatment would have been exceedingly cumbersome and complex. Fortunately, experience has shown that these simplifying assumptions do not seriously impair the accuracy of the calculations. These variables along with the limiting assumptions listed in Table n were then used to write a heat balance of the process by applying the equation of continuity, Rate of Rate of Rate of Increase = Income - Outgo PI ] of Heat of Heat of Heat.

Jan 1, 1962

By C. A. Bruch, J. F. Duffey

On the basis of metallographic and cooling-rate studies of 15 U-Zr alloys, a new version of the 6 phase region of the U-Zr phase diagram is proposed. IN several published diagrams of U-Zr alloy system:' there is good agreement that at elevated temperatures complete solid solubility exists between y uranium and ß zirconium. Similarly, there is reasonably good agreement concerning the uranium-rich and zirconium-rich ends of the diagram. However, there is no agreement concerning the nature of the diagram at intermediate compositions and at temperatures below about 650°C. The early work of Saller et al.8 hows an intermediate phase, 6. In a later diagram by Saller and Rough' shown in Fig. 1, the d phase field is drawn with dotted lines, indicating doubt that this phase exists. The diagram of Summers-Smith2 does not show the d phase. More recently Holden and Seymour' have shown that in the composition range 40 to 60 wt pet Zr, the high-temperature ? phase, which is body-cen-tered-cubic, transforms to an ordered structure, 8. They found that the order-disorder transformation occurs between 595° and 610°C, and presented a diagram based on the study of four different alloy compositions. Most recently Saller et a1.5 presented a new diagram which differs with respect to the composition limits of the 8 field from the others proposed by these authors. The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the boundaries of the d phase field. Experimental Procedures and Results Alloys—Buttons, weighing 80 g of 15 different alloy compositions were prepared by arc melting Mal-linckrodt uranium and iodide-process zirconium in a water-cooled crucible. A controlled atmosphere of argon and helium was maintained in the furnace. Prior to making each button, a sacrificial button of zirconium was melted to increase the purity of the furnace atmosphere. Each alloy was then melted six times to improve its homogeneity. Subsequently the alloy buttons were jacketed in copper and hot rolled to slabs at 775°C. From these slabs, specimens were machined for chemical, thermal, and metallographic analyses, Table I gives both the estimated chemical composition of the alloys, and the values which were obtained by analysis. The oxygen contents varied from 0.013 to 0.032 pet, nitrogen from 0.0014 to 0.014 pet, and carbon from 0.0013 to 0.011 pet. The purity of the alloys ranged from 99.947 to 99.975 pet. Thermal Analysis—The specimens for thermal analysis were blocks 11/4 x 1/4 x % in. The bead of a calibrated thermocouple was placed between two of these blocks and molybdenum wire was wrapped around the assembly. Each assembly was sealed in a quartz capsule having an argon atmosphere. The capsule was placed inside a refractory crucible which was heated in a furnace. Using a method described by Smith,' the emf of a differential thermocouple, with junctions inside and outside of the refractory crucible, was used to activate the

Jan 1, 1959

By Charles Mitke

EXCLUDING top-slicing, and sublevel caving, large production caving methods may be divided into two general classes, the branch raise, or undercut caving method, and the combined shrinkage and caving method, each of which has a number of variations, the result of continual efforts towards obtaining lower costs and better extraction, by the introduction and substitution of minor improvements and modifications. EARLY CAVING METHODS Present caving methods are the cumulative result of developments covering a period of many years, with the most rapid growth during the past 15 years. They originated, presumably, from early English stoping methods, and, as far as is generally known, were first introduced in the Michigan iron district. They have had their greatest expansion and application in the large low-grade porphyry coppers. In their present form, they are probably a development and combination of sublevel caving and shrinkage (back-stoping on ore) with gravity handling of broken material. Sublevel caving, as practiced in the Michigan district today, is a combination of drift, or crosscut, mining, with top-slicing, and caving, supplemented by later refinements in the shape of mechanized handling of broken ore. A height of anywhere from 16 to 20 ft. is generally taken, and the ore is drilled and blasted along the drift or crosscut for half this height (say 8 to 10 ft.), after which the upper 8 to 10 ft. caves and breaks of its own weight, with comparatively little assistance from drilling. This

Jan 1, 1928

By C. E. Sims, H. M. Banta, S. L. Hoyt

OVER the past few years, metallic arc welding has been extended to steels of the hardenable type. As compared with other methods of fabrication, production has been facilitated, service performance frequently has been improved, and the overall results have been so favorable that engineers and production men have placed great emphasis on this application of welding. The metallurgist and welding engineer, however, have been confronted with new problems, since, for one reason, the harder steels are more apt to crack and special precautions must be taken if sound joints are to be procured. Some of the factors that are pertinent to this problem are metallurgical, and it is an object of this contribution to discuss steel manufacture and processing methods and to show how their control assists in reducing the hazard of cracking. By this time, the problem of cracking specifically underbead cracking, or "hard cracks," or parent-metal cracks-is well known, and a large amount of work has been published, both here and abroad, dealing with this subject.1 The tests described are made under restraint to facilitate cracking and, are so designed that a semiquantitative, or at least a relative, value of the cracking tendency is obtained. As one would expect, it has been reported that the incidence of cracking increases with the carbon and alloy content of the steel. More specifically, the cracking tendency is said to increase with the hardenability of the steel, though it is now recognized that the situation is not so simple. The phenomenon itself, on the other hand, has been but loosely described, and it is in only broad generalizations that this cracking has been related to steel metallurgy. Thus, while it has been abundantly demonstrated that the hardenable aircraft steel, S.A.E. 4130, must tend to crack when arc-welded, the problem still remains of why two lots of the same composition and the same hardenability can vary so greatly in cracking tendency, or what it is about the prior metallurgical history that so strongly affects the results. Further, while the efficacy of preheating and postheating in preventing cracking is recognized and utilized in production, the mechanism by which they function seems not to have been described. These points are thought to be significant in the production of steel for fabrication by metallic arc welding and, hence, of interest to mill and process metallurgists and welding engineers. Consequently, it is another object of this paper to discuss the mechanism of parent-metal cracking, including the influence of the condition of the steel and the control of cracking by manipulation of the time-temperature conditions during and after welding. A new method of rating the cracking. tendency is also discussed, and the results of the test are related to steel composition and structure or prior history. The work to be described was the outgrowth of work in 1940-41 at Battelle Memorial Institute 0n two projects, one

Jan 1, 1945

By E. M. Norris

THE Western phosphate deposits extend over a large area in the Rocky Mountain region, comprising portions of south central Montana, southeastern Idaho, northeastern Utah, and southwestern Wyoming. A limited acreage of these deposits passed into private ownership prior to Dec. 9, 1908, at which time 7000 sq. mi. of land in these phosphate fields was withdrawn from public entry by direction of the Secretary of the Interior. Under the Act of Feb. 25, 1920 (41 Stat. 437) title to all phosphate lands in the public domain was reserved to the United States with provisions for leasing portions to citizens, corporations, states, etc. The above act, in effect, created by law a Western phosphate reserve of approximately 2,269,055 acres.

Jan 1, 1944

By George A. Packard

WHEN, in April, 1892, the writer began experimenting with the cyanide-process, it had already proved a success in the treatment of tailings, but had not become an important factor as a primary method of ore-treatment. The Livingston, Colorado, mill was running a few small agitators; the Mercur mill, in Utah, was said to be a success, but was " closed down to increase capacity; " and Mr. A. B. Paul, in Shasta county, California, was running ore'through a stamp-mill into leachingvats, using a weak cyanide solution in the battery. Mills had been, or were being, erected in Arizona; on the Comstock lode; and in South Dakota. Some of these never started, and several were shut down or remodelled for other processes. Altogether, the outlook was anything but favorable. Many of these mills were planned to make use of agits tion, and a cyanide solution containing at least 1 per cent. of potassium cyanide was employed. Since then the improvement of the process, both chemically and mechanically, has placed it among the recognized successful methods of oretreatment. Within the past year I have visited a large number of cyanide-mills, and have collected considerable data, of which I publish enough herewith to give an idea of the development of the process and of the methods followed in the principal mills. I would say, however, that nearly all of these plants are experimenting, most of them employing experienced chemists,

Jan 1, 1897

By E. J. Roberts, E. B. Fitch

Most classifiers in use today are, in function, settling pools. A fluid suspension of particles is passed through a pool at such a rate that only a fraction of the particles-the coarser fraction-has time to settle out of suspension. The rest are carried on out of the pool as overflow. The most fundamental way in which such classifiers differ is in the mechanism used to remove the settled particles from the pool. The particles may gravitate from the pool, as in the various sand cones, or they may be conveyed mechanically from the pool by drags, spirals, or reciprocating rakes. The mechanism of settling pool classification and its limitations are discussed. A method for calculating countercurrent classifications is presented. The practical validity of the calculation method has been confirmed through 20 years of use within The Dorr Co. During this time it has been used on diverse feeds and has been checked against many types of settling pool classifiers, with close agreement in nearly every case. Excellent elimination of third critical mesh particles and finer ones may be obtained in a countercurrent classifications series where all stages separate at the same mesh, but elimination of first and second criticals is inherently limited. Spectacular elimination of all criticals may be obtained by arranging successive stages to classify at successively coarser mesh. Improvement in elimination is obtained at the cost of an increased internal recirculation, but this may be tolerable in many cases.

Nov 1, 1956

By H. A. Schwartz

THE spheroidal form of the temper carbon nodules in malleable cast iron and of the graphite mottles of "mottled" cast iron suggests that in both all the graphite in a given mottle or nodule grew from a single center of crystallization or nucleus. ? There is, however, a distinct metallo-graphic difference between the mottle and the nodule; the area of mother metal impoverished in combined carbon by the crystallization of graphite in a mottle is practically coextensive with the ramifications of the graphite, while the impoverished zone of metal corresponding to a given nodule is always larger, and usually much larger, than the approximately spherical mass of graphite crystals forming the nodules. Furthermore, the mottle probably is formed during freezing and the nodule almost always at a considerably lower temperature. Assuming that the nodules or mottles can be used as a measure of the existing nuclei (capable of germination) we propose to record certain observations as to the graphitizing reaction in the light of the number and habits of growth of these nuclei. The present authors, in cooperation with others1-7, have reported upon various cognate aspects of the problem. The fact that temper carbon is a mass of flakes and not a solid granule has become well recog-nized since the introduction of an improved polishing technique8,9,10 for cast iron. The problem of deriving from the circular planar intercepts

Jan 1, 1936

By Charles A. Mitke

Excluding top-slicing and sublevel caving, large production caving methods may be divided into two general classes, the branch raise, or undercut caving method, and the combined shrinkage and caving method, each of which has a number of variations, the result of continual efforts towards obtaining lower costs and better extraction, by the introduction and substitution of minor improvements and modifications. Early Caving Methods Present caving methods are the cumulative result of developments covering a period of many years, with the most rapid growth during the past 15 years. They originated, presumably, from early English stoping methods, and, as far as is generally known, were first introduced in the Michigan iron district. They have had their greatest expansion and application in the large low-grade porphyry coppers. In their present form, they are probably a development and combination of sublevel caving and shrinkage (back stoping on ore) with gravity handling of broken material. Sublevel caving, as practiced in the Michigan district today, is a combination of drift, or crosscut, mining, with top-slicing, and caving, supplemented by later refinements in the shape of mechanized handling of broken ore. A height of anywhere from 16 to 20 ft. is generally taken, and the ore is drilled and blasted along the drift or crosscut for half this height (say 8 to 10 ft.), after which the upper 8 to 10 ft. caves and breaks of its own weight, with comparatively little assistance from drilling. This

Jan 1, 1928

ON FEBRUARY 13, 1953 the Miami Copper Company signed a contract with the United States Government, through the Defense Materials Procurement Agency, whereby it under- took, with a base price of 27.359 per lb (subject to escalation based on wage scales and wholesale-price indices), to exploit a new ore body in its mine in Gila County, Arizona. Recoverable ore was estimated at 23,000,000 tons, averaging about 0.677 per cent copper. Moreover, the proportion of oxidized copper, difficult to recover by flotation concentrating, was so high that an average net recovery of only ten pounds per ton (0.5 per cent) was expected. The company proposed to mine the ore by the underground method known as undercut block-caving. Unfortunately the ore body, as has been true of all Miami's ore bodies, lay so deeply buried that no possibility existed of adopting opencut mining as has been done in recent years at Miami's neighbors, Ray and Inspiration. Probably the most distinctive characteristic of Miami's operations has been the extent to which it has developed and improved methods and equipment for underground mining. True, necessity was a potent stimulant, because its available ores since 1926 have been exceptionally low-grade; so, if the enterprise were to survive, it was necessary to keep costs at the minimum. This fact does not detract, however, in any way from the remarkable achievements of Miami engineers in conducting efficient and low-cost underground mining.

Jan 1, 1957

By Frederick K. Allgaier

As part of an ongoing research program, the Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior, is monitoring surface subsidence over six longwall panels at three Utah coal mines. These sites are characterized by mining depths of 244 to 610 meters (800 to 2,000 ft .), thick and massive sandstone layers in the overburden strata, multiple seam mining, extraction heights of approximately 1.8 to 3 meters (6 to 10 ft.), and rugged surface topography. Maximum subsidence, angle of draw, timing relative to mining, horizontal strain, and rate of subsidence development are being determined and correlated with mining and geologic variables. Results to date indicate the maximum vertical subsidence over the monitored panels ranges from 0.6 to 0.9 meters (2 to 3 ft.). The major factors controlling the amount of subsidence are the panel dimensions and the status of adjacent panel mining. Only minor surface cracking at the panel ends was evident at any of the sites. In all cases, there was a time lag of several months between the start of mining and subsidence at the surface. As subsequent panels are monitored and additional data become available, better estimates of the effect of various site characteristics on the subsidence will be possible. Ultimately, improved prediction capabilities will allow mine operators in the West to evaluate the potential for subsidence-related damage which could affect the current or future land use above the mine.

Jan 1, 1982

By H. A. Schwartz

THE spheroidal form of the temper carbon nodules in malleable cast iron and of the graphite mottles of "mottled" cast iron suggests that in both all the graphite in a given mottle or nodule grew from a single center of crystallization or nucleus.? There is, however, a distinct metallo-graphic difference between the mottle and the nodule; the area of mother metal impoverished in combined carbon by the crystallization of graphite in a mottle is practically coextensive with the ramifications of the graphite, while the impoverished zone of metal corresponding to a given nodule is always larger, and usually much larger, than the approximately spherical mass of graphite crystals forming the nodules. Furthermore, the mottle probably is formed during freezing and the nodule almost always at a considerably lower temperature. Assuming that the nodules or mottles can be used as a measure of the existing nuclei, (capable of germination) we propose to record certain observations as to the graphitizing reaction in the light of the number and habits of growth of these nuclei. The present authors, in cooperation with others1-7, have reported upon various cognate aspects of the problem. The fact that temper carbon is a mass of flakes and not a solid granule has become well recog-nized since the introduction of an improved polishing technique8,9,10 for cast iron. The problem of deriving from the circular planar intercepts

Jan 1, 1935

By Wolfram Ruff, H. A. Schwartz

THE spheroidal form of the temper carbon nodules in malleable cast iron and of the graphite mottles of "mottled" cast iron suggests that in both all the graphite in a given mottle or nodule grew from a single center of crystallization or nucleus. ‡ There is, however, a distinct metallographic difference between the mottle and the nodule; the area of mother metal impoverished in combined carbon by the crystallization of graphite in a mottle is practically coextensive with the ramifications of the graphite, while the impoverished zone of metal corresponding to a given nodule is always larger, and usually much larger, than the approximately spherical mass of graphite crystals forming the nodules. Furthermore, the mottle probably is formed during freezing and the nodule almost always at a considerably lower temperature. Assuming that the nodules or mottles can be used as a measure of the existing nuclei (capable of germination) we propose to record certain observations as to the graphitizing reaction in the light of the number and habits of growth of these nuclei. The present authors, in cooperation with others 1-7, have reported upon various cognate aspects of the problem. The fact that temper carbon is a mass of flakes and not a solid granule has become well recognized since the introduction of an improved polishing technique8,9,10 for cast iron. The problem of deriving from the circular planar intercepts

Jan 1, 1935

By V. J. Sikora, T. S. Hutchinson

This paper presents a method for making a water-rlrive ana1gsis without prior knowledge of aquifer geometry and uniformity using a standard desk calculator. Although it is necessary to know the initial oil in place to use this method, this is a minor limitation to the scope of (he method since in most reservoirs it is possible to obtain reasonably accurate volumetric oil-in-place estimates. An equation is developed which relates pressure at the water-oil contact to the water influx rate as a function of time by a factor called the resistance function. The resistance function introduces the composite effect of the aquifer geometry and flow resistance disrribution. It is pointed out that the characteristic shape of this function makes it possible to start with on approximation of the function and successively improve the approximation until the correct resistance function curve is obtained. In this fashion water-drive estimates can be made without the limitation of assuming simplifed aquifer shapes and flow distributions. This is the novel feature of this development. Methods are given for extrapolating the final curve to calculate future aquifer behavior. Equations are developed for adjusting the pressures and water influx rates where it appears that possible errors in these quantities make it difficult or impossible to obtain a useuble resistance function curve without this adjustment. Application of the pressure build-up analysis techiiique to estimate. some of the aquifer properties is also presented INTRODUCTION A great many oil pools are the result of oil accumulation in some type of trap in an otherwise large and continuous porous stratum. The void space of this stratum outside of the oil pool itself is filled with water or brine. In analyzing performance of the oil pool surrounded by this water aquifer, it is quite necessary. in most cases, to include behavior of the water. When the pressure at any point in a fluid system is lowered, such as by opening a well in an oil sand, fluids in the immediate neighborhood of this point will begin flowing towards this lower pressure sink. As pressure in this area drops due to flow towards the sink, fluids from farther out will start to flow towards the lower pressure. As more and more fluid is removed from the system, the distance from the sink or well within which flow is occurring will continually increase; that is, thc region of disturbance will grow. If some rigid boundary such as a fault is reached by the disturbance, this area will cease to grow; but if some movable boundary is reached, such as a water-oil contact, the area will grow on out into the water, although rate of growth may and almost always does change. The relation between amount of pressure drop and amount of fluid flowing at any point and at any time in an aquifer depends on such factors as compressibility and viscosity of the fluids, the porosity and permeability of the rock, geometry of the whole system and withdrawal rate or pressure drop. With these factors known, it is theoretically possible to calculate the pressure-flow behavior of the system, However, in practice true solutions to the problem are next to impossible due to complexity of reservoir systems. A number of approximate methods of solution have been developed based on various simplifying assumptions. One frequent assumption is that the water-oil contact can be located and equations defining oil reservoir and aquifer solved separately by assigning values to various parameters so as to match past pressure and production history. Usually the properties of the aquifer are not known, since few, if any, wells are drilled through the aquifer; but the water influx and the pressure at the reservoir boundary are known over some time. If it can now be assumed that the aquifer is circular, pie-shaped, or linear, and that it has uniform properties, it is possible to fit a theoretical dimensionless curve to the past aquifer performance history and therefore calculate future water drive. These theoretical curves are available in the literature,1,2,3 Of course, the assumption of uniform aquifer properties is almost always somewhat in error. Fortunately, however, moderate variations from the average have little effect on behavior of the system; and, hence, the best fit of a theoretical curve is frequently satisfactory. In other cases variations in aquifer properties and geometry are large enough that none of the available theoretical curves will give an acceptable fit of the data. In these cases, methods of fitting the data with various electrical analyzers have been developed.1,2' It is the purpose of this paper to present an approach

By E. W. Johnson, M. L. Hill

Cold working of iron-carbon alloys was found to increase greatly the hydrogen solubility and to decrease the diffusivity at temperatures up to 400° C. These effects are increasing functions of both the carbon content and the degree of deformation. The hydrogen behavior is consistent with the idea that cotd working creates "traps", which are concluded to be microcracks in which the hydrogen is chemisorbed. Hydrogen embrittlement is explained by the Petch theory of metal crack surface energy loss due to hydrogen adsorption. HYDROGEN embrittlement of steel has been studied for many years and has been the subject of an extensive literature, but the mechanism of the effect has not been completely understood. The embrittlement is unusual in that the ductility loss is not accompanied by an increase of the yield strength, being primarily a decrease of the fracture strength alone. The loss of fracture strength is usually most severe in the temperature range between 0°and 100°C. Here the solubility of hydrogen in the iron lattice at ordinary H2 pressures is extremely low while the diffusivity is still quite high. From the relationships between the ductility and the hydrogen content, test temperature and strain rate, it is apparent that the hydrogen atoms causing the ductility loss difbse to and concentrate in small regions of the metal which are especially susceptible to the initiation and propagation of fracture. This hydrogen segregation apparently occurs after plastic straining has begun. Below 0°C the ductility loss persists only at low strain rates in confirmation of the view that the embrittlement is diffusion .controlled. The tendency of the embrittlement to disappear above 100°C can be explained by the increasing lattice solubility of hydrogen with rising temperature. A common view of hydrogen embrittlement of steel is that the hydrogen initially dissolved in the metal lattice diffuses to structural discontinuities and there precipitates as H2 gas at very high pressures which assist the external stress in causing premature failure.1,2 The idea of a high H2 pressure in equilibrium with ordinary amounts of hydrogen in steel at room temperature is due to observations of hydrogen behavior in fully annealed material, for which the Sieverts' law constant relating solute concentration to H2 pressure is extremely small. Hydrogen-embrittled steel, however, is always plastically deformed to some extent, and therefore it is important that hydrogen embrittlement be explained primarily in terms of hydrogen behavior in plastically deformed material. Such an explanation is attempted in this paper. Previous studies of hydrogen in cold-worked steel have shown that both the solubility and the diffusion rate are significantly chaned when the steel is cold worked. Darken and Smith discovered that the amount of hydrogen absorbed from acid by cold-rolled steel at 35°C is many times greater than that absorbed by hot-rolled steel. They found also that the hydrogen permeability of the steel is unaffected by cold working. Keeler and Davis4 confirmed the high apparent solubility of hydrogen in cold-worked iron-carbon alloys at temperatures up to and even beyond the recrystallization temperature. They also found that this solubility increase accompanying cold work is a sensitive function of the carbon content, being absent when no carbon is present. The present experimental study was undertaken primarily to obtain an improved understanding of the behavior of hydrogen in cold-worked steel. Data were obtained on the effects of temperature, H, pressure, carbon content, and degree of cold work on the hydrogen solubility and diffusivity in iron-carbon alloys. These data have been helpful in elucidating the nature of the cold-worked steel structure as well as in providing information on the mechanism of hydrogen embrittlement of steel. EXPERIMENTAL Cylindrical specimens for hydrogen absorption and diffusion rate measurements were prepared from three iron-carbon binary alloys and a commercial SAE 1010 steel. The iron-carbon alloys were prepared by vacuum melting electrolytic iron with graphite in a magnesia crucible. The alloys were cast in vacuum as 2 1/2-in. sq ingots weighing about 20 lb each. The ingots were hot rolled (above 1900°F) to 5/8-in.-diam round bars and then cooled in air to room temperature. The resulting metallographic structure consisted of islands of fine pearlite surrounded by free ferrite. Chemical analyses of the materials are given in Table I. The 5/8-in. diam bars were turned to diameters such that cold reduction to the desired final specimen diameters would result in either 30 or 60 pct reduction in area (RA). The machined bars were then cold worked by swaging at room temperature

Jan 1, 1960

By Edwin Ludlow

T HE OPEN FORUM on this subject called by Mr. Hoover at the recent meeting of the Institute' brought out a large number of very able papers, and a very full discussion of all the problems involved. The criticisms of the bituminous industry were: 1. That it was over-developed with the possible output nearly 50 per cent. in excess of the present requirements; that during the summer there were plenty of cars and no orders, and during the winter there were plenty of orders but no cars. 2. That the mines were not properly developed from an engineering standpoint, and that the recovery of the coal varies from 50 per cent. to 95 per cent. 3. That this industry, employing over 600,000 men, could, if running full time, release 100,000 men for other work. 4. That the studies made by the engineers of the Fuel Administration showed that the cost of production increased with a loss of time and that with a 50 per cent. operation the increase in cost was about 40 per cent.

Jan 1, 1920