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By Vijia K. Karra

Making sure workers within the aggregates industry go home safely each day is the goal of aggregate companies throughout the United States. At the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) researchers are contributing to NIOSH’s vision of safety and health through a fact-finding approach to reducing injuries/illnesses in various mineral sectors. Surveillance data from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has been the primary source for such analyses. It helps to focus research efforts on key machinery, workers, and their tasks. The crushed stone category referred to in this article is represented as crushed and broken stone in the MSHA database.

By Richard G. Geyer

One aspect of a program to improve the chances of survival following coal mine disasters is the development of a communications system which will allow surviving miners to make their circumstances known to rescue teams. Various communications techniques can be considered, including electromagnetic systems, acoustic systems, and hybrid systems. The electromagnetic and acoustic systems would be independent of existing mine communications systems and set up specifically for use in emergencies. Hybrid systems might use a short emergency link to existing telephone systems in the mine. Many variations are technically possible, and the primary task is in evaluating the relative merits of each, so that the most workable system can be selected.

Jan 1, 1973

By James R. Aggson

The theoretical relationships that are used to calculate in situ rock stress magnitudes and directions from borehole deformation data obtained during overcoring are based on the assumption that the rock is a linearly elastic material. Strictly speaking, this assumption is not valid in any rock. Thus, investigators using overcoring techniques must either accept various degrees of nonlinearity and the associated inaccuracies or use core testing techniques that address the problem and compensate for elastic nonlinearity. Previously developed test procedures for stress-relief overcores partially correct for nonlinearity. This Bureau of Mines paper describes a test procedure that completely corrects for elastic nonlinearity in stress-relief overcores.

Jan 1, 1977

Provide a lighter, smaller apparatus for more gently supporting electrical cable as it is raised or lowered in a well as compared with the conventional method of using a winch and pulley. Approach The conventional method of running cable into a well is to use a winch to pull the cable over a pulley located at the end of a boom placed over the well. This has the disadvantages of being bulky and of placing a concentrated strain on the cable at the point where it moves over the pulley. These disadvantages are overcome by using a "Chinese finger" cable grip assembly to hold and release a multiple conductor cable.

Jan 1, 1986

By Wilbur I. Duvall

In this report, the Bureau of Mines presents a theoretical solution for the stresses and displacements in an infinite elastic plate containing a circular hole the boundary of which is loaded by applied radial stresses over four separated arcs. The problem solved is a two-dimensional approximation of the stresses and displacements developed by a large tunnel-boring machine anchored in a circular tunnel. Analysis of the solution shows that the tangential tensile stresses induced on the boundary of the circular opening can be minimized in the roof and maximized in the floor of the opening by proper spacing and loading of the four arcs.

Jan 1, 1967

By John C. Edwards

The Bureau of Mines has developed a time-dependent droplet vaporization model (in the absence of forced convection) that can be applied to the vaporization of liquid Halon 1301 droplets (vapor pressure at 300 K = 14 atm) sprayed from an extinguisher. It was found that rapid surface vaporization quickly lowers the droplets' surface temperature very near to the boiling temperature, and the vaporization becomes diffusion controlled. Although the lifetime of the droplet is proportional to the square of the initial radius of the droplet, the elapsed time prior to complete droplet vaporization is not proportional to the square of the droplet radius, as an equilibrium model would indicate.

Jan 1, 1982

By Anthony T. Lannacchione, Donald G. Puglio

The Bureau of Mines developed data on the methane content of the Hartshorne coalbed, Haskell and Le Flore Counties, Okla. The methane content is calculated to be between 1.1 and 1.5 trillion cubic feet, based on an estimate of total coal in place of 2.4 to 3.2 billion short tons. Methane increases with depth, but the rate of increase decreases with greater depths. Degasification in advance of mining is recommended for all mines operating at depths greater than 500 feet to reduce hazards and methane explosions, decrease mine ventilation costs, and conserve the natural gas that would be otherwise wasted.

Jan 1, 1979

By L. G. Marsh

The manufacture of lubricating oils from wax-bearing crude petroleums involves the removal and recovery of the paraffin wax contained in the lubricating distillates. During this process several intermediate products are formed, among them the mixture of waxes and oils known to the refiners as "foots oil." Because of its complex character, foots oil is little understood, and therefore methods of handling it in refineries are often inefficient. The Bureau of Mines is studying the manufacture of lubricating oils, and during the work has investigated the redistillation of foots oil. This report gives in brief the results of the investigation, and recommendations based upon it.

Jan 1, 1926

By Frank A. Peters

This description of process evaluation techniques used by the Bureau of Mines for studying proposed processing techniques has been prepared to provide those interested in using these studies with an understanding of the methodology. The methods used for preparing both capital and operating cost estimates are described. Each step in preparing the evaluations is described. Types of equipment costs are shown and factors used in the estimates are defined. Uses of the estimates are suggested and several examples are included. The accuracy of various types of estimates is discussed, along with an explanation of the reason for selecting the type used in the Bureau's process evaluation studies.

Jan 1, 1987

By Anthony T. Iannacchione

The Bureau of Mines developed data on the methane content of the Hartshorne coalbed, Haskell and Le Flore Counties, Okla. The methane content is calculated to be between 1.1 and 1.5 trillion cubic feet, based on an estimate of total coal in place of 2.4 to 3.2 billion short tons. Methane increases with depth, but the rate of increase decreases with greater depths. Degasification in advance of mining is recommended for all mines operating at depths greater than 500 feet to reduce hazards and methane explosions, decrease mine ventilation costs, and conserve the natural gas that would be otherwise wasted.

Jan 1, 1979

By Robert F. Chaiken

More than 500 fires are now burning in abandoned coal waste banks and coal deposits in the United States. Once established, such fires can burn for decades, and extinguishing them by conventional methods such as surface sealing to exclude air, excavation to remove fuel, or flushing to cool the fire zone is usually difficult and always expensive. Burnout Control, a technique developed by the Bureau of Mines for the control of abandoned coal fires, involves the accelerated combustion of coal in place with total management of the heat and fumes produced. A burning waste bank or mine is placed under negative pressure relative to the atmosphere, and heat and combustion products are drawn from the combustion zone through an exhaust ventilation system. Heat produced appears as sensible heat in the exhaust, at temperatures as high as 1,000° C (1,832° F), and could be recovered for the production of steam, hot water, process heat, or electricity. The Bureau's first field demonstration of Burnout Control was at Calamity Hollow in Allegheny County, PA (near Pittsburgh). Calamity Hollow was the site of an underground mine in the. 1900's and was surface mined in the 1940's. In the winter of 1961~62, a fire of undetermined origin was discovered in the exposed coal. In 1963, the Bureau constructed a trench barrier around the fire and a surface seal over the affected area. The fire was isolated but, not completely extinguished. In 1979, when the Bureau began work on the Calamity Hollow Mine Fire Project to demonstrate controlled burnout, the fire was still smoldering on the hot side of the trench barrier. The project, which was begun in December 1979 and ended in July 1982, consisted of the design, construction, operation, and subsequent dismantling of a Burnout Control ventilation system. This report, although considered part 2, is actually the last of a five-part series that describes the Calamity Hollow Mine Fire Project. It was written last because it involved the analysis of a substantial body of data describing in detail the results of a continuous 4-month burnout operation. The first report, part 1, describes the design and construction of the field installation. Part 3 describes the instrumentation used to control and monitor the progress of the burnout operation. Parts 4 and 5 deal with the closeout phase of the field demonstration. Part 4 describes the procedure used to quench the fire, and part 5 describes the final excavation and backfilling of the heated zones. The reports in this series document the Calamity Hollow controlled burnout demonstration, which showed that (1) controlled in situ combustion is a feasible method for controlling underground fires in abandoned mines, (2) the resultant thermal exhaust output is suffIcient for energy utilization, and (3) water injection-fume exhaustion is a potentially effective method for cooling large underground fire zones. Further investigations of both Burnout Control and the water injection-fume exhaustion quenching procedure are planned.

Jan 1, 1989

By J. W. Thompson

OWNERSHIP OF ORE-CONSTRUCTION OF CONTRACT. A contract between the Republic Mines Corporation and the Quilp Gold Mining Co. provided that upon forfeiture of its rights under a contract the Republic Mines Corporation was required to give a good and sufficient deed conveying to the Quilp Gold Mining Co. all ore bodies of every description lying east of the west line of the Quilp Mining Co. claim extended downward vertically and lying south of the north end line of the Quilp claim extended downward vertically and which may apex within the lines of the Surprise, an adjoining mining claim. It must be presumed that the contracting parties under such circumstances had in view their statutory rights as provided by the mining statutes of the United States, and that both were familiar with the provisions as to extra- lateral rights granted by the statute to locators of mining claims. This contract means to include all ore bodies of every description lying east (or easterly) of the west (or westerly) line of the Quilp claim extended downward vertically and south (or southerly) of the north end line of the Quilp claim extended downward vertically within the Quilp claim excepting the part that was overlapped by the Surprise claim, owned by the Republic Mines Corporation. Quilp Gold Min. Co. v. Republic Mines Corp. (Washington), 165 Pacific 57, p. 61. PURCHASE OF GAS-REFUSAL TO DELIVER SALE TO OTHERS. A gas company that had entered into a contract to purchase a quantity of natural gas refused to receive and accept the gas that was tendered on the ground that it did not conform to the requirements of the contract; subsequently the company refused to sign a writing by which it was asked to consent to the sale of such gas to other persons. But the refusal of the purchasing company to sign such a writing giving its consent or its refusal to consent to such sale did. not affect the rights of the seller to dispose of the gas elsewhere and to other persons. OWNERSHIP OF MINERALS IN HIGHWAY. All mineral deposits within the limits of a highway belong to the owner of the fee and he is entitled to remove them so long as he does not interfere with the public use of the highway. City of Scranton v. Scranton Coal Co. (Pennsylvania), 100 Atlantic 813, p. 819. SALE AND CONVEYANCE. SALE AND CONVEYANCE EXCEPTION AND RESERVATION. The owner of an undivided interest in oil and gas lands conveyed the same to certain named grantees by deed containing a clause excepting and reserving all the oil and gas produced from the undi- vided interest in the land described. The language is not apt for the creation of either an exception or a reservation, but is rather that of a layman unfamiliar with legal distinctions. Strictly and literally construed, it affords a basis for a contention that that which was excepted and reserved was not realty in any form or anything inci- dent thereto, but personalty produced from the land. Immediately following the description of the tract, the grantor excepted and reserved something from the land described. What he excepted and reserved, he excepted and reserved then, and it was from his interest in the land. The clause expressed according to the evident intention of the grantor would read: "Excepting and reserving from the above all oil or gas which may hereafter be produced therefrom." No other construction can reasonably be placed upon the language used. The carving out of a separate estate in the oil and gas in land is a common occurrence in oil and gas producing fields. Mandle v. Gharing (Pennsylvania), 100 Atlantic 535, p. 536. RESERVATION CONSTRUED AS AN EXCEPTION. Where apt words of reservation are used in a deed they will be construed as an exception where this is the evident intention of the parties to the instrument. Although an exception and a reservation differ in legal effect, yet in their creation there is no magic in words, and if the meaning is clear either expression will operate for the purpose designed. The technical distinction between an exception and a reservation is frequently disregarded in the ordinary use of the word, and whether the language used creates an exception or a reservation must be determined from the intention of the parties ascertained from the entire instrument.

Jan 1, 1917

By H. W. Wainwright

One phase of the research and development work on synthetic liquid fuels conducted by the Bureau of Mines at Morgantown, W. Va. in cooperation with West Virginia University deals with the purification of synthesis gas.2/ Most of the experimental studies on gas purification have been directed toward the removal of organic sulfur from gas, either catalytically or by adsorption with activated carbon. An important part of the purification program has been the development of suitable analytical methods for determining organic sulfur compounds. As the total sulfur content, organic and inorganic, of purified synthesis gas should not exceed 0.1 grain per 100 cubic feet, the need for accurate analytical methods is apparent. It is also apparent that such methods must be rapid if one wishes to evaluate various processes for removing sulfur from gas. The organic sulfur found in most gas produced from coal is usually present as carbon disulfide, carbon oxysulfide, methyl and ethyl mercaptans, and thiophene, with the exception of thiophene, the remaining organic sulfur compounds respond similarly to catalytic treatment and can be removed effectively. Not only does thiophene resist most catalytic treatment, but it poisons some catalysts, rendering them ineffective in removing the other forms of organic sulfur.

Jan 1, 1950

By Ellis S. Hertzog

The relatively large amount of phosphorous occurring in many iron ores limits their usefulness aid sometimes renders them valueless under present conditions of nip-iron manufacture. A practical method for removing the phosphorus would be valuable to the iron and steel industry. Gravity concentration has been of little value as far as the removal of phosphorous is concerned, because the compounds of this element are, as a rule, disseminated very finely. Removal of the phosphorous by leaching is not a new idea and has been the subject of some investigation,3,4/ out for data :lave been published. W.R. Crane published analyse of various ore bodies in the Birmingham ham district. The hard or unleached ores a .re much higher in phosphorous than the Soft, leached ores along the outcrops. This fact indicates that as mild a leaching agent as water removes phosphorus effectively if enough time is allowed for it to react. As the forms in which phosphorous occurs in the iron ores are important in the consideration of any leaching operation, much time was expended in devising a method for determining them. According to Professor McVey, University of Alabama, the phosphorous-bearing minerals in the red iron ores of Alabama have not been positively identified by any microscopic methods.

Jan 1, 1935

By A. E. Harak

To determine the retorting characteristics of a column of mine-run, ungraded oil shale ranging in size from fines to pieces weighing as much as 5 tons, a 150-ton batch retort was designed and constructed at the Laramie Energy Research Center, Laramie, Wyo. The retort vessel is 45 feet high by 11-1/2 feel in inside diameter and is supported in a 92-Foot-high steel superstructure. Mine-run shale from the Bureau of Mines facility near Rifle, Colo., assaying about 25 gallons of oil per ton, is currently being used as the test shale. To date, three runs have been completed. Results of the second and third runs are reported in this paper. The two runs considered in this report are the first of a series of nine to determine operating conditions that will yield maximum oil recovery from a column of mine-run shale. Variables studied :ire the oxygen content of the retorting gas and the space velocity of the retorting gas expressed as ft3 gas/ft3 bed/min. Oil recoveries for the two runs reported are 62.2 volume percent of Fischer assay for the run using higher oxygen and space velocity, compared with 39.3 volume-percent when less oxygen and a Lower space velocity were used.

Jan 1, 1971

By W. P. Yant, G. W. Jones

During the testing of porcelain insulators with a " 60 - cycle flash - over apparatus " , gases are liberated having an odor greatly resembling that of ozone . Since the two main constituents of normal air are nitrogen and oxygen , and high voltages (approximately 90,000 volts ) are used during the tests , the conditions are favorable for the production of ozone or oxides of nitrogen , and perhaps both simultaneously . The presence of these gases is only noticeable during the testing period . They soon disappear after the test is over . No fatalities have ever resulted from these gases at the plant visited nor are there any records of any of the men who worked on the tests being confined to their homes from this cause . New employees sometimes complain of a depressed feeling and shortness of breath , which is most noticeable after leaving work and getting into fresh air , but they som become accustomed to it and no ill effects are noticed . In view of previous work*** which the Bureau of Mines has done on oxides of nitrogen in connection with mine gases and problems in gas analysis , tests were made at the plant of the Westinghouse High Voltage Insulator Company at Derry , Pa . to determine the kind and amount of gases liberated .

Jun 1, 1923

By Edmond Chin

The land mass of the Asia and Pacific region comprises 11 million square miles or about 15% of the total Earth's land area. The bulk of the region is contained on the Asian continental land mass. Australia, the world's largest island or the world's smallest continent, alone is almost as large as the continental United States. The islands of New Zealand, New Guinea, Borneo, Sumatra, and Honshu are among the largest in the world. Collectively, they constitute a land area of 1.1 million square miles or an area about one-fourth the size of the United States. The countries in the Asia and Pacific region represent some of the most vibrant economies in the world. Japan is undisputed as one of the world's leaders in manufacturing and commerce. Hong Kong and Singapore are significant both as entrepôt and banking centers. The economies of Australia, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan compare favorably to the level of the industrialized countries in western Europe. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand have maintained strong economic growth during the past two decades. All these countries in the Asia and Pacific region collectively constitute a significant bloc as to raw materials production and consumption, as to manufacturing, and as to world trade.

Jan 1, 1992

By G. A. Burrell, G. W. Jones

As a part of the work which the Bureau of Mines carried out in 1916 and 1917 pertaining to the compressibility of natural gas , it became necessary to de termine the pressure -volume relations of several of the paraffin hydrocarbons of which natural gas is composed . Results of the work on natural gas were published in Technical papers 131 (Burrell , G.A. , and Robertson , I.W. , The compressibility of natural gas to high pressure , Bureau of Mines Tech . Paper 131 , 1916 , 12 pp. ) and 158 (Burrell , G.A. , and Robertson , I.W. , Compressibility of natural gas and its constituents with analyses of natural gas from 31 cities in the United States , Bureau of Mines Tech . Paper 158 , 1917 , 12 pp . ) , and curves were given of pressure volume deviations of the gases , methane , ethane , propane , and carbon dioxide at high pressures . original experimental data on these gases , however , were not published . The In view of many inquiries which the Bureau has received with reference to the original data on the se gases , and the importance of the pressure -volume relations from which it is possible to calculate the deviation of any natural gas who se composition is known , the original data as determined by Burrell and Robertson are pre sented below .

Aug 1, 1921

By R. V. Ramani, A. S. C. Owili-eger

The rapid depletion of shallower coal reserves dictate that mining in the future will be deeper and more complex with more difficult natural conditions. Consequently, an increase in methane emission is expected. It is becoming evident that more accurate predictions and better planning are necessary to design efficient methane drainage systems. This objective can be achieved by the utilization of the knowledge of the physics of gas flow through coal seams and rock strata and by the application of digital computers in the solution of methane flow problems. Although the methane emission models described here have not been adequately applied to existing field operations, good agreement between actual field measurements reported in literature and the simulation results indicates the potential of these models for initial flow quantity approximations and ventilation planning. This report has, therefore, introduced to the mine operator yet another application of computers as a planning tool. AREAS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH The study reported here is by no means complete. Extensive research efforts should be directed to the following areas: (a) Better understanding of the physics of gas flow through porous media which exhibit fracture permeability. (b) Determination of field parameters which control gas migration. (c) Investigation of the effects of the rate of penetration on the emission rate and fracture propagation.

Jan 1, 1974

By Alan Mayton, Bertrand Valero, Christopher Jobes, Farid Amirouche

Exposure to vibration induced in and around underground mine’s exploration is a major concern to vehicles operators. Most of these drivers over time develop serious spinal musculoskeletal and discs problems causing low back injuries. The first purpose of this paper is to analyze the performance and dynamic response of driver/operator when subjected to different levels of vibration due to rough road conditions depicted in a mine field. The second purpose of the paper is to quantify the energy transmission in the presence of seat padding with special characteristics and active suspension. Using experimental testing data collected at NIOSH/PRL (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health/ Pittsburgh Research Laboratory) along with model simulation algorithms developed at the University of Illinois at Chicago we investigated how acceleration transfer functions as well as absorbed power affects the different parts of the body. To this end, we used a previously validated human model which includes the head, torso segments and legs. The connective forces between body segments were modeled through modal analysis techniques from previous experimental data at the UIC Vehicle Technology Laboratory. The absorbed power and energy transmitted to the body are used as an index measure to assess the viability of the different seat padding’s and active seat suspension control strategies.