Search Documents

By S. Constantinides

Over the past 100 years we have witnessed a revolution in permanent magnetic materials. Prior to 1932 electrical machinery depended upon steels for both the soft and the permanent magnet structures. Because permanent magnet steels were easily demagnetized, motors, generators, loudspeakers and similar devices often used the interaction between two electromagnets. Motors and generators were mostly of the induction type, depending for function upon induced fields. The discovery of Alnico in 1931 and its rapid commercialization presaged an expansion of the industrial revolution and today, permanent magnet structures are widely utilized. [ ] DEVELOPMENT OF PERMANENT MAGNETS Act 1: Early Days of Permanent Magnets Alnico, which stands for aluminum, nickel and cobalt, is a family of alloys with similar structure and processing requirements. Additional elements, such as copper and titanium, are present in minor amounts to optimize magnetic properties. Alnico is known by many trade names around the world including Alcomax, Hycomax, Ticonal, Nipermag, Koerzit, Oerstit, Nialco, etc(1,2,3). In addition to the generic name ?alnico?, it is usually appended with a number representing the magnetic grade.

Jan 1, 2011

"In the mining industry, high-level commitments to adopt sustainability have been made at the corporate levels of mining companies, but there continue to be problems when attempts are made to adopt these high-level sustainability aspirations and translate them into appropriate targets and methods at the more-specific operational level. The integration of sustainability principles into day-to-day minerals processing operational decision-making processes has unique challenges that are not addressed adequately by current tools and methodologies. A proposed methodology to achieve integration of sustainability at the operational level will direct the systematic and rigorous identification and characterisation of sustainability issues in an operation. The methodology allows different approach strategies for assessment, comprehensive accounting of sustainability indicators and has the ability to identify sustainability issues which may have significant business implications that cannot be identified using traditional analysis processes."

Jan 1, 2011

By Richard L. Bullock

Believe it or not, mine evaluation and feasibility studies are as old as the industry itself. In the first recorded writing on mining by Agricola (1556), he gave several clues as what to look for in evaluating a mine, to determine if it was economically feasible. Below is the guidance from Agricola, with my interpretation of what he would include today. Now a miner, before he begins to mine the orebodies must consider seven things, namely: ? The situation (the geography/topography). ? The conditions (the geologic/mineralogic and mining conditions). ? The water (availability, hydrology and ownership). ? The roads (plus the railroads, power lines, all other infrastructure). ? The climate (the weather-rainfall/environment). ? The right of ownership (the land and legal entitlement). ? The neighbors (the social environmental concerns of the area). It is amazing how much of his guidance has not changed in 455 years. Yet Agricola gives no guidance on determining the correct cost, or determining the correct commodity pricing. But he does give a few words of caution on the related ethics involved on buying mineral properties: ?A prudent owner, before he buys shares, ought to go to the mine and carefully examine the nature of the vein, for it is very important that he should be on his guard lest fraudulent sellers of shares should deceive him.? Three hundred years later (1866), to further amplify this point, in the most famous thing that Mark Twain never said, as an introduction to a lecturer to an audience of gold-miners at Red Dog, CA, the famed author/humorist allegedly described a mine as ?a hole in the ground owned by a liar? (Farrar & Rinehart, 1935). So, one might conclude that between these two dates, the mining industry did little to improve its reputation. Unfortunately, since Mark Twain allegedly made those remarks, we have not done near enough to gain accountability for the mineral industry.

Jan 1, 2011

By Daniel W. H. Su

This paper presents a retrospective assessment of ground control research and its successful application by CONSOL Energy over the past 25 years. Recognizing the need to improve the understanding of coal pillar design mechanics under shallow, medium, and deep covers, an extensive underground coal pillar instrumentation program was initiated in the mid 1980s. Combined with sophisticated numerical modeling technique and laboratory tests, results from this instrumentation program were used to advance the concept of coal pillar design and to demonstrate that numerical modeling can be used to predict in situ coal pillar strength, especially under non-ideal conditions where interface friction and roof and floor deformation are the primary controlling factors. To evaluate the impact of longwall mining, a 10-year subsidence research program was initiated in 1986 that encompassed surface, subsurface, and underground measurements, as well as a sophisticated numerical modeling technique. Results from the research revealed that interface friction and shearing between rock layers within the overburden had a profound effect on surface subsidence development and the resulting strain. Recognizing the impact of horizontal stresses on CONSOL?s mining operations, extensive horizontal stress measurements were conducted using the USBM Borehole Deformation Gage and the CSIRO Mininfrac system in the mid to late 80s. Roof extensometers and CSIRO HI Cells were used to measure roof displacement and roof stress concentration in longwall headgates and tailgates, which resulted in the definition of right-hand and left-hand longwall panels. Pillar design modifications, combined with cable bolt application and innovative standing support installation, were then successfully employed to mitigate horizontal stress impact on the right-hand longwall headgates and left-hand longwall tailgates. An in-house floor bearing capacity test apparatus was fabricated and employed underground to determine mine-specific floor bearing capacities which, along with other geotechnical parameters, were then used in the mine-specific shield design. To promote caving of thick, massive sandstone immediately behind longwall face supports and to improve face conditions, the hydraulic fracturing technique was successfully employed by CONSOL to pre-fracture the sandstone prior to longwall mining. Face monitoring and numerical modeling confirmed the effectiveness of the hydraulic fracturing technique. A roof geology reconnaissance program was initiated by CONSOL in the early 1990s to improve roof control, safety, and production. Information obtained from the reconnaissance program was used successfully to guide mine planning decisions and daily roof support practices.

Jan 1, 2011

By R. Dillinger

In the environmentally conscious social atmosphere today, reclamation in surface mines has become a main issue to the public and the regulatory committees. In response to this increased attention, many regulatory committees have begun to enact more stringent regulations on surface mining operations. Operations across all spectrums of the industry have seen changes. Recently and most visibly the mountain top removal mines have seen several new regulations focusing on environmental protection. Specifically regulatory committees have emphasized a focus on the methods of reclamation and recovery of layers suitable for vegetation. These layers are the most visible once the operation has concluded. Also, these layers have the most human interaction (farming, hunting, and house development). Often times the new regulations enacted are shifting from a performance base to a standards base. The key differentiator being a performance base dictates the final result while a standards base dictates the method to achieve the result. The very nature of many regulations (especially those that are standards based) not only challenges the physical limitations of the equipment used today, they come with a financial impact. For the purpose of this paper, the model will be a surface coal operation, utilizing draglines as primary overburden movers. The coal seam is ten feet thick, the overburden ninety five feet thick, the pits are 150 feet wide, and the dragline is a Bucyrus Erie 1570.

Jan 1, 2011

By Run Huang, Xuewei Lv, Lei Lei, Guibao Qiu, Chenguang Bai

"The TiO2-rich slag and pig iron can be produced from ilmenite concentrate by the electric furnace process. In this study, ilmenite concentrate was reduced in a vertical furnace equipped with a weighting data acquisition system. The effects of reducing agent (carbon) amount on the iron reduction were studied. The phase transformation, morphology and chemical compositions of reduced samples were investigated by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), respectively. It was found that the reductive degree of ilmenite concentrate increased with the increase of reducing time. The phases of reduced samples were mostly iron, rutile, Ti3O5 and Fe2TiO5. The mass loss percentage increased with increasing the carbon amount from 8% to 12%. When the carbon amount exceeded 12%, the mass loss percentage decreased with the increasing of carbon amount.IntroductionIlmenite and rutile are the main raw materials for producing titania pigment and titanium metal. With the development of the titanium industry, huge amounts of titanium resources are needed. As sources of high-grade titania mineral decrease worldwide, more attention should be paid to the processes involving low grade mineral such as ilmenite ore. In ilmenite, MgO and CaO are the gangue parts. Therefore, the ilmenite refining becomes more and more popular. In the previous studies, the methods of ilmenite refining are electric furnace smelting, direct acid leaching, selective chlorination and thermal reduction [1]. Electric furnace smelting method is widely used in the titanium industry, however, which consumes a great deal of energies and has a high CO2 emission. Its essence is to remove iron oxides and obtain a high titania slag. So the thermal reduction of ilmenite concentrate is an important step in titanium industry, which can decrease carbon reagent consumption and save energy.Over the past several decades, many studies have been carried out on the mechanism and kinetics of the reduction of different ilmenite ores, which are as follows: The carbothermal reduction of Panzhihua ilmenite initiated at about 860 oC. In the temperatures ranging from 900 oC to 1400 oC, the reaction rate was changed like a shape of “M”. That was to say that the reaction rate increased with the growth of temperature at first, then decreased, afterward increased again and at last the reaction was arrested [2]. The Mohammad A.R group [3, 4] showed that the carbothermal reduction of primary ilmenite concentrate was faster in hydrogen and initiated at a lower reduced temperature than in argon and helium. The reduction in argon and helium had about the same rate and extent. Titanium oxycarbide started at 1000°C in hydrogen. The conversion of primary ilmenite concentrate to metallic iron and titanium oxycarbide at 1200 °C was completed in 300 minutes. Monoxide as the reductant to reduce ilmenite had been studied intensively by a few research groups [5, 6]. The rate and the degree of reduction depended on the formation of a metallic shell of iron which inhibited the transfer of CO to the reaction zones; titanium had a strong effect on the mechanism and rate of reduction of iron oxides. Wang and Yuan [7] studied the reductive kinetics of the reaction between a natural ilmenite and carbon. At temperature below 1100°C, chemical reaction was the rate controlling step, at 1100 to 1250°C mixed controlling was rate controlling step, above 1250°C diffusion through the product layer controlled the reaction. Zhang [8] investigated the reduction of natural, sintered and preoxidized ilmenite concentrates in hydrogen methane mixtures. Preoxidation and sintering of ilmenite concentrates changed their phase composition and caused a sharp decrease in specific surface area of raw materials and an increase in carburization temperature. Sintering also increased the metallization temperature of iron."

Jan 1, 2011

By E. Carvajal I

Large diesel engines provide the mining industry the substantial power and torque needed to move large amounts of material efficiently. But the stresses generated by such power and torque necessitate complex maintenance programs to ensure the utmost operating capabilities are not compromised. Of all its available sensors, the Exhaust Temperature differential between the right and left banks can provide the most valuable indicator of the overall operating condition and potential degradation of a large diesel engine. BHP Billiton Escondida Mining has implemented real-time remote monitoring, diagnostics, reporting, and tracking of Exhaust Temperature differential using Modular® technology. As a result of the processes and procedures put into place surrounding their MineCare maintenance management system, Escondida has proactively replaced over 300 injectors, resulting in an increase of 4% in Engine availability.

Jan 1, 2011

By Ahmad-Bitar¸ Riyad N., Shadia J. Ikhmayies

"CdSi-xTex thin films with O<x<0.3 were prepared on glass substrates by the annealing of CdS:In thin films produced by the spray pyrolysis technique. The annealing was performed in nitrogen atmosphere at 400 --,C in the presence of Te vapor. The compositions of the films were determined by energy dispersive X-ray detection (EDAX) measurements. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to investigate the morphology of the films. The transmittance of the films was measured at room temperature in the wavelength range 400-1100 nm and used to produce the absorbance of the films. The first derivative of the absorbance was used to estimate the optical bandgap energy Eg by using the minima in the first derivative. The relation between the bandgap energy and the fraction x was found to fit with a parabola and bandgaps in the range 2.196: =Eg: =2.480 e V were obtained. Urbach tailing in the bandgap was also investigated.IntroductionPolycrystalline thin film CdS/CdTe solar cells are promising candidates for low cost and high efficiency photovoltaic applications. The fabrication process of these cells involves the deposition of a p-type CdTe absorber layer on top of an n-type CdS one which acts as a window. The efficiency of the solar cell is affected by the method of preparation of both layers [1, 2].Interdiffusion processes taking place at the CdS/CdTe interface have largely been realized to significantly affect the device performance [3] by changing the bandgap of both CdTe and CdS which modifies the spectral response of the solar cell [ 4]. The formation of a mixed crystal or a graded layer causes a reduction in the lattice mismatch at the CdS/CdTe junction [5] which is about 9% [ 6] and then a reduction in the number of interfacial states and recombination centers, thus enhancing the solar cell performance [7, 8]. A complete understanding of the properties of the intermixed layers CdSxTe1-x that usually constitutes the interfacial region in the CdS/CdTe solar cell is essential. According to our knowledge, a lot of research was devoted to the investigation of the diffusion of S into CdTe [3-5, 9]; but little on the direct investigation of the diffusion of Te into CdS [6]."

Jan 1, 2011

By Adriana de Aquino Soeiro da Silva, Joao Alves Sampaioa, Luiz Carlos Bertolino, Francisco Manoel Garrido, Marta Eloisa Medeiros

"Brazil has a large agricultural potential and its production success is related to the chemicaland physical soil characteristics. Therefore, the demand in the use of a great quantity offertilizers to compensate the low amount of nutrients in the soil includes about 40% of foodproduction costs. In order to develop economical alternatives to traditional fertilizers, rockswith potential use in agriculture will be studied. In this work the potassium rock, a greensandslate, will be chemically and structurally characterized for the development of a potassiumthermophosphate. This alternative fertilizer will be obtained based on a fusion of a ponderedmixture of potassium, magnesium and phosphate rocks to be applied in the Brazilianagriculture. Preliminary characterization results indicate that the greensand slate presents ahigh percentage of glauconite, quartz and micas.Keywords: Potassium thermophosphate, alternative fertilizers, greensand slate.IntroductionBrazil has a great agricultural potential and its production success is closely related to thesoil's chemical and physical characteristics. However, the country's soils present lownutrients content and high acidity due to weather conditions. Thus, the use of a high amountof fertilizers makes up for the soils' lack of nutrients and accounts for 40% of food productioncosts. Therefore, research on obtaining new alternative fertilizers is a constant worry due tothe increase on food demand [ 1].The lack of raw material for the preparation of NPK fertilizers in Brazil is a concern and theissue of potassium fertilizers a priority. Such a fact is because in 2008 only 608.000 tons ofKCl were produced, corresponding to just 10% of the Brazilian necessity. Thus, the use ofrocks as agricultural nutrients can contribute to reduce the need for industrial fertilizers.This way, the development of a new agricultural raw material originated from a rock thatalready exists in the country's soil is of great importance for the mineral and agriculturalsectors."

Jan 1, 2011

By R. Strandahl

As one of the largest private utilities globally, E.ON currently operates hard coal fired power stations in with a total installed capacity of some 20.000 MW: These thermal power plants consume domestic coals but are increasingly dependent on imported seaborne traded coal (in 2009 approx. 17 million t). Knowing that the company’s reputation and credibility depends in part on how E.ON lives up to the responsibilities along the entire energy value chain, E.ON takes a collaborative approach with the various suppliers. Hence, E.ON’s responsible policy also applies to the procurement of coal; the utility launched in 2009 a comprehensive Corporate Responsibility program with special focus on supply-chain audits. One of the first coal audits focussed on the Cerrejón coal mine in North Eastern Colombia. The authors will share the key learning’s and experience from the Colombian audit jointly conducted with an independent auditor and E.ON experts from the Corporate CR and E.ON Energy Trading.

Jan 1, 2011

By Sh. Arshadnejad

Stress analysis in a rock medium is essential to determine the stress concentration between two consecutive circular holes and prediction of fracture behaviour. When two consecutive circular holes in a hard rock medium such as granite are loaded internally by the pressure of non-explosive expansion material (NEEM), stress concentration occurs between the holes which then causes the rock to fracture. In this work, finite element (FE) analysis using Phase2 code was employed to study the stress concentration between two consecutive circular holes under internal pressure induced by NEEM. Effects of different hole diameters and spacings, rock properties and NEEM pressures have been analysed. The data gained from the numerical analysis and analytical solutions were then used to develop two models. These models were then modified by using the FE data and polynomial regression analysis. The developed analytical models showed to be in a very good agreement with the FE analysis. Hence, the developed models can be used with confidence to determine stress distribution and concentration factors around two consecutive circular holes in a hard and brittle rock which are loaded internally by the pressure induced from the NEEM. Keywords Finite element method, non-explosive, quarry mining, stress concentration..

Jan 1, 2011

By U. Paschedag, H. Bussmann

"Bucyrus manufactures the most comprehensive product portfolio of mining equipment worldwide. Its mission is to have a positive, lasting effect on our world. Bucyrus makes sustainable development a fundamental way of doing business through economic, environmental and social initiatives that support, educate and benefit our employees, customers, shareholders and other stakeholders. Our participation in GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), a network-based organization that has pioneered the most popular sustainability reporting framework will be discussed as well as examples will be given on each major field of engagement. Two examples from surface machinery are most fuel efficient haul trucks as well as the Highwall mining system which allows access to coal reserves which are lost not making use of this kind of system. Two examples from underground machinery are Bucyrus’ automated plow systems for the mining of medium and thin coal seams with minimum rock and Bucyrus’ intelligent CST drive system for high-powered armored face conveyors (AFCs) for efficient use of energy."

Jan 1, 2011

By M. M. Valenta

A number of challenges face platinum concentrator plant operators. These challenges include the increase in operating costs, the increase in smelter cost for the processing of concentrate, the shortage and cost of power, and the tightening of specifications on concentrate quality by the toll-smelting operations. Over the years the focus has moved from extracting the platinum group metals (PGM) from the Merensky Reef to the UG2 reef. This has a number of advantages, including the higher ?basket price? for UG2 concentrate, reduced mining cost per unit volume as a result of the higher density of UG2, and the reduction in overall concentrate tonnage to be smelted. In many cases the Merensky ore has been fully exploited and it makes sense for the focus to shift to the UG2 ore that can be accessed through the Merensky shaft infrastructure. The presence of relatively high levels of chromite in UG2 concentrate is, however, a major disadvantage due to the problems associated with smelting such a concentrate in conventional submerged arc furnaces. In addition to increasing the specification on the minimum PGM grade of concentrates, smelters have had to impose strict specifications on the levels of chromite in the concentrate. The threat of high penalties has forced concentrators to change their modus operandi, often resulting in a significant loss in recovery. The final concentrate grades and PGM recoveries are shown to vary significantly throughout the industry. The reasons for this include varying ore mineralogy and different operating philosophies. This would therefore imply that the opportunity exists to optimize the operations by considering fundamental aspects such as the PGM mineralogy and the application of appropriate technologies. By returning to the fundamentals of flotation and applying the findings of detailed process reviews, it has been possible to increase the concentrate PGM grade, reduce the concentrate chromite grade, and in some cases increase the recovery of PGM to concentrate. This paper presents case studies where this approach has been used to successfully optimize concentrator performance, resulting in lower operating cost and higher PGM production. Keywords Process optimization, platinum concentrator, milling, flotation, grade, recovery

Jan 1, 2011

By Jim Sarvinis, Rory Hynes, Elizabet Cruz, Kerry McKenna, Maytinee Vatanakul

"Energy efficiency improvements achieved using heat recovery processes offer benefits to both the business case and environmental impact of metallurgical facilities. Global demand drives the development of lower and lower grade ore bodies. This trend results in higher energy intensity and consequently increased waste heat. Waste heat boilers and Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) processes are becoming cost competitive methods of utilizing this waste heat.This study analyzes heat recovery from available sources to produce power using, • High grade: waste heat boiler and steam turbine generator. This system will produce electricity, and/or process steam.• Low grade: ORC to produce electricity. The cycle is well adapted to low- moderate temperature heat sources.Processes used in metallurgical plants, such as hot exhaust streams, cooling and condensers could benefit from application of these systems.The study demonstrates:• The energy and cost saving potential of waste heat recovery technologies,• The environmental benefit.IntroductionIn recent decades, process intensification has resulted in increased productivity from unit operations such as kilns, fluidized bed reactors and smelting furnaces and decreased unit operating costs. In the coming decades, the industry’s challenge will be to continue this trend while at the same time decreasing the consumption of fossil fuels and further reducing the environmental impact of its processes.The U.S. Department of Energy reports that available waste heat sources in industry, which is approximately seven quadrillion BTU (~7,400 PJ/y), exceeds the current production of all renewable power sources combined. In Canada there are about 2,300 PJ/y of available waste heat, with the pulp and paper, metallurgy, chemical/petrochemical and oil refining industries the main players. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)9 has estimated that about 25% of that heat could be recoverable using existing technologies, which in turn, represents a reduction of 27 Mt/y of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions, plus considerable water savings due to lower water cooling requirements and less fossil fuel consumption."

Jan 1, 2011

By B. Derin

In this study, the Reddy-Blander model was applied to predict the sulfide capacity (CS) values of FeOx-CaO-SiO2, FeOx-MnOx-SiO2 and FeO-MgO-SiO2 ternary slags, which were experimentally studied in the literature within the temperatures between 1,673 and 1,923 K. As expected, sulfide capacity values of the slags increased with increasing temperature and decreased with increasing acidic content. The model was found to be in agree-ment for all slag systems at the temperature range of 1,773-1,923 K. However, a disagreement occurred when the basic content was relatively high, at 1,673 K for FeOx-CaO-SiO2 and FeO-MnOx-SiO2 slags. The effect on the CS of high amounts of Fe+3 and Mn+3 in the slags is discussed.

Jan 1, 2011

By M. A. Raza

Cable shovels are capital-expensive and primary production equipment in many surface mines. The forces acting on the shovel dipper vary as the dipper moves through the muck-pile. The variations in the forces cause stress loading of the components of shovel and dipper resulting in unplanned downtimes, reduced shovel efficiency, and high mining costs. A potential solution to the above problems is the deployment of an intelligent shovel excavation (ISE) technology, with real-time formation identification, recording, and knowledge transmission capabilities. This research advances the ISE technology by developing dynamic model of cable shovel dipper using Newton-Euler techniques. The model includes the dynamic cutting and dynamic weight forces acting on the dipper as it moves through the muck-pile.

Jan 1, 2011

By Riyad N. Ahmad-Bitar, Shadia J. Ikhmayies

"CdS/CdTe solar cells were built by depositing a 200 nm layer of Sn02:F on glass substrates by the spray pyrolysis (SP) technique, a 500 nm CdS:In layer by the same technique and a 1-1.5 µm CdTe layer by vacuum evaporation. The cells were CdCh heat-treated in nitrogen atmosphere for 30 minutes at 350 -.C. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra were measured at the CdS/CdTe interface for two cells with different values of the CdTe layer's thickness at temperature T = 60 K. A deconvolution peak fit was performed from which it is found that the peaks are characteristic of the solid solution CdSxTei-x· The parabolic relation that relates the bandgap energy with the composition was used to estimate x, where xis [S]/([Te]+[S]) and [Te], [S] are the concentrations of Te and S atoms respectively. The results show that the interface is smooth and the change of the bandgap occurs gradually.IntroductionCdS/CdTe heterojunctions represent a combination of materials promising various applications, and for solar energy conversion in the first place [1]. In photovoltaic cells the CdS material acts as a wide bandgap window. Direct bandgap CdTe with high optical absorption coefficient is used as an absorber [1]. Solar cells with efficiencies of 10 to 16% have been obtained with CdTe grown by close space sublimation, electrodeposition, vacuum evaporation and rf sputtering methods [2]. In this work the CdTe layer was prepared by vacuum evaporation because it results with films of minimum impurities, while the Sn02:F and CdS:In layers were deposited by the spray pyrolysis technique because it is a low cost method which enables intentional doping and large area thin films."

Jan 1, 2011

By M. S. Delibalta, S. Kahraman, R. Comakli

The block cutting machine is one of the most important noise sources in the stone processing factories. In this study, the assessability of the noise from the block cutting machines in the stone processing factories using the P-wave velocity was investigated. The noise levels of some block cutting machines were firstly measured during the cutting of the three different rocks. Then, core samples of the same rocks were cut by an automatic cutting machine in the laboratory and noise levels were measured. A conversion factor was obtained by dividing the site noise levels by the laboratory noise levels. Then, thirty seven different rocks were cut by an automatic cutting machine in the laboratory and noise levels were measured. The P-wave velocity of rock samples were also measured in the laboratory. A strong relation between the laboratory noise levels and the P-wave velocity was found. The noise level from the block cutting machines can be assessed using the derived relation and the conversion factor.

Jan 1, 2011

By Tom Watts

The practice of pumping bulk blasting agents is regulated by many agencies around the world. The explosives manufacturers have done an excellent job of hazard and operability studies allowing criteria to be established for the safe pumping of water based blasting agents. The challenge of a Bulk Trucks or Mobile Manufacturing Units (MMUs) manufacturer is to take the objectives of the regulatory agencies and the explosives manufacturers and responsibly design and build MMUs that are safe, compliant, and cost effective without compromising serviceability.

Jan 1, 2011

By Lucas L. da Costa, Sergio N. Monteiro, Romulo L. Loiola, Tammy G. Rodrigues Portela

"The fibers extracted from the petiole of the buriti palm tree are relatively strong as compared to other lignocelluloses fibers, with a potential for composite reinforcement. In this work, polyester matrix composites incorporated with these fibers were investigated for their flexural behavior. Specimens with up to 40% in volume of continuous and aligned buriti petiole fibers were bendtested until rupture. The results showed an increase in both the composite mechanical strength and the stiffness with incorporation of these fibers. A fractograph analysis by SEM disclosed a moderate adhesion mechanism between the buriti petiole fiber and the polyester matrix. This mechanism is apparently responsible for the improved performance of the composites.IntroductionIn recent years, the substitution of energy-intensive synthetic materials for natural ones is being considered in many industrial sectors including automobile, packing and textile [1]. A typical case is that of natural fibers, mainly those obtained from cellulose-based plants also known as lignocelluloses fibers. They have being investigated in the past two decades, aiming to replace synthetic fibers, particularly the glass fiber, commonly used as polymer composite reinforcement [2-8]. From the engineering point of view, lignocellulosic fibers present today important environmental, economical, societal and technological advantages already discussed [7-8]. Moreover, several lignocellulosic fibers are known since the beginning of our civilization and still cultivated or naturally extracted all over temperate and tropical regions of the world. According to Kalia et al [1 ], these fibers can be classified by their origin, as shown in Table 1."

Jan 1, 2011