Search Documents

Weston Portable Electrodynamometer The Weston Electrical Instrument Co. of Newark, N. J., believes that problems hitherto considered impossible of solution in the designing of portable electrodynamometers have been solved in its new models. The voltmeter, Model 341, is an instrument' of precision adapted to use on alterating- or direct-current circuits, guaranteed to an accuracy of 0.25 per cent. full-scale value either on direct or alternating-current circuits of any frequency to 133 cycles per second and commercial frequencies even as high as 500 cycles per second with very slight error. The polyphase electrodynamometer, Model 329, is accurate to 0.5 per cent. under the same conditions.; Double ranges are furnished in all instruments of this model. All current ranges can be used for 100 per cent. overload indefinitely without introducing error in Models 310 and 329.

Jan 12, 1915

By R. E. J. Putman

The past ten years have witnessed substantial development of electronic equipment for execution of process control functions. The methodology of giving instructions to the data-handling system and the organization of the system, both the equipment and instruction coding taken together, have developed simultaneously. Examples of the technology specific to the mineral processing industry can be cited. Approaches to system design developed for the Pinto Valley concentrator incorporating slave and master data processing have been described by Arney, and his associates (1974). Madge (1970) has described the hierarchical systems employed at the operations of Cominco Ltd. The Kennecott Garfield smelter is controlled by a system of microprocessors linked to a general purpose data processor (Marchant, et al., 1977). These systems provide innovative approaches to couple advancing technical capability in electronic data processing to the objectives of process management. The current state of the art described in this chapter is certain to require updating in the 1980's with the advances in technology anticipated.

Jan 1, 1979

By Kent S. Roessler

The Bureau of Mines is currently investigating the geophysical application of Tomography to monitor leachate during in-situ mining. Determining the location of the leachate is important for both economic and environmental reasons. By analyzing a sequence of tomographic images, we can determine where highly permeable/fractured regions are located and hence, major flow paths. Since BOMTOM (Bureau Of Mines TOMography - Tomographic Reconstruction Program), and BOMCRATR (Bureau Of Mines Curved RAy Tomography - Tomographic Reconstruction Program) are sensitive to user-selected ray path arrival times, we are also investigating the use of neural networks to automate the process of recognizing this feature. This paper presents a technique for detecting fracture zones and their orientations in a region between two boreholes, by using a motion analysis study of a sequence of tomographic images. It also addresses the need for an automated/unbiased method to pick crosshole seismic arrival times using a trained neural network. In exploration geophysics, the picking of first break arrivals represents a pattern recognition task. The neural net paradigm has proved to be a good method of solving this type of task. To pick the first arrival peak of a trace, the network is trained with a set of known (user selected) first arrival peaks by creating a binary image of a set of traces. Once trained, the neural net correctly picked first arrivals of the remaining traces in the set.

Jan 1, 1992

By C. G. Southmayd

Anyone who has been confronted with the problem of predicting the performance of a sand-pump installation is vitally aware of the dearth of precise information that has been published on this important subject. Such data as have been collected are not readily available in a concise and readily usable form, so that many operators would find it a considerable chore to find the pertinent information required to undertake a detailed study. The purpose of this paper is to assemble such established data, correlate them with field experience and outline the factors that must be appraised in the determination of a satisfactory pump installation. The transportation of solids in solution is of vital interest to every mill superintendent and operator, and many of the factors that are involved in this hydraulic problem vary widely from installation to installation, and in some cases even from time to time on any one installation. These include: type of solids (including shape of particles), size of solids (grind), percentages of fines (slimes), dilution of pulp, contour of pipe line, type of pipe, age of pipe line, effect that diameter of pipe has on characteristic flow conditions, and other factors. Some of these have been fairly well determined by experimental work but many still must be established through interpolating or extrapolating between values that have been derived from known field conditions. Most problems primarily concern the transportation of a definite weight of dry solids from one specific location to another. The type of material, shape of particles, grind and percentages of fines are established and very often the dilution at which the solids must be handled as well. The problem then evolves into a determination of the size, type and contour of the pipe line and the net effective head against which the pump must operate. Before discussing the determination of the head, it might be well to review the interrelationship between the pump discharge (capacity), the head developed by the pump and the pump speed, which will apply to any centrifugal pump installation. Effect of Pump Speed Basically, the head developed by a centrifugal pump varies as the square of the pump speed and the discharge as the first power of the speed. However, even at constant speed a centrifugal pump will operate over a wide range of capacities, depending upon the head that must be developed to deliver the liquid or pulp to the end of the pipe line. This is shown graphically in Fig. I. If the pump in question is being driven at a constant speed of goo r.p.m. it will deliver 500 U. S. gal. per min. against a head of 56 ft., 800 U. S. gal. per min. against a head of 50 ft., and so on. In other words, at this speed the capacity of the pump will be determined and limited by

Jan 1, 1947

By C. G. Southmayd

Anyone who has been confronted with the problem of predicting the performance of a sand-pump installation is vitally aware of the dearth of precise information that has been published on this important subject. Such data as have been collected are not readily available in a concise and readily usable form, so that many operators would find it a considerable chore to find the pertinent information required to undertake a detailed study. The purpose of this paper is to assemble such established data, correlate them with field experience and outline the factors that must be appraised in the determination of a satisfactory pump installation. The transportation of solids in solution is of vital interest to every mill superintendent and operator, and many of the factors that are involved in this hydraulic problem vary widely from installation to installation, and in some cases even from time to time on any one installation. These include: type of solids (including shape of particles), size of solids (grind), percentages of fines (slimes), dilution of pulp, contour of pipe line, type of pipe, age of pipe line, effect that diameter of pipe has on characteristic flow conditions, and other factors. Some of these have been fairly well determined by experimental work but many still must be established through interpolating or extrapolating between values that have been derived from known field conditions. Most problems primarily concern the transportation of a definite weight of dry solids from one specific location to another. The type of material, shape of particles, grind and percentages of fines are established and very often the dilution at which the solids must be handled as well. The problem then evolves into a determination of the size, type and contour of the pipe line and the net effective head against which the pump must operate. Before discussing the determination of the head, it might be well to review the interrelationship between the pump discharge (capacity), the head developed by the pump and the pump speed, which will apply to any centrifugal pump installation. Effect of Pump Speed Basically, the head developed by a centrifugal pump varies as the square of the pump speed and the discharge as the first power of the speed. However, even at constant speed a centrifugal pump will operate over a wide range of capacities, depending upon the head that must be developed to deliver the liquid or pulp to the end of the pipe line. This is shown graphically in Fig. I. If the pump in question is being driven at a constant speed of goo r.p.m. it will deliver 500 U. S. gal. per min. against a head of 56 ft., 800 U. S. gal. per min. against a head of 50 ft., and so on. In other words, at this speed the capacity of the pump will be determined and limited by

Jan 1, 1947

By C. G. Southmayd

ANYONE who has been confronted with the problem of predicting the performance of a sand-pump installation is vitally aware of the dearth of precise information that has been published on this important subject. Such data as have been collected are not readily available in a concise and readily usable form, so that many operators would find it a considerable chore to find the pertinent information required to undertake a detailed study. The purpose of this paper is to assemble such established data, correlate them with field experience and outline the factors that must be appraised in the determination of a satisfactory pump installation. The transportation of solids in solution is of vital interest to every mill superintendent and operator, and many of the factors that are involved in this hydraulic problem vary widely from installation to installation, and in some cases even from time to time on any one installation.. These include: type of solids (including shape of particles), size of solids (grind), percentages of fines (slimes), dilution of pulp, contour of pipe line, type of pipe, age of pipe line, effect that diameter of pipe has on characteristic flow conditions, and other factors. Some of these have been fairly well determined by experimental work but many still must be established through interpolating or extrapolating between values that have been derived from known field conditions. Most problems primarily concern the transportation of a definite weight of dry solids from one specific location to another. The type of material, shape of particles, grind and percentages of fines are established and very often the dilution at which the solids must be handled as well. The problem then evolves into a determination of the size, type and contour of the pipe line and the net effective head against which the pump must operate. Before discussing the determination of the head, it might be well to review the interrelationship between the pump discharge (capacity), the head developed by the pump and the pump speed, which will apply to any centrifugal pump installation. EFFECT OF PUMP SPEED Basically, the head developed by a centrifugal pump varies as the square of the pump speed and the discharge as the first power of the speed. However, even at constant speed a centrifugal pump will operate over a wide range of capacities, depending upon the head that must be developed to deliver the liquid or pulp to the end of the pipe line. This is shown graphically in Fig. I. If the pump in question is being driven at a constant speed of 900 r.p.m. it will deliver 500 U. S. gal. per min. against a head of 56 ft., 800 U. S. gal. per min. against a head of 50 ft., and so on. In other words, at this speed the capacity of the pump will be determined and limited by

Jan 1, 1946

During an eight month period, January to August 1978, nine bore holes were drilled in the Mikonui River gravels. On account of two rebores required from near bottom, the number of bores is in effect 11. Just on 1300 feet were drilled with an average depth of 120 feet. Depth varied from 102 feet to 133 feet. Penetration on average per hole value, varied from 7.4 to 16.4 feet per day. Gold values were even more erratic. Drill rig used was the Keystone churn drill manufactured locally by the Dispatch Foundary. It is skid mounted and requires a crew of two persons.

Jan 1, 1979

By J. Durkin

The Bureau of Mines has conducted field studies in coal mines throughout the United States to determine the effectiveness of electromagnetic techniques in locating miners trapped underground following a mine accident. Data from these tests have been used to generate models of expected signal and noise distributions as found above these mines. These distributions have aided in placing the expected performance of a through-the-earth electromagnetic communications technique into a probabilistic framework. Results show that at a 10% false-alarm rate, the expected probability o detecting a miner's signal" from a depth of 1000 ft is 54% at 500 ft it is 95%. These depths exceed the actual depths of 90 and 50%, respectively, of United States coal mines. Sensitivity studies have shown that at depth of 1000 ft, the probability of detection will improve approximately 2% for each dB of increase in signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio.

Enterprise Optimisation is a methodology for increasing the value of mining and mineral processing operations through better long-term planning decisions. It involves a combination of ten mechanisms which deal with decisions at different stages of the value chain. A decision made at any point in the chain potentially affects the decision for all other points in the chain. The key, therefore, is to optimise them simultaneously. The Enterprise Optimisation approach can be shown to produce increases of five per cent to 35 per cent or more in net present value (NPV), even when several optimisation methods have already been applied. This paper steps through an example case study, illustrating the effect of each mechanism and how they can work together to develop greatly improved results. This example results in a series of counter-intuitive outcomes, which challenges conventional management practices and typical organisational objectives based on organisational silos.

Dec 6, 2010

By S. J. Ojolo, B. E. Ebiobi, J. A. Kehinde

"Anaerobic digestion is being taken seriously because of increasing concerns about the environmental hazards of wastes. The production of biogas, as an alternative source of energy was investigated in a designed and fabricated 200litre biogas reactor. The digester was operated on a batch-fed basis, and the feed stock was cassava waste which is readily available in Nigerian farms. The main aim was to explore other renewable sources as a means of less dependence on fossil fuels. A total of 1.94dm3/60kg waste of biogas was produced in 40 days of hydraulic retention time (HRT) with the average yield of 0.048dm3/day. The gas burned with a bluish colour indicating presence of methane (CH4). Temperature during the period of experiment varied between 27 and 330C. The pH of the slurry after the experiments averaged 3.21.1. INTRODUCTIONAnaerobic digestion and biogas production are promising means of achieving multiple environmental benefits and producing an energy carrier from renewable resources (Borjesson and Berglund, 2005).Biogas is one of the by-products of anaerobic decomposition of organic matter by microorganisms, mainly bacterial, a process referred to as anaerobic digestion.Biogas is produced by the process of anaerobic digestion of organic material by anaerobes. Biogas can be produced either from biodegradable waste materials or by the use of energy crops fed into anaerobic digester.Biogas, also called digester gas typically refers to methane produced by the fermentation of organic matter including manure, wastewater, sludge, municipal solid waste or any other biodegradable feedstock under anaerobic conditions. The content of biogas varies with the material being decomposed, and the environmental conditions involved. The gas generally composes of methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen, and hydrogen sulphide (Anunputtikul and Rodtong, 2004). Potentially, all organic waste materials contain adequate quantities of the materials essential for the growth and metabolism of the anaerobic bacterial in biogas production."

Jan 1, 2008

By Antonio Laguna

During the past few years, synthetic efforts have been addressed to the synthesis of polymeric materials with optical or semiconducting properties or even with capabilities to act as sensors for volatile organic compounds (1). The most recent studies have been concerned with the synthesis of heterometallic systems with short metal-metal interactions and the determination of their optical properties. These complexes are undoubtly interesting from a theoretical viewpoint and include an emerging class of luminescent materials, in which the observed luminescence results mainly from the interactions among the different metal centers, as well as the environments of these atoms. The understanding of the photophysics and photochemistry of these products could permit the design of complexes with appropriate metals and ligands chosen for individual applications. Following a synthetic strategy consisting on reactions between acid heterometal complexes and basic gold precursors we have succeded in synthesizing supramolecular assemblies formed via acid-base stacking, which display tunable luminescence or selective and reversible sensitivity to Vapour Organic Compounds (VOC?s) (2-5). In this sense, in accord with previous Mössbauer studies carried out in the gold precursor complex [AuR2]- (R = C6F5), the basic properties of this and related materials have been employed as building blocks of supramolecular assemblies in their reactions with complexes in wich the metallic centers act as lewis acids as, for instance, Tl(I) or Ag(I) (6). For instance, in the case of silver, by reacting equimolecular quantities of [NBu4][Au(C6F5)2] with AgClO4, in acetone, a solid of stoichiometry [Au2Ag2(C6F5)4(OCMe2)2]n is obtained. The polymeric nature of this material in solid state is confirmed through X-ray analyses (figure 1). It consists of polymeric chains formed by repetition of Au2Ag2 moieties linked through short gold-gold interactions. Nevertheless, in solution, the nature of this polymeric materials was still a matter of controversy and, in this case, the optical properties have been shown as useful tools in order to obtain information. Thus, while dilute acetone solutions of this complex give a emission coming from pentafluorphenyl localized ??* excited states, in accord with the presence of isolated tetranuclear Au2Ag2 units, when the measurements are done at different and higher concentrations, a band that does not obey the Lambert-Beer law appears. This deviation is consistent with molecular aggregation in solution of these units through gold-gold interactions, and a clear correlation between the emssion wavelength and the structure in the solid state and in solution is shown (figure 2). DFT calculations accord with the observed experimental behaviour and show the nature of the orbitals involved in each transition.

Oct 1, 2003

Salt Lake City will hold the Winter Meeting the last week in February or the first week in March. An unusually good program, both technical and social, is being arranged.

Jan 1, 1928

By Russell C. Frith

This paper presents recent findings concerning longwall caving mechanisms relating to Australian mining conditions and their effect upon longwall support requirements and behaviour. The findings arc based on a program of intensive hydraulic support monitoring in a variety of Australian mining conditions coupled with geotechnical observations. Results from the study illustrate periodic weighting cycles of varying severity and these are related to the overlying geology in terms of the strength of individual strata units, their thickness and proximity to the longwall extraction. Several different caving mechanisms are identified which contribute to periodic weighting cycles. The importance of recognising weighting cycles in relation to the operation of the longwall face will be discussed in detail. Longwall support design methods are critically examined in relation to the case histories of the monitoring program. The applicability of the said design methods to Australian coal mining conditions is discussed and an outline of design considerations to facilitate productive longwalling is presented. Overall, the paper only "scratches the surface" of the work currently being undertaken by ACIRL in this area, and the findings of that work.

Jan 1, 1992

The conservation movement, initiated during the time of Gifford Pinchot and Theodore Roosevelt, has gradually taken hold of the popular imagination of the American people; and today, although it is little understood, it is an accepted doctrine. But the subject should not degenerate into cheap and misleading publicity. In the wise development and use of human and material resources lies the answer (Fig. 4). Conservation does not mean the parsimonious and misguided avarice of the miser, but the prudent and intelligent use of all types of resources, and the opening of a way for the use of those potentialities that lie just beyond the horizon and wait for man's constructive efforts to make them available. Conservation consists essentially in not emptying the pools of primary wealth before the minds of men, guided by ingenious research, have found ways to replenish them from sources as yet untapped. To advance successfully along this path, man should be guided by science and by a decent understanding of his obligations to his fellow man and particularly to his children and his children's children. Two pathways branch from this general road. One is the restraining of those spendthrifts who would throw away our national heritage for the sake of a cheap and irresponsible enjoyment of the present. Conservation in the generally understood sense usually has meant

Jan 1, 1950

By D. W. Hutchinson, W. W. Wen, A. A. Terchick, J. C. Anderson

It is estimated that approximately 3% of the raw coal processed today in coal preparation plants throughout the nation will ultimately report to slurry-tailing disposal (Anderson, 1975). The usual disposal method is to pump refuse slurry containing - 48 mesh (300 pm) refuse into dams or impoundments constructed of coarse refuse. The failure of an impoundment at Buffalo Creek, Saunders, WV (Anon., 1972) resulted in an evaluation of refuse disposal methods by various regulatory agencies as well as coal producers. The result of this evaluation was the promulgation of federal regulations dealing with the construction, operation, and final abandonment of coal refuse disposal area. As a consequence of these regulations, the use of the landfill/impoundment method of disposal became in some cases economically unfeasible or technically impossible. US Steel has studied a number of alternative methods of refuse disposal. During an investigation of mechanical dewatering with a pressure filter, portland cement was added to the slurry to solidify the filter cake. Because of the success of the cement addition, it was decided to study the stabilization of fine coal refuse slurry through use of cement-type additives. The goal of the investigation is to develop a process that will use cement-type additives to solidify the refuse slurry into a form that can be handled and stacked with the coarse refuse, thus eliminating the need for slurry impoundments.

Jan 1, 1982

By Kamil Nuzha, Jianchao Li, Bashar S. Qubain

A 52-story high rise building in Philadelphia is constructed adjacent to a 3-story historic structure, supported on a rubble foundation at a depth of 2.4 m (8 ft) below grade. The high rise is supported on a mat foundation at a depth 36 ft below grade with an average service contact pressure of 670 kPa (14 ksf). Evidently, the existing foundation requires underpinning but extra care is necessary to safeguard the historic building. A detailed finite element analysis showed that the mat foundation would settle about 38 mm (1.5 in). Although such settlement would be acceptable for the high rise it would cause intolerable distress to the historic building by dragging down its underpinning. To minimize the settlement impact, an innovative micropile solution was implemented to safely transfer the underpinning load into the underlying mica schist bedrock and prevent the existing building from being overstressed by the mat foundation. The specifics of the micropile pile design and associated details are presented herein. The new building was completed almost two years ago and the adjacent historic building has been functioning well without any signs of distress.

Oct 31, 2023

By Keith C. Hendrick

"Metal prices are frequently the most critical and least predictable element in determining the profitability of mining operations. Short -term fluctuations can be offset in varying degrees by hedging or other market actions. Such solutions are not practical for the longer term, The paper investigates the nature and extent of metal price risks and evaluates methods to reduce them.IntroductionIt is management's responsibility to improve the odds by managing the-risks by identifying them clearly, assessing them accurately, minimizing them where possible-and, then, timing decision s success fully.In determining the profitability of current operations, preparing forward plan s or developing feasibility studies for new projects or expansions, pr ices are usually the most critical input. Being market determined rather than cost based, they can also be the most unpredictable As a result, commodity prices are frequently the greatest of all risk factors.Nature of Commodity PricesThe cyclical nature of commodity prices is well known. They are stable only when supply is in balance with demand and forecast to remain that way. An imbalance on either side of the equation can lead to a price reaction completely out of proportion to the actual or perceived surplus or shortage.This exaggeration arises through the cumulative effect of market forces. When the market senses an uptrend, consumers buy for the expected increase in activity. They also seek additional quantities for inventory before price s rise. Merchants defer spot sales anticipating higher price s, speculators go along for the same reason, and producers raise prices in response to demand. Events tend to confirm the expectation of each party and strengthen their reaction causing prices to move higher."

Jan 1, 1983

By L M. van Niekerk

The mining of iron ore is a high volume low margin business because the value of this commodity is significantly lower than that of base metals. The main metallurgical challenges in most of the iron ore projects proposed for treatment nowadays have been in finding the optimum flowsheet for the treatment of magnetite ores, mixed magnetite-hematite ores and even ores that have banded ironstone formations (BIF). The associated plant designs incorporate very high capacity milling systems to grind the ore down prior to magnetic separation and in being highly capital intensive requires substantial investment in mega processing plants with associated infrastructure to mill down the run-of-mine ore to the desired treatment size for upgrading.To minimise the cost of infrastructure, better beneficiation techniques and technologies are being sought to assist in reducing upfront ROM feed to allow for reduction in overall treatment plant footprint necessary in extracting the desired downstream product. This paper discusses such beneficiation techniques and advancement in technologies for the upgrading of coarse and fine iron ore utilising dense media separation (DMS), jigging, wet magnetic separation, dry magnetic separation, flotation and x-ray processing.Another group of iron ore projects involve the mining of hematite ore below the water table. Often the mined ore is wet and sticky. This combination requires high capacity processing of feed material utilising large scrubbers or attritioning units to effectively remove the slimes component present in the feedstock. The fines removed, usually below 1 mm, are then discarded in large tailings storage facilities. Approaches to recovering the saleable material contained within these fines will also be investigated in this paper. This not only implies possible reduction in slimes discard footprint, but also holds potential benefit in augmenting overall yield and recovery of hematite product.CITATION:van Niekerk, L M, 2013. Fine and coarse iron ore beneficiation - An evaluation into global technologies and techniques, in Proceedings MetPlant 2013 , pp 584-598 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Jul 15, 2013

By Hubert Law, Dan A. Brown, Kyle M. Rollins

"Soil mixing and jet grouting provide a means to significantly increase the lateral resistance of pile group foundations with relatively little investment of time, effort, and expense compared to the cost for additional piles necessary to produce the same increased resistance. Comparative field testing conducted on full-scale pile groups before and after treatment of small soil volumes showed significant improvement in lateral resistance. The lateral resistance of the pile group increased by 60% due to soil mixing and by 180% due to jet grouting. To provide additional understanding regarding the influence of the soil mix strength, depth of improvement and width of improvement, a series of parametric studies were performed using a 3D finite element model. This set of “virtual load tests” was then combined with the results from the actual field tests to help develop a simplified model to account for observed behavior. In general, the testing and analysis indicate the pile group and the surrounding improved soil block generally act as an equivalent “super pile”. The passive force, side shear and base shear on the improved soil surrounding the pile group itself increased lateral resistance. This increase in resistance from the soil block can be added to the lateral resistance of the pile group.INTRODUCTIONThe lateral resistance of pile groups is often critical to the design of bridges and high-rise structures subject to seismic, wind, wave and landslide forces. Typically, when analyses indicate that the lateral resistance of a foundation is inadequate, additional piles, drilled shafts or micro-piles are added to increase the lateral resistance. Furthermore, an expanded pile cap or connecting beam is often required to structurally connect the new piles to the existing pile group. While this approach provides the required lateral resistance, it may also be relatively expensive and time consuming. An alternative approach is to use soil improvement techniques to increase the strength and stiffness of the surrounding soil and thereby increase the lateral resistance of the pile group. The improved zone could potentially be relatively shallow because the lateral resistance of piles is typically transferred within 5 to 10 pile diameters. For example, the soil around the periphery of the foundation could be relatively easily improved for an existing foundation as illustrated in Fig. 1(a) using a variety of soil improvement techniques. Alternatively, the soil under the foundation could be improved for a new foundation or even for an existing foundation with a technique such as jet grouting (see Fig. 1(b)). Improving the soil under the foundation would have the potential for producing greater increases in lateral resistance because the improvement would reach interior piles. In addition, the process of creating a cemented “soilcrete” zone around pile foundations could potentially produce a zone which would behave like a reinforced “superpile” with increased structural stiffness."

Jan 1, 2015

By Milind Deo, Neale R. Neelameggham

The mixture of carbon dioxide and water vapor - called Soda [as in carbonated water] can be converted to easily stored transportation fuels. Earlier papers on Soda- fuel metallurgy noted that this conversion is endothermic requiring energy. Reduced state metallic elements - preferably the alkali, alkaline earth elements, or aluminum can act as oxygen carriers. Availability of such a combination in commonly land fille waste materials is shown. Plant based wastes which are normally composted form a better-controlled reagent. The energy required for the reaction can come from solar energy. This paper describes possible reactor designs, which can accommodate this conversion effectively using carbon dioxide recovered from flue gases.

Jan 1, 2008