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By M. K. Mishra, U. M. R. Karanam

Relative to slender pillars, larger size pillars exhibit improved strata control. Fly ash, though traditionally treated as a waste product, is emerging as an alternate engineering material. This paper deals with the development of a strong fly ash composite material with additives. The geotechnical properties of this fly ash composite were determined and used to trap model core pillars, which resemble squat pillars. The trapped samples were tested under uni-axial loading in the laboratory and the results showed higher load-bearing capacity of the model core pillars. The reinforced fly ash composites provide lateral confinement and exhibit improved post- failure behaviour of the model cores.

Jan 1, 2008

By Mark Kruzynski, Srinivas Garimella, James T. Wiswall

"A flue gas recirculation (FGR) system for a combustion fired aluminum melting furnace is experimentally investigated. The FGR system flows combustion air in a turbulent jet within the flue gas stream, and the turbulent jet flow is collected in a tube at a distance from the jet exit. Entrainment of the flue gases as well as heat transfer between the flue gases and the jet occurs over the length of the exposed jet. Heat transfer between the flue gases and the jet, and the amount of flue gas entrained into the jet (derived from temperature, flow rate and oxygen fraction measurements) were measured as a function of nozzle exit velocity and the distance between the nozzle exit and collection tube. In addition to flue gas entrainment, a fuel savings of up to 7%, due to heat transfer over the length of the jet, was projected from the measurements obtained.IntroductionFlue gas recirculation can be applied to aluminum melting furnaces to control combustion temperature. When coupled with a device to improve furnace efficiency by recovering heat from the furnace exhaust, flue gas recirculation provides a control technique that is integral to achieving the goals of reducing fuel consumption, increasing product yield, increasing the longevity of infrastructure, and reducing pollutant emissions. In particular, combustion temperature control can help reduce reactivity of the products of combustion with the molten metal surface and furnace refractory materials. Combustion temperature control can also help improve the life of heat exchangers used to recover energy lost to the environment in the flue gases, and reduce NOx formation in the combustion process. Flue gas recirculation can also dilute oxygen used in oxy-fuel combustion to reduce reactivity.Flue gas recirculation has been used since the 1970s to control flame temperatures in the automotive industry [1-3] and has successfully reduced NOx emissions. Many different flue gas recirculation approaches for high temperature melting such as melting aluminum and glass have been patented since the 1980s [4-12]. There has also been academic interest to determine the fundamental performance characteristics of flue gas recirculation in high temperature furnaces and in combustion [13-15]."

Jan 1, 2014

By Susanna A. C. Stadler, Chris Aldrich, Jacques J. Eksteen

Slag foaming occurs in several pyrometallurgical processes. These processes include steelmaking in basic oxygen steelmaking furnaces and electric arc furnaces as well as various non-ferrous operations like sulphide smelting/converting and base metal slag cleaning. Although slag foaming in steelmaking processes has been extensively researched, little attention has been given to slag foaming in non-ferrous operations. Slag foaming phenomena are complex because often the system consists of three or more phases. With this in mind, factors previously identified as influencing slag foaming were investigated. These include the slag basicity, physical properties of the slag, namely viscosity, surface tension and density, the formation of particles due to undercooling of the slag and the FexO concentration in the slag. The effect of increasing FexO concentration was found to decrease the foam index due to lower viscosities, but higher surface tension depression appears to have led to increased foam index values at high FexO concentrations. The foaming index decreases with increasing basicity, until precipitation of solids occurs. After this point, the foaming index was found to increase with increasing basicity due to increased solids precipitation. In general, increasing amounts of slag-wettable solids led to higher foam indices, but the precise nature of the effect on slag foaming was dependant on the nature of the solid precipitate.

Jan 1, 2003

By Susanna A. C. Stadler, Chris Aldrich, Jacques J. Eksteen

"Slag foaming occurs in several pyrometallurgical processes. These processes include steelmaking in basic oxygen steelmaking furnaces and electric arc furnaces as well as various non-ferrous operations like sulphide smelting/converting and base metal slag cleaning. Although slag foaming in steelmaking processes has been extensively researched, little attention has been given to slag foaming in non-ferrous operations. Slag foaming phenomena are complex because often the system consists of three or more phases. With this in mind, factors previously identified as influencing slag foaming were investigated. These include the slag basicity, physical properties of the slag, namely viscosity, surface tension and density, the formation of particles due to undercooling of the slag and the FexO concentration in the slag.Slag foaming was investigated in a vertical tube furnace. The different slags were contained in alumina crucibles and bubbling argon gas through the molten slag induced foaming. The foam height was measured by using stainless steel probes and a voltmeter. The conductivity of the slags made it possible to measure the foam height from the position of the probes when the electrical circuit was completed. Slags were foamed at different temperatures to investigate the effect of solid precipitates.The effect of increasing FexO concentration was found to decrease the foam index due to lower viscosities, but higher surface tension depression appears to have led to increased foam index values at high FexO concentrations."

Jan 1, 2003

By S. Z. Shafaei

An experimental investigation has been carried out using a laboratory scale Denver flotation cell. For evaluation of cokeable coal of Alborze Sharghi coal washing plant, the full factorial method was used to statistically design and analyse the experiments. The 2 factorial interaction model were developed for combustible recovery and ash content as response and diesel dosage, conditioning time, feed percent solids and rotor speed as factors. Model validation and residual analysis were con-ducted and results indicated that the fitness, predictability power and residual distributions of models were good. The effect of parameters and interactions were examined and it has been demonstrated that rotor speed, solid percent and interaction between diesel dosage and solid percent were more important terms of all responses. A product with approximately 78% combustible recovery and 10% ash content was obtained at 4000gr/ton diesel fuel oil (high level), 30 sec conditioning time (low level), feed percent solids of 15% (low level) and 800 rpm rotor speed in appropriate condition.

Jan 1, 2014

By Nick Hytiris, Mohammed Al Maadheedi, Slobodan B. Mickovski

This paper explores the capacity effects of a square steel plate welded at the ground surface on a driven open-ended steel pile (i.e. the plate would touch the ground surface after the pile achieves the required penetration). A series of strain-controlled, 1-g laboratory tests were undertaken on piles with and without a square steel plate attached. The piles were driven in dry, loosely packed, uniform sand. Two plates were used, one with a breadth equal to two times the diameter of the pile (2D) and the other with a breadth equal to three times the diameter of the piles (3D). A 20% increase in capacity was recorded for the 2D plate, and a 110% increase in capacity was recorded for the 3D plate when compared to the pile without an attached steel plate. The back-analysis of the results allowed the derivation of a new expression to calculate the capacity of bearing plates, which accounted for the effects of sands compaction and dilation. By extrapolating the findings of these tests to a hypothetical scenario, a model design problem was described where the length of a pile can be reduced by 20% to 60% (depending on the load) by using a plate attached to the pile. The results of this study can help designers to minimise penetration depth; thus, achieving a more economical and sustainable design.

By Mohammed Al Maadheedi

This paper explores the capacity effects of a square steel plate welded at the ground surface on a driven open-ended steel pile (i.e. the plate would touch the ground surface after the pile achieves the required penetration). A series of strain-controlled, 1-g laboratory tests were undertaken on piles with and without a square steel plate attached. The piles were driven in dry, loosely packed, uniform sand. Two plates were used, one with a breadth equal to two times the diameter of the pile (2D) and the other with a breadth equal to three times the diameter of the piles (3D). A 20% increase in capacity was recorded for the 2D plate, and a 110% increase in capacity was recorded for the 3D plate when compared to the pile without an attached steel plate. The back-analysis of the results allowed the derivation of a new expression to calculate the capacity of bearing plates, which accounted for the effects of sands compaction and dilation. By extrapolating the findings of these tests to a hypothetical scenario, a model design problem was described where the length of a pile can be reduced by 20% to 60% (depending on the load) by using a plate attached to the pile. The results of this study can help designers to minimise penetration depth; thus, achieving a more economical and sustainable design.

By Christopher Jon Preston

This paper describes a type of ammonium nitrate (AN) produced in a patented experimental atomization/aerodynamic process. This AN exhibits outstanding properties for use as a main ingredient to a new family of AN-based commercial explosives. Micro-particle ammonium nitrate (MP-AN) is produced by atomizing either an 83% or 85% AN solution which has been doped with a two component surfactant NSol 1000 (NSol). NSol imparts some water-resistance as well as provides a means of increasing density and bulk strength. Increased detonation velocities, well in the range of emulsion explosives, can be achieved. The maximum manufacturing temperature is less than 100°C. The methodology has the potential of being environmentally friendly since any effluent can be recycled back into a make-up tank to be re-used by the closed loop method. The process has a small footprint.

Jan 1, 2015

By R. Hazael, R. Alford, R. Critchley

The ability to compare explosives is fundamental. Numerous methods are used and while simple conversion factors are often used, the use of TNT Equivalency (TNTe) is not a simple subject as explosives exhibit very different equivalencies depending on whether the pressure or impulse are being considered as well as other conditions. The scaled distance has been found to have a significant effect on the TNTe but due to the difficulty of taking measurements at very close ranges, no TNTe have been quoted for charges in direct contact (Z=0). This paper describes the use of a ballistic pendulum to measure the impulse from contact charges and presents some surprising results that require a two-stage propulsion, as originally described by Backofen, to be explained.

Jan 1, 2024

By Margreth Tadie, Chalwe Chibwe

Physicochemical properties of copper electrolytes are a strong fundamental consideration in electrodeposition processes during electro-purification and recovery of copper. Their influence extends to mass transfer as well as energy consumption during the electrodeposition process. In this study, the influence of electrolyte composition on electrolyte physicochemical properties was investigated to review the existing literature data. This review of data is considered necessary as more and more electrowinning models are being developed for process prediction and optimisation and a need of such data is required for accurate prediction of physicochemical properties. The major components of importance to the formation of smooth high-quality and high-purity copper cathodes at optimum current efficiency are considered the species in solution. These include Cu ions, Fe ions (major impurity), H2SO4, and a smoothing agent additive. A 5-factor, 2- and 3-level experimental design was employed to determine the effect of copper (35 and 45 g/l), sulphuric acid (160 and 180 g/l), iron (1, 3, and 6 g/l), polyacrylamide additive (2, 5, and 10 mg/ l), and temperature (45 and 55 °C) on electrolyte density, conductivity, and the diffusion coefficient in synthetic copper electrowinning electrolytes. The major species in a copper electrowinning electrolyte are found to be the most relevant for prediction of physicochemical properties. These results indicate that relatively simple empirical models are sufficient for modelling of the electrolyte domain in electrowinning, without the need for the generation of vast amounts of complex experimental data.

Feb 1, 2021

By N. P. Reddy

This paper describes an experimental setup for multiple-fan ventilation systems at the ventilation laboratory of the WVU Department of Mining Engineering. Housed in a 30 ft by 70 ft room, the experimental setup consists of three 18 in. variable-speed axial-flow fans, the 18 in. diameter fiberglass tubing and fittings for arranging networks, and the pitot tube measuring and data acquisition system. The fiberglass tubing and fans can be organized into the non-planner network of two fans or three-fans. It is mainly designed for studying the characteristic curves, operating points, and fan stall for the multiple-fan ventilation system.

Jan 1, 1992

By R. M. Westcott

A two-electrode, direct current, slag resistance furnace (SRF) has been constructed and operated to selectively reduce the zinc and lead contents of non-ferrous slags. The experimental SRF is equipped with multiple methods of gas/solids injection for both mixing and reaction. A computer is used to position the electrodes and for data acquisition. A geometric factor correlation was previously developed at Columbia University for calculating the electrical resistance on the basis of furnace geometry and slag conductivity. The experimental SRF was used to test this correlation.

Jan 1, 1994

By M. Nilmani, J. Sofra

The transverse distributions of the solids discharge velocity and mass flux at the discharge end of vertical and inclined lances were measured in order to detennine the transverse distributions of the axial momentum flux, which is a dominant factor influencing the penetration behaviour of particles into melts during submerged injection. The effects of gas velocity (10 - 30 m/s), solids loading (5 - 10), lance length (0.15 - 1.0 m), lance inclination (vertical downward - horizontal) and particle density (2500 - 8900 kg/m3 ) were investigated, while the lance diameter and particle size were fixed at 10 mm and 220 µm respectively. The particle velocities and mass fluxes were measured by image analysis of particles illuminated in a laser-generated light sheet aligned vertically through the axis of the lance at the discharge point. The particle discharge velocity profiles for vertical downward flows were synunetrical about the centre-line of the lance, with the maximum velocities occurring at the centre-line. The velocities increased with increasing gas velocity, increasing lance length and decreasing particle density in accordance with previous observations. The transverse mass flux profiles were also synunetrical for vertical downward flows, however at the lower gas velocities the peaks in the profiles were displaced from the centre-line of the lance by a fractional diameter of about 0.15. The particle discharge velocity profiles become increasingly asynunetric as the lance orientation was changed from vertical to horizontal, with higher particle velocities present near the top wall of the lance. The mass flux profile also became asyrrunetric as the horizontal orientation was approached, however in this case, the profile became biased towards the bottom of the lance. The effect was much more pronounced for a gas velocity of 10 m/s than for 30 m/s, showing the relatively stronger gravitational influence as the velocity was reduced.

Jan 1, 1996

By H. M. Friede

An experimental study of iron-smelting techniques used in the South African Iron Age by H. M. FRIEDE, Ph.D. and R. H. STEEL (Visitors) The main factors involved in the primitive smelting of iron (ore, charcoal, temperature, air supply, process control) were evaluated in an experimental furnace that was constructed to the pattern of an Iron Age furnace found at Melville Koppies Nature Reserve, Johannesburg. In particular, the characteristics, action, and efficiency of skin bellows were investigated to gaina better understanding of the air-supply system used. Sixteen specimens of iron ore, slag, and metallic iron (excavated material and material produced in the experimental furnace) were submitted to analysis. The results of the analyses are reported and discussed.

Jan 6, 1977

By M. Boher, J. Lehmann, M. C. Kaerlé

"In the production of high quality steel, the understanding of the interactions between liquid steel and refractories and of their effect on steel purity and cleanness are becoming more and more important.An experimental study has been per-formed in order to estimate the importance of the reaction between a MgO-based tundish refractory and an Al-killed steel. The results show a pollution of the liquid steel:•the silicon content of the liquid steel increases due to the reduction of the silica of the refractory by the aluminum contained in the steel; and•a reoxidation of the steel occurs and the formation of an oxide layer on the refracto-ry, mainly composed of spinel crystals and of Ca-aluminates is observed.The transfer mechanisms of the various elements are analyzed."

Jan 1, 1997

By Gaifeng Xue, Lei Zhang, Aimin Duan, J. Y. Hwang, Lina Wang

"The removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) from coking wastewater was experimentally investigated using a three-dimensional electrode reactor. The experimental results showed that the refractory organics in coking wastewater can be effectively removed by this process, and COD removal efficiency was affected by the operating parameters, such as electrolytic retention time, particle electrode dosage, initial pH, current density, aeration amount and electrical conductivity. The experimental results show that the three-dimensional electrode could have a COD removal efficiency of more than 60% and a running cost of no more than 6 YUAN (RMB)/t. This indicates the great potential of a three-dimensional electrode reactor in engineering applications as an advanced treatment methods for coking wastewater.IntroductionCoking wastewater is generated from coal coking, coal gas purification, and by-product recovery processes of coking; it is composed of phenolic compounds, heterocyclic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, ammonia, cyanide, polycyclic nitrogen-containing aromatics, acyclic compounds, etc. Most of these constituents are refractory, poorly biodegradabile, toxic and carcinogenic [1-3]. Currently, coking wastewater is usually treated by different forms of A/O biological nitrogen removal processes as the primary treatment means, but the aforementioned processes are not efficient enough to meet the requirements of the National Discharge Standard in China (GB13456-1992). According to the continuous requirement on improving environmental protection for the coking industry (revised 2008), increasing wastewater utilization ratios and reducing the discharge of effluent in the coke industry have to be implemented for cleaner production and sustainable development. Therefore, advanced technologies need to be developed to treat coking wastewater and reutilize the product as industrial cooling water, which would be one of the best choices to achieve zero discharge of wastewater and reduce water consumption per ton of steel produced. In this study, a three-dimensional fluidized bed electrode reactor was adopted for the advanced treatment of coking wastewater, and the effects of operating conditions, including particle dosage, initial pH, current density, supporting electrolyte, as well as aeration amount on the COD removal rate, were investigated. Its running costs were also estimated."

Jan 1, 2012

By Shailendra Chawla, Ashok Jaiswal, Sonu

Side spalling/skin failure occurs due to the high-induced stress in underground structures. In such cases, rock bolting or other support systems are being used to control the skin failure or spalling of the pillar. The nature of these support systems is passive, which acts during the deformation. These support systems restrict the displacement considerably of the side/or roof surface of the excavation. Ultimately, it improves the stability of the structure because of the increment in residual strength of rock mass. It is noted that these passive support systems give very low confinement in the range of 0–0.015 MPa at the onset of failure. As the level of confinement will be very low and dependent with progress of failure, triaxial test was not found practically suitable. Thus, an alternative procedure of testing has been proposed. In the procedure, sides of sample have been restricted little bit by using adhesive tape. It provides the limited boundness on the lateral direction (LBLD) of rock specimen. The uniaxial compression strength (UCS) test has been performed on 30 numbers of cylindrical rock specimens using the servo-controlled stiff testing machine. Specifically, two rock types (medium-coarse–grained and coarse-grained rocks) were studied in terms of stress–strain behaviour so that a full residual strength envelope for each specimen was obtained. This study reveals that the residual strength of limited confined rock specimens has been significantly increased as compared to unconfined rock for both groups of rock types. The average residual strength of LBLD specimens of fine-grained rock and medium coarse-grained rock has been increased around 12 times, and five times as compared to unconfined rock, respectively. The average peak strength of LBLD rock specimens has been increased in the range of 30.5 to 48.6% for coarse-grained rock. The results of this study have been presented in terms of peak strength, residual strength and Young’s modulus of rock, and the post-peak failure behaviour of rock specimens was also critically analysed through a stress–strain curve.

Mar 21, 2024

By Youjun Tao

Falcon centrifugal gravity separation tests were conducted to study desulfurization and de-ashing performance with different size fractions of a high-sulfur Chinese -0.5mm fine coal in a dense medium. Performance indicators such as combustible recovery, ash and sulfur rejection, and desulfurization efficiency were used to evaluate the separation efficiency. The results show that for -0.5 mm coal particles, all performance indicators except ash rejection are higher for the Falcon concentrator than for flotation. More specifically, for the +0.125 mm size fraction, Falcon centrifugal separation produced better ash and sulfur rejection performance than froth flotation. However, the Falcon concentrator also showed higher combustible recovery but lower ash and sulfur rejection than froth flotation for the -0.125 mm size fraction.

Aug 1, 2013

By A. V. Z. Brink

Rock engineering risk is defined in this paper as a function of the potential ground motion; the vulnerability of the workplace; exposure of people; and a general term – quality of information. The paper describes the development of prototype software that is a combination between an expert system approach for determining overall risk assessment, a risk control recommendation and a basic GIS (Graphic Information System) approach for graphically overlying input parameters and the output risk. The expert system uses a Bayesian probabilistic approach to combine various workplace-related information, a quantified seismological environment and the exposure of underground staff to provide an overall RE risk rating. The risk assessment is dynamic in that it is recalculated each time that any of the input parameters change, for example each time a seismic event is recorded in the area of interest. The code was tested on a data set from Savuka Gold. As risk assessment is not an absolute prediction of a specific outcome, it is therefore not possible to relate to individual case studies and the reliability of this method would only be determined after an extensive period of use with appropiate back-analysis. Le risque dans le génie minier est défini dans cette étude comme une fonction du mouvement potentiel de terrain ; la vulnérabilité du lieu de travail ; l’exposition des personnes ; et un terme général – la qualité de l’information. L’étude présente décrit le développement d’un logiciel prototype qui est une combinaison entre une démarche de système expert pour déterminer une évaluation générale du risque, une recommandation pour le contrôle du risque, et une démarche de SIG (Système d’Information Géographique) pour superposer graphiquement les paramètres d’entrée et le risque de sortie. Le système expert utilise une méthode de probabilité bayésienne pour combiner des informations variées sur le lieu de travail, des données quantifiées sur l’environnement sismique, et l’exposition du personnel travaillant sous terre, pour finalement produire un classement général de risque minier (RE). L’évaluation du risque est dynamique en ce sens qu’elle est recalculée à chaque fois qu’un des paramètres d’entrée change, par exemple à chaque fois qu’un évènement sismique est enregistré dans la région. Le code fut testé sur un ensemble de données obtenues de Savuka Gold. Comme l’évaluation du risque ne constitue pas une prédiction absolue d’un résultat spécifique, elle est par conséquent difficile à rattacher à des cas individuels et la validité de cette méthode ne pourrait être déterminée qu’après une longue période d’utilisation avec analyse rétrospective appropriée. Das Gesteinstechnikrisiko wird in dieser Arbeit als Funktion einer möglichen Bodenbewegung definiert; die Anfaälligkeit des Arbeitsplatzes; das Ausgesetztsein der Belegschaft; und ein genreller Begriff - Qualität der Informationen. Das Papier beschreibt die Entwicklung einer Prototyp-Software, die eine Kombination zwischen einem Expertensystemzugang für die Bestimmung der gesamten Risikobeurteilung ist, eine Empfehlung zur Risikokontrolle und eines fundamentalen GIS (graphisches Informationssystem) Zuganges für graphisch darüberliegende Eingangsparameter und das Outputrisiko. Das Expertensystem verwendet eine bayesische Wahrscheinlichkeitsannäherung, um verschiedene mit dem Arbeitsplatz in Verbindung stehende Informationen, ein quantitativ bestimmtes seismologisches Umfeld und das Ausgesetztsein des Untertag-Personals zu kombinieren, um eine gesamte RE-Risikobewertung zur Verfügung zu stellen. Die Risikobeurteilung ist insoferne dynamisch,daß sie stets nachkalkuliert wird wenn sich irgendeiner der Eingangsparameter ändert, z.B. jedesmal wenn ein seismischer Fall im Interessensbereich aufgezeichnet wird. Der Code wurde auf einem Datenbestand von Savuka Gold geprüft. Da die Risikobeurteilung nicht eine absolute Vorhersage eines spezifischen Resultates ist, es ist folglich nicht möglich, sich auf einzelne Fallstudien zu beziehen und die Zuverlässigkeit dieser Methode könnte nur nach einer umfangreichen Benutzungsdauer mit geeigneter Postanalyse bestimmt werden.

Jan 1, 2003

By John D. Carriere, Jean Leung, Daniel. Laguitton, Michael .. J. Burrows

"The objective of this expert system application in a copper-zinc concentrator, is to increase the availability of assay data through substitution for erroneous data. The assay data is used by the Operations personnel and automatic process control strategies to control flotation circuit performance. Two online X-ray fluorescence analysis systems analyze 24 streams across four divisions to provide the required data. Data availability of individual streams average 90% while the resulting circuit availabilities are 70%. The unavailability of correct data results from mechanical, X-ray or process problems. The erroneous data can be identified by process experts using knowledge relating stream interdependencies and historical process behaviour. An expert system was devised to provide real time identification of erroneous data and substitute for that data with the ultimate aim of improving metallurgical response by both the operator and automatic control systems.The paper discusses the early development work and architecture of the knowledge base designed using Neuron Data's expert shell NEXPERT.INTRODUCTIONThis paper describes the early development of an expert system (ES) prototype at the Kidd Creek concentrator. The project is a joint undertaking of the Kidd Creek Division of Falconbridge Limited and CANMET. Kidd Creek entered into the project to apply heuristic rules to the XRF assay data to improve the metallurgical control of the flotation process by increasing availability of analysis data. This project provided a problem of suitable size and future expandability while making use of a wide base of in-house expertise and experience. Another important benefit is the introduction of expert system technology to the site providing tools and experience for future system selection and technology application. CANMET has an on-going interest in assessing various aspects of ES technology (hardware, software, knowledge engineering, integration) while addressing problems in process operations that could most readily benefit from the technique. CANMET's role in the project was to provide project assistance, financial support, substitution algorithm assistance and software for data substitution. The knowledge bases (rules) have now been completed and are to be tested in the online environment."

Jan 1, 1989