Abstract: The present invention is directed to a method for treating discolored natural diamond, especially Type IIa diamond and Type IaA/B diamond with nitrogen as predominantly B centers, for improving its color. The method includes preblocking and preshaping a discolored natural diamond to prevent its breakage in a high pressure/high temperature (HP/HT) press, placing said discolored natural diamond in a pressure transmitting medium which is consolidated into a pill. Next, the pill is placed into a HP/HT press at elevated pressure and elevated temperature within the graphite-stable or diamond-stable range of the carbon phase diagram for a time sufficient to improve the color of said diamond. Finally, the diamond is recovered from said press. Colorless and fancy colored diamonds can be made by this method.

Abstract: A polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (cBN) cutting tool contains less than 70 volume-% cBN and is coated with a layer of hard refractory material.

Abstract: A process for creating a pin assignment for a test fixture for electronic circuits is disclosed. A difficulty rating is determined for each test point on an electronic circuit. The difficult areas are assigned the pins on a test grid, with the difficulty rating of adjacent test points being iteratively determined as the process continues. If a pin cannot be assigned because of conflicts, one or more adjacent test points are reassigned pins, with the difficulty matrix being recalculated with each change and with pins being reassessed and reassigned. When all test points are assigned a pin, the pins are checked to see if they interfere with each other, and further iterations may result.

Abstract: An apparatus and method of classifying and sorting by shape crystalline objects such as synthetic diamonds in which an image of the object taken from an angle defined in relation to the object is compared to one or more templates in order to characterize the object.

Abstract: The purity and toughness of a batch of diamond grains is increased by separating a portion containing undesirable inclusions form a remaining higher purity portion and annealing the higher purity portion in a reducing atmosphere for a sufficient period of time to enhance the toughness of the higher purity portion.

Abstract: The installation of an abrasion resistent polymer liner in the production tubing string of a well which is being produced by rod pumping for the principal purpose of reducing rod wear on the tubing string, and wear on the rods and/or the rod couplings. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the polymer liner is characterized by an extruded polymer material having a high density, which is abrasive resistant, and which has a coefficient of friction that is much lower than the coefficient of friction of metal tubing, such as high density polyethylene.

Abstract: A method is provided to determine the concentration of an amorphous material such as blast furnace slag in a slurry such as drilling fluid, completion fluid fluids. A sample is annealed at a temperature between about 800.degree. C. and about 1000.degree. C. for a time period of about six hours to form crystals from the amorphous material, and the sample along with a known amount of a standard is then analyzed by X-ray diffraction. This method is particularly useful in determining the amount of blast furnace slag in a drilling fluid prior to conversion of the drilling fluid to a wellbore cement slurry by addition of additional blast furnace slag.

Abstract: The invention includes a filter element (10) having a pair of end caps (12) with pleated, corrugated filter media (14) spanning therebetween. The filter media (14) is sealed or potted into the end caps (12) with a potting material ( b 16). To ensure substantially uniform penetration of the plates of the media (14) by the potting material (16), the edges of the media (14) are configued to eliminate "linear check valve" action between pleats. Several edge patterns can be used to minimize the formation of linear check valves, including a saw tooth pattern; sine wave pattern; vertical edge corrugations; flat edge regions; and saw kerfs in the edges of the media.

Abstract: Production fluid from a well and emulsion breaking chemicals enter a settling vessel where much of the fluid separates into distinct levels by gravity with water at the bottom, an oil-water emulsion above the water, oil-with-emulsion above the emulsion, and gas above the oil-with-emulsion. The oil with the emulsion has two to five percent emulsion in it. The oil-with-emulsion flows over a weir into a weir box and then into the inlet of a centrifugal, pitot separator which breaks the emulsion contained in the oil by the action of a centrifugal force field to produce distinct streams of oil and water. The water feeds back into the vessel and the oil goes to storage. In the event that the emulsion feed to the separator is insufficient, the oil-with-emulsion level in the weir box falls and oil recirculates from the separator into the vessel to raise the level of oil-with-emulsion. Water leaves the vessel as required to maintain an appropriate water-emulsion interface level.

Abstract: A retractable tag axle assembly, including a hydraulic cylinder for up-and-down reciprocation of the tandem axle, is provided with structure for protecting the cylinder against damage from shock forces imparted to the suspension spring through the ground-engaging wheels. The structure includes a crank secured to one end of the spring and coupled with the hydraulic cylinder at a point intermediate the ends of the spring such that the full length of the latter is available for up-and-down flexure, yet the overall length of the assembly, is not increased over that of conventional tag axle assemblies. Ball-and-socket type mountings between the ends of the cylinder, and the frame and crank respectively, permit canting of the cylinder to avoid the adverse effects of twisting of the crank relative to the frame.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method for obtaining improved adhesion in the preparation of polyester laminates by treating the surface with an isocyanate containing ethylenic unsaturation and then applying a polyester adhesive containing a peroxide curing agent and to the said laminates.

Abstract: A method of molding polyurethane articles using three mold release agents, the first being a halocarbon film, the second a hydrocarbon release agent and the third a polyvinyl alcohol release agent.