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Improve the safety of salt mine workers by providing a means for quickly identifying areas within the mine that?s how an increased potential for gas and salt outbursts. Approach Outbursts occur in salt mines when a high-pressure pocket of gas is intercepted during the mining process, resulting in a sudden and sometimes catastrophic expulsion of gas and salt. In one case, the amount of gas released through such an event caused an explosion that resulted in five fatalities. The U.S. Bureau of Mines has designed and developed a gas outburst prediction system that can quickly determine the potential instability of areas within rock salt mines. The determination is based on noise measurements obtained from samples of the salt as they are dissolved in water. This system improves upon technology currently available because it provides information in only a few minutes instead of in several days. In addition, present prediction systems are not only time consuming, but expensive because they require laboratory conditions and highly trained personnel to operate them and determine results.

Jan 1, 1989

Prevent the explosion of methane gas or coal dust by replacing air with inert gas inside highwall mine excavations. Approach Use combustion gases as a source of inert gas with low oxygen content to blanket the cutting, head of highwall mining machines. This gas is placed strategically at the collar of the excavation where it enters the hole to replace the mined coal volume. The elimination of oxygen from the hole prevents explosions of gas or dust. How It Works Highwall mining methods arc used when surface mining becomes uneconomical. One method of highwall mining involves use of a horizontal auger to enter the coalbed from a surface mine bench. The coal is mined in a series of horizontal, parallel, and large-diameter holes. Historically, little methane has been associated with auger mining. However, mining technology has extended the reach of auger mining, which can increase the occurrence of methane. Methane explosions at auger mining operations have been increasing. Methane has been the primary fuel source of these ignitions, but coal dust also may have been involved.

Jan 1, 1993

By K. O. Bennington

The thermodynamic properites of petalite (Li2A12Si8O20) were determined by the Bureau of Mines. The enthalpy of formation was determined by hydro-fluoric acid solution calorimetry. The values from the elements and from the oxides are ?Hf°298.15 = 2,335.8 ± 3.0 kcal/mole and ?H°295 (from oxides) = -50.60 ± 1.20 kcal/mole. Low-temperature heat capacities were determined by adiabatic calorimetry from 10.69 to 302.11 K. The derived standard entropy is S°298.15 = 111.0 ± 1 cal/deg-mole. Enthalpy increments above 298 K were measured by copper block calorimetry from 298 K to 1,193.6 K. The various experimental data were combined with other data from the literature to calculate the Gibbs energies of formation and equilibrium constants of formation over the temperature range of the measurements. Tables of enthalpies of formation and Gibbs energies of formation are given as a function of temperature from the elements and constituent oxides. The Gibbs energy of formation is ?G°f298.15 = 2,203.8 kcal/mole.

Jan 1, 1980

Decrease the dust concentrations at the shearer and reduce downtime associated with spray system maintenance. Approach Increase the quantity and quality of the water supply on longwall faces by decreasing pressure losses, Increasing pump capacity, and installing a "non-clogging" filtration system. How It Works Water sprays and ventilation are two of the primary methods of dust control on longwall operations. Increasing the quantity and quality of the water supply to spray systems is one of the more effective and least costly dust control methods that operators have at their disposal, yet this method is largely ignored. Poorly positioned spray nozzles operating at low pressures (and flows) which plug frequently cannot be effective. Water supply system Improvements should be a fundamental part of all longwall dust control plans. Upgrading a water supply system may require one or more of the following improvements depending upon where a particular system may be deficient: Increasing pump capacity for additional flow and pressure; increasing line sizes to decrease pressure losses: and, decreasing maintenance downtime and Improving water quality by installing a "non-clogging" filtration system.

Jan 1, 1981

By A. Visnapuu

High-grade synthetic rutile has been produced in the laboratory from domestic ilmenite concentrates by a new carbonyl process. The ilmenite was first reduced to convert the iron oxides to metal and then treated at temper-atures over 1000 C in high-pressure carbon monoxide (CO) to convert the iron to the pentacarbonyl. Rapid carbonylation was achieved in the presence of small quantities of selected promoters. Maximum iron removal occurred at temperatures between 110° and 130° C at CO pressures from 1,000 to 1,400 psig. Iron pentacarbonyl appeared as liquid and vapor in the reactor and could be removed by gravity flow and vapor transport. More than 90 pct of the iron was extracted in 2-hr experiments at pressures of 1,000 psig and above. The Ti02 product is porous owing to the removal of the iron, has the rutile crystal structure, and is suitable for chlorination. Waste disposal problems associated with the process would be minimal because the iron pentacarbonyl can be decomposed to produce iron powder or pellets for sale and CO for recycling.

Jan 1, 1973

By Albert E. Long

Diamond-bit performance and cost data accumulated in core-drilling sandstones reveal significant trends of economic interest. Large-size, AA-Grade drill bort suffered less diamond loss per foot drilled than any other size or grade of diamonds assessed. Detailed analyses of the factors that affect diamond-bit performances -diamond size, diamond quality, bit size, bit type, percentage of core recovered, and physical characteristics of bit matrices -are assessed in the tables, graphs, and discussion. INTRODUCTION Since 1945 the Bureau of Mines has been compiling detailed performance records on diamond bits used in core drilling throughout the United States and Alaska. Analytical reports covering bit performance in various rocks are issued as in-formation on a significant number of bits used in anyone type of rock is accumulated. The first three such reports analyzed bit performance in gneiss,2/ schist,3/ and lime-stone and dolomite.4/ This report evaluates diamond-bit performance in sandstone. Data obtained from 627 bits, which drilled 42,665 feet on 45 different projects, are presented. The geographical distribution of the projects is shown in figure 1.

Jan 1, 1958

By Thomas A. Gray, Lynn M. Crayne, Michael A. Trevits, Phil Glogowski

Mine seals can be remotely constructed in underground coal mines, through vertical boreholes, when direct access to a fire is impossible or considered to be too dangerous. This method has great merit because boreholes can be drilled to specific mine areas and seals can be positioned close to a fire zone. The technology however, can be largely ineffective if the constructed seals do not provide effective barriers to airflow or cannot be used to impound water and other inert materials. Unfortunately, no viable alternatives exist to sealing the entire mine at the ground surface. Full-scale remote mine seal construction research is being conducted at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Lake Lynn Laboratory (LLL). Under this effort, Howard Concrete Pumping Company and GAI Consultants, Inc. have joined forces to evaluate a potentially significant improvement to the current state-of-the-art. This paper will cover development of novel technology for remote mine seal construction, evaluation of the materials used, construction practice, and follow-up testing.

By Stephen Gerard Sawyer

The Bureau of Mines developed a method for analyzing elastically certain types of protective cabs and canopies used on underground electric face equipment. The method is based on plane frame theory, and to be amenable to analysis by this method, cabs and canopies must contain symmetry about one plane. Additionally, protective structures with one or more top members in the long direction that do not frame into the columns should be approximately twice as long as they are wide and have two or more internal top members in the short direction. The assumptions and limitations of the plane frame method as regards analysis of three-dimensional cabs and canopies are discussed. A step-by-step procedure for application of the plane frame method is given, and three example canopies are analyzed following this procedure. Elastic strengths calculated for the three example canopies compare within 10 percent of those computed by the more complicated space frame analysis. Formulas employed in plane frame analysis of cabs and canopies are given in the appendixes.

Jan 1, 1973

By James R. Welty

Heat content values were experimentally determined for yttrium metal between temperatures of 400° and 1,300° K and for iron pentacarbonyl between 301° and 380° K. The drop technique was used; that is, a sample of material sealed in a protective capsule was heated to 3 desired temperature in a furnace and then dropped into an ice calorimeter. A revised technique for determining heat content values from calorimetric data is described. Heat content and corresponding entropy-increment data above a reference temperature of 298.15° K are presented in tabular form. Equations for heat content and heat capacity as functions of temperature were derived for each substance. These equations are [Y (c): HT-H298.15 = 1.2041T 1 3.393 x 10-3T2- 0.4176 x 10' T"1 + 739.9 cal/mole Cp = 1.2041 + 6.786 x 10-3T + 0.4176 x 106-T-2 cal/deg mole Fe (CO) E, (1) : HT - H298.15 = 55.636T - 16,588 cal/mole Cp = 55.636 cal/deg mole]

Jan 1, 1963

By Robert D. Schmidt

This Bureau of Mines report describes the development and application of a computer model for simulating the hydrological activity associated with in situ leaching. The model is intended to provide uranium resource developers with a description of the flow behavior of leachants and ground water during the development, production, and restoration phases of a leaching operation involving an arbitrary pattern of injection and recovery wells. Different aquifer environments are modeled, using a closed-form solution to the partial differential equation that describes three-dimensional changes in piezometric head as a result of pumping from leachant injection and recovery wells. The computer program can model a maximum of, 50 arbitarily located wells. Numerical techniques involving difference quotients and Taylor expansions about time points are used to derive time, velocity, areal sweep, and fluid volume parameters associated with leaching hydraulics. These parameters are output by the program in graphic and tabular formats. Other numeric methods insure that the program running time is minimized without significantly affect-ing the accuracy of results.

Jan 1, 1980

By Franklin B. W. Woodbury

The Bureau of Mines undertook the development and evaluation of a system to provide a simultaneous, on-line determination of both iron and silica in iron ore beneficiation streams as part of a program to improve the efficiency to mineral separation processes, Californium-252 (252-Cf) was the neutron source used in the system for measuring the amounts of silica and iron in bulk slurries by thermal neutron capture-gamma ray spectra analysis. The theory of thermal neutron capture-gamma ray reactions and their potential application to mineral processing stream analysis is discussed. The prototype system and supporting software developed by the Bureau is described. During the initial phase of the work, both simulated and actual pilot plant slurries were investigated using a 60-to 32-µg 252-Cf neutron source. The percent solids of the slurries was ranged from 2 to 40 percent and the silica and iron content ranged from 1.5 to 83 percent and from 10 to 65 percent, respectively. Accuracy of the determination of the components in the solids was dependent upon the percent solids in the slurry.

Jan 1, 1980

By D. E. Ingersoll

This report describes the preparation characteristics of anthracite from the Mammoth and Holmes veins in Schuylkill County, Pa., as determined by the Federal Bureau of Mines laboratory separations at specific gravities of 1.50 to 1.90. The Holmes vein anthracite contains approximately 13 percent ash, and the Mammoth vein contains about 9 percent as fed to the breaker. Crushing Broken, Egg, and Stove sizes from each vein produces Pea-size anthracite of lower ash content than that contained in Buckwheat No.1 size and smaller. The Buck-wheat No.5 size has the highest ash content of all the sizes examined. Potential recovery from a mixture of the two veins as received at the breaker, separated at 1.90 specific gravity, is approximately 64 percent of the feed at 11.0 percent ash. The same materials separated at 1.80 specific gravity yield about 61 percent with an ash content of 10.1 percent. All rejects are from the Holmes vein, because the entire Mammoth material is less than 10.0 percent ash.

Jan 1, 1960

By A. C. Fieldner

The Bureau of Mines has recently conducted a study of results obtained in analyzing similar samples of coal and coke by 25 laboratories throughout then country, in comparison with results obtained in the Bureau's coal laboratory at Pittsburgh. The purpose of this work was primarily to obtain a comparison of the methods of coal analysis used by the laboratories of the American Gas Association. Therefore, four standard samples of coal end one of coke ware prepared in the Bureau of Mines coal laboratory at Pittsburgh, and portions sent to each laboratory. At the same time, a like number of standard samples were submitted to 12 commercial laboratories rot affiliated with the Association, for the purpose of comparing their analyses with the results is obtained by the U. S. Bureau of Mines and the American Gas Association. Tire comparison is based on the average of 24 analyses by the Bureau of Mines on each kind of coal, and the accompanying curves show the deviation from this average analysis, together with deviations from the check limits of the American Society for Testing Materials.

Jan 1, 1923

By D. L. Boreck

Thick coal seams are common in the Western United States, Many seams are over 50 it thick (some are over 200 ft thick) and are too deep to extract using surface methods. Currently, such deposits are developed using standard "eastern" mining methods which only extract a few feet of total seam thickness, often rendering the remaining coal unminable with current technology. Novel methods that increase thick-seam recovery have been developed and are currently being used in Europe. These methods--high-face single-pass and multislice longwall, longwall caving, and hydraulic mining--have great potential for use in the United States. Successful use of these methods is an objective of the Bureau of Mines. Their use requires, among other things, a full evaluation of geologic features common to thick coals. The objective of this report is to present and summarize those features that will affect the introduction of the methods into thick-seam mines in the Western United States. The geologic elements delineated are three-dimensional configuration of the seam, cleat development, joints and fractures, roof and floor lithology, and faulting.

Jan 1, 1986

By Zsuzsanna Zborovszky

Investigation of the discharge duration power and current relation required for ignition. The current and power amplitude-discharge time curve was found to flatten out over 3 ms. It is concluded that discharges having at least 3 ms power maximum are required for reliable testing of the ignition limit for resistive circuits. Investigation of the effect of molten cathode on the discharge duration and igniting ability of the discharge. The surface tension of the liquid metal causes a very fast separation and consequently a much shorter discharge duration than the solid electrode would have. The minimum discharge voltage effect overrides the effects of the temperature of electrode, material, or atmosphere. Investigation of the effect of different surface layers on the discharge duration. Oxides and sulfates were found to give significantly longer duration than the "clean" metal itself in most cases. The lowest ignition current was obtained with CdS04 coatings. Ignition was obtained with 0.7A at 30V, which is below the corresponding minimum igniting current obtained from the BASEEFA curve for circuits containing Cd, Zn or Mg.

Jan 1, 1977

By David R. Forshey

This Bureau of Mines report presents a quantitative theoretical analysis of a coupled gasdynamics-heat release system involving the kinetics of water condensation in and behind the rarefaction wave in a shock tube using the method of characteristics. The merger of characteristics to form a shock wave is included.

Jan 1, 1977

By E. D. Eastman

The recent determination by Eckman and Rossini of the heat of formation of sulphur dioxide appears to be of much greater accuracy than any previous measurement . The value obtained by them , 70,940 cal . , is in good agreement with that of Thomsen ( 71,080 ) , but differs by about 1,700 calories from Berthelot's result ( 69,260 ) , and by 1,940 calories from the provisional figure ( 69,000 ) adopted by Lewis and Randall in their studies of the free energies of the sulphur compounds . This large discrepancy suggested the desirability of a recalculation of the free energy of sulphur dioxide . In addition it is now possiblt to fix the specific heat of S₂ gas with greater certainty than at the time of the original calculations . These two changes are incorporated in the recalculations described below , and directly affect the values of AH , and the Ar terms in the free energy equation . In the determination of the integration constant of the latter equation , the free energies and specific heats of water vapor and the oxides of carbon are required as auxiliary data . In this work these are based , with certain exceptions , upon the equations previously deduced , which differ appreciably from the corresponding equations of Lewis and Randall . 56 · The principal equilibria employed below , and the plan of calculation , remain the same as in the calculations of Lewis and Randall . Before beginning this revision a search of the literature was made , extending to August , 1930 , for studies of additional equilibria . Only one reaction was found that gives promise of increased accuracy . This is the equilibrium of sulphur dioxide with copper , cuprous oxide , and cuprous sulphide . In this case , however , certain of the subsidiary data are lacking , and until they become available , the existing studies of the equilibrium in this system can not be successfully utilized . The changes in the numerical data mentioned above , especially in the thermochemical constants , are therefore solely responsible for the rather significant differences of the revised from the original values of the free energy .

Apr 1, 1931

By Albert E. Long

By the USB of X-ray diffraction methods, scientists have learned how the atoms in a diamond crystal are arranged and how the atoms are tied together by chemical bonds. They have found that, even though the bonds between all atoms of the diamond have equal strength, they are so distributed that there are more bonds in certain layers or directions through the crystals than in others. The unequal distribution of the bonds in certain directions creates planes, within the diamond, of unequal strength and resistance to abrasion. The location and disposition of the directions that are relatively harder than the others were determined by Slawson and Kohn 3/ in 1950. By plotting these directions on stereographic projections they delineated the hard regions on the surface of the diamond, but only those trained in the methods of crystallography can readily interpret their diagrams. The principal purpose of this report is to present information that will help individuals without previous training in crystallography to learn to recognize the special features of the surfaces of diamond crystals that are definite guides to the location of the various hard directions of the stones. A crystallographer trained in using various precise laboratory instruments might consider such rudimentary criteria as rather unscientific, but these simple characteristics of diamond crystals are practical clues which anyone equipped with a magnifying lens can find and recognize. The use of the special faces, points, edges, and growth lines as a gui.de in orienting a diamond will allow it to be placed in a position reasonably close to the optimum. Preliminary results of experimental work conducted by the Bureau of Mines indicate that this is all that is necessary in setting diamond-bit crowns. This experimental work demonstrated that setting bits with the hard vectors of the diamond as cutting points greatly reduces the diamond loss and increases the efficiency of the bit.

Jan 1, 1952

By H. W. Davis, W. W. Adams, O. E. Kiessling

"Current economic problems frequently have focused attention upon the lack of adequate quantitative information indicating the relationship between human effort and output in various branches of the mineral industry. With the exception of complete records covering coal mining, only scattered information on the units of human energy required to produce a unit of raw material is available for most of the important industrial minerals. Fortunately a virtually complete statistical record is available covering this phase of the iron-ore mining industry.For many years iron-ore mining companies, whose interest in safety work is well-known, have reported annual data on employment to be used in the compilation of accident statistics. These data on hours of labor and other detailed employment information have been correlated with the statistics on production also reported annually by producers. The outstanding trends shown by this composite record for the 10-year period 1923-32 are included in the following discussion, supplemented by a summary table that presents the principal statistical background of the study. 5The substantial reduction in the number of men needed to produce the annual iron-ore requirements of the United States, as shown strikingly in the graphs, illustrates that in iron-ore production improvements in technology have been consistently winning a battle over the difficulties of nature. In 1923, for example, 41,294 men working 107,551,244 hours were required to produce 69,351,442 gross tons of merchantable ore, equivalent to an average output of 0.645 ton per man-hour. In 1929, however, only 30,763 men working 77,111,686 hours 'zero required to produce 73,027,720 tons of merchantable ore, equivalent to an average output of 0.947 ton per man-hour. Thus, from 1923 to 1929 the average number of men working decreased 25.5 percent and the total man-hours worked 28.3 percent, while the average output per man-hour increased 46.8 percent and total merchantable ore production 5.3 percent."

Feb 1, 1935

By James C. Cawley

This paper updates an earlier report by the authors that studied electrical injuries from 1992 to 1998. The previous information is expanded and supplemented with fatal and nonfatal injury rates and trends through 2002. Injury numbers and rates were used to compare and trend electrical injury experience for various groups and categories. This information allowed identification of at-risk groups that could most benefit from effective electrical safety interventions. The data presented in this paper are derived from the U.S. Labor Department?s Bureau of Labor Statistics? Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, Survey of Occupational Illnesses and Injuries, and Current Population Survey. Between 1992 and 2002, 3378 workers died from on-the-job electrical injuries. Electricity remained the sixth leading cause of injury-related occupational death. From 1999 to 2002, 4.7% of all occupational deaths were caused by electricity, down from 5.2% in the 1992?1998 time period. The cause of death was listed as electrocution in 99.1% of fatal cases. Contact with overhead power lines was involved in 42% of all on-the-job electrical deaths. The construction industry accounted for 47% of all electrical deaths between 1992 and 2002 but showed overall improvement from 1995 to 2002 by reducing its electrical fatality rate from 2.2 to 1.5 per 100 000 workers. In addition, 46 598 workers were nonfatally injured by electricity. Contact with electric current of machine, tool, appliance, or light fixture and contact with wiring, transformers, or other electrical components accounted for 36% and 34% of nonfatal electrical injuries, respectively. Contact with underground buried power lines was involved with 1% of fatal injuries and 2% of nonfatal injuries. The research of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health aimed at evaluating commercially available overhead power line proximity warning alarms is described. This paper is expected to be the initial step for eventual development of a performance standard for such systems.

Jan 1, 2008