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By A Hekmat, M Fuentes, F Armijo, R Castro, F Rodriguez

Interpreting the behaviour of granular material and simulating the gravity flow are complex processes in cave mining methods. In this paper, a new Cellular Automata based code – FlowSim – is used as a flexible tool to simulate the gravity flow and subsidence zone in block caving mines. The simulation results of the gravity flow model in a real scaled mine as well as a scaled physical model are presented in this study. In this research, FlowSim was first calibrated at a mine, based on the information obtained from smart markers. These markers were located in five points of the second block of the Esmeralda sector, at the El Teniente copper mine, Codelco, Chile. The calibration was performed with the objective of reducing the discrepancy between the extraction zone defined by markers in the mine and FlowSim outputs. Regarding the mine data, FlowSim was calibrated with the minimum error of ten per cent between real and simulated results. Then, the calibrated FlowSim model was used to simulate the flow behaviour of a scaled physical model. This model was constructed in the Block Caving Laboratory of the University of Chile to scale down the same block of the Esmeralda sector with the scale of 1:200. The FlowSim outputs show that this software enables the simulation of the gravity flow of the scaled model with less than five per cent discrepancy in grade and dilution entry to the drawpoints. According to the obtained results, this paper recommends FlowSim as an appropriate tool which can improve the design of production level in block caving and can enhance the prediction of the subsidence zone and dilution entry.CITATION:Castro, R, Hekmat, A, Fuentes, M, Armijo, F and Rodriguez, F, 2016. FlowSim – a versatile flow simulation tool to quantify extraction and design alternatives for block caving, in Proceedings Seventh International Conference and Exhibition on Mass Mining (MassMin 2016), pp 645–652 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

May 9, 2016

Talk some about your background. Mining, particularly coal, runs in the family. I come from a mining family, one generation re-moved. Both of my grandfathers worked in the coal mines. My mother?s father had worked as a coal miner in the South Hills area of Pittsburgh after coming to America from Croatia. My father?s father (who died of black lung long before I was born) had been born in America and worked as a mine foreman and superintendent in mines just outside the Pittsburgh area. My father often talked about when, as a child, he accompanied his father underground on Sundays to check the mine pumps. While I never expected to go into mining, I often read some of my grandfather?s books on mining technology that my father had kept. I started college at Penn State and drifted into mining engineering as my third declared major. I was finally realizing the importance of a career choice. I?ve never regretted that decision. One of my children, Mark, has followed me into mining engineering, much to my surprise and pride. Evidently, he had been listening to the many conversations I had with friends and colleagues in the industry and never considered any other career path. He has since married another mining engineer, Kray Davis Luxbacher, so we truly have a mining family and can talk mining when we get together. My other children are in more mundane lines of work and rapidly tire of the mining discussions. I?ve worked for operating companies: Pittsburgh Coal Co. (then a division of Consolidation Coal Co., and a company I believe both of my grandfathers had worked for), Island Creek Coal Co., and a research organization: Occidental Research Corp. I am now with Glenn Springs Holdings Inc., dealing with legacy issues (primarily environmental) related to Occidental?s previous mining operations (coal and minerals). As such, I have a broad view of the industry and the critical changes that are shaping our industry.

Jan 1, 2008

Adsorption Behaviours of Humic Substances onto Iron Ore Particle Surface Humic substances extracted from lignite mainly consist of fulvic acids (FA) and humic acids (HA), which have been successfully used as good composite binders for iron ore pellets in laboratory tests and industrial production. However, there exists a general lack of understanding of the interaction between humic substances and iron ore particles surfaces. In this research, by means of zeta potential measurements, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrum, colorimetric method and Environmental Scanning Electron Micrograph (ESEM) imaging, the adsorption behaviours of FA and HA onto the surfaces of iron ore particles are investigated. The zeta potential results indicate that adsorption of FA on the iron ore particles can be characterised by specific and electrostatic interactions, while adsorption of HA is by electrostatic and chemical adsorption interactions. FTIR spectrum results show that adsorption force of FA on the iron ore particle surfaces is stronger than that of HA. From results of colorimetric method, compared with HA, adsorption amount and adsorption rate of FA is more and faster, respectively. FA molecule presents on the surface of magnetite in the shape of an araneose network structure according to the ESEM images, while HA molecule appears on the surface of magnetite in the form of small flocs or microclusters. Humic substances are effective to iron ore pelletisation. Comparsion of agglomeration results show that the different mechanisms of adsorption result in varied agglomeration behaviours. Theses findings above would be beneficial to the implications of composite binder for agglomeration.  

Sep 13, 2010

Granduc lies near the Alaskan border in British Columbia, about 600 miles (960 km) north of Vancouver. Prospecting in the area must take place in the short summer months of fog and rain because the winter is bitter cold, with snowfall up to 960 inches (24.4 m) accompanied by avalanches. Despite these difficulties, the mineral ized area was discovered in the 1920's. By 1956, Newmont Mining Corporation had developed mineable ore reserves estimated at 32,500,000 tons of 1.93% copper. Newmont and ASARCO, in a joint venture, then began development of the ore body, which was partially covered by glaciers. It was apparent a concentrator could not be built at the mine site where overland access was impossible due to the weather conditions and the terrain. Years of engineering studies of all possible access routes finally dictated the driving of an 11 mi long (17.6 km) tunnel passing under three glaciers and three mountain ranges to the nearest feasible concentrator site at Tide Lake. Even then, a mountain road subject to an average snowfall of 800 in. (20. 3 m) had to be built 32 mi (51 krn) from the concentrator through Alaska to Stewart, British Columbia, the nearest port. At Stewart, which is located at the head of a fjord 120 mi (192 krn) from the Pacific Odean, a fully equipped marine terminal was built. The tunnel, the lifeline between mine and mill, was to be driven from both ends; however, in 1965, an avalanche occurred at the Leduc portal, killing 26 crew members and wrecking much of the camp. The tunnel was then driven from one heading adjacent to the concentrator site at Tide Lake, a distance of 53,744 ft (16,381 m) to a point under the ore body. The remote location, type of terrain, and bad weather made supply of crews, equipment, and construction materials difficult; but in spite of these extremely adverse conditions, the tunnel crews set many world records. Mineralization throughout the ore zone is generally uniform in grade and composition and is primarily chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite associated with pyrite. Mining is mainly by sublevel caving. After blasting, rubber-tired load-and-haul equipment moves from level to level by means of an internal connecting ramp system on a 15% slope. At the gathering haulage level, 15-ton bottom-dump cars deliver the ore to a 600-ton pocket equipped with a Hudson "Rock-Flo" dump. The bottom of the ore pocket forms the feed chute to the primary

Jan 1, 1978

By Joshua Micah Hoffman, Catherine E. Johnson

The recruitment and retention of future talent into the explosives industry is becoming increasingly important. One potential area from which future talent can be recruited is local student chapters. Many of the student chapters are closely connected with engineering programs. While this makes sense and both entities benefit from these arrangements, there is a trend of job placement primarily in the engineering industry. Before the explosives industry can begin to compete with other industries, it should be determined what is drawing the students into these other fields. The work presented in this paper sought to better understand the collegiate student population from which a portion of future explosives professionals will emerge. This was done through the use of an anonymous online survey distributed to the student members of the International Society of Explosives Engineers, as well as, members of SEE student chapters. The survey contained questions about future job and career plans, ideal job placement, and expectations of salary. The purpose of the survey was to determine what these students expect or require from a career in the explosives industry. This information can help steer recruitment activities and job offers. Through understanding what is incentivizing these students who have accepted or plan to accept jobs in other industries the explosives industry can better posture itself to be more competitive in recruiting from the collegiate talent pool.

Jan 1, 2014

Mark R. Lamb, Torres, Sonora, Mexico (communication to the Secretary*): I have read Mr. Merrill's paper with much interest, and cannot but accept his challenge as regards the cost of the clean-up at the Homestake mill. If I understand him correctly, the two men take the precipitates from the presses in about six hours, and do nothing towards refining them. If that is so, it would correspond to the work four men do here in about eight hours—that is, to clean the box and to place the precipitates in the driers. In order to make a fair comparison, the bullion in each case should be stated in ounces, since it is as diflicult to precipitate silver as gold, and our bullion is mostly silver. Bullion to the value of $50,000 is equivalent to a weight of about 2,500 oz. At our last clean-up eight standard bars, each 1,100 oz. in weight, were made, which equals a total weight of 8,800 oz'. Four men had the precipitates drying by 8 p.m. This plant, the Minas Prietas works of Charles Butters & Co., at Minas Prietas, has square-bottomed electrolytic vats, an arrangement which necessitates the handling of all the precipitates in buckets. The Butters plant at Virginia City, Nev., is equipped with conical vats, and probably could make a still better showing under similar conditions. Another point is that common labor only is required. (Ordinary laborer's wages at Minas Prietas are $0.70 gold.) I may say also that, except for the convenience of the refinery, the box could be cleaned monthly, instead of bi-monthly, at only a slight additional expense. The comparison, if made a few months ago, would have been much more in favor of the electrolytic process, as the tailings handled at that time contained a large quantity of copper, and the amount of zinc-dust required would have been enormous.

Jan 1, 1904

By Ronald D. Hill, Elmore C. Grim

Mining as an extractive process alone is outdated and unacceptable to today's environmentally concerned public. Multiple land use must be considered as well. Only through effective preplanning can the full potential of reclamation result in a lasting asset for future generations. The coal industry is now recognizing that reclamation of mined lands is part of the mining cycle that must be planned and carried out in a timely and orderly manner. It is also finding that planning reclamation in advance of mining is cheaper and more effective than waiting until mining is completed. The decision to open a strip mine must be based on the results of studies to determine if successful reclamation can be achieved and whether the economic benefits to the company will be justified(1). Information regarding the physical, chemical, hydrologic and biologic systems operative at the site must be under- stood or reclamation will be a failure. Working together, engineers, management and reclamation specialists should design the actual mining and reclamation plan before mining is begun.

Jan 1, 1974

By H. E. Hostetter

Grossmann's method1 for calculating the hardenability of steel from the composition and grain size has gained wide acceptance, and when properly used, has been well proved in practical application, both for estimating the hardenability of known compositions and for selecting compositions to meet known hardenability requirements. The Grossmann method uses as the criterion of hardenadility the "ideal critical diameter," DI, which is the' size round that will just harden to a structure of 50 per cent martensite at the center when given the theoretically fastest quench, or "ideal quench." The DI can be related to actual quenching practice if the severity of quench is known; or the DI can be correlated with hardenability as determined by the Jominy end-quench method.2 The effect on hardenability of each element present in a steel can be represented by a multiplying factor, the value of which depends on the amount of the element present and the degree of effectiveness of the particular element. (The value of the factor for a given carbon content varies with the grain size.) When the factors for all elements present in a steel have been determined from charts, they are multiplied, and the resultant product is the DI of the steel. The validity of Grossmann's scheme of multiplying factors has been confirmed in a number of other investigations.3-6 It can be appreciated that a certain desired level of hardenability can be obtained by adding chromium, molybdenum, nickel and vanadium to a base composition containing carbon, manganese, silicon and the usual impurities. Many of the ranges of hardenability used commercially can be obtained by any of the foregoing alloying elements used singly in the base composition. The same hardenability levels also can be obtained through use of any of a great number of multiple element combinations of these alloying elements. In this report a method will be presented for determining what one combination is the most efficient (based on hardenability and cost of added alloy) for a given level of hardenability. It should not be assumed from the emphasis given to hardenability, that hardenability is the only criterion for the selection of an alloy composition. Such properties as the hot-working characteristics, machinability, carburizing characteristics, amount of distortion during quenching and the retention of austenite may be considerations of importance in many applications. However, hardenability is one of the most important properties of an alloy steel and one that must be considered in almost all cases involving heat-treatment by quenching. Therefore, a method for determining the lowest-cost alloy combination should be of considerable value. Determination of Most Efficient Combinations For comparing the alloying elements on standards of cost and hardenability, it

Jan 1, 1947

By H. E. Hostetter

Grossmann's method1 for calculating the hardenability of steel from the composition and grain size has gained wide acceptance, and when properly used, has been well proved in practical application, both for estimating the hardenability of known compositions and for selecting compositions to meet known hardenability requirements. The Grossmann method uses as the criterion of hardenadility the "ideal critical diameter," DI, which is the' size round that will just harden to a structure of 50 per cent martensite at the center when given the theoretically fastest quench, or "ideal quench." The DI can be related to actual quenching practice if the severity of quench is known; or the DI can be correlated with hardenability as determined by the Jominy end-quench method.2 The effect on hardenability of each element present in a steel can be represented by a multiplying factor, the value of which depends on the amount of the element present and the degree of effectiveness of the particular element. (The value of the factor for a given carbon content varies with the grain size.) When the factors for all elements present in a steel have been determined from charts, they are multiplied, and the resultant product is the DI of the steel. The validity of Grossmann's scheme of multiplying factors has been confirmed in a number of other investigations.3-6 It can be appreciated that a certain desired level of hardenability can be obtained by adding chromium, molybdenum, nickel and vanadium to a base composition containing carbon, manganese, silicon and the usual impurities. Many of the ranges of hardenability used commercially can be obtained by any of the foregoing alloying elements used singly in the base composition. The same hardenability levels also can be obtained through use of any of a great number of multiple element combinations of these alloying elements. In this report a method will be presented for determining what one combination is the most efficient (based on hardenability and cost of added alloy) for a given level of hardenability. It should not be assumed from the emphasis given to hardenability, that hardenability is the only criterion for the selection of an alloy composition. Such properties as the hot-working characteristics, machinability, carburizing characteristics, amount of distortion during quenching and the retention of austenite may be considerations of importance in many applications. However, hardenability is one of the most important properties of an alloy steel and one that must be considered in almost all cases involving heat-treatment by quenching. Therefore, a method for determining the lowest-cost alloy combination should be of considerable value. Determination of Most Efficient Combinations For comparing the alloying elements on standards of cost and hardenability, it

Jan 1, 1947

By D. N. Seidrnan

In the present note we present thermal-analysis data for the liquidus curve from 0 to 76 at. pct Se and for the selenium-rich monotectic reaction in the Pb-Se system. We have previously reported that no expey-imental eviderzce was found for a lead-rich monotectic reaction, at -860°C with a monotectic composition of -20.5 at. pct Se, as found by Nozato and Igaki.&apos; Our additional data substantiated this earlier finding and extended the composition range studied. The alloys were prepared from semiconductor -grade lead and selenium purchased from the American Smelting and Refining Co. Both elements were 99.999+ wt pct pure as determined by the supplier. The impurities for lead were Fe (1 ppm) and Cu & ppm) while for selenium the impurities were Cu (< 1 ppm), As (< 1 ppm), Te (1 ppm), and C1 (<1 ppm). The general procedures used for thermal analysis were those specified by the National Bureau of Standards. A Pt/Pt-10 pct Rh thermocouple calibrated against the freezing points of zinc and copper purchased from the National Bureau of Standards and antimony (99.985 pct pure) purchased from A. D. Mackay, New York, was used for all the thermal analysis. The thermocouple electromotive force was measured with a Rubicon Type B potentiometer used in conjunction with a galvanometer with a sensitivity of 0.5 pV (mm) -&apos;. The absolute accuracy of this thermal-analysis system was *0.5"C. One-hundred-gram alloys of the desired composition were sealed in quartz crucibles, with a central thermocouple well, at a pressure of less than 10"1 Torr. The alloys were initially heated well above the liquidus curve and shaken vigorously to insure homogeneity. Cooling curves were then taken by the direct method at cooling rates ranging from -0.5" to 1.5"C (min)-&apos;. The phase diagram from 0 to 76 at. pct Se as determined by direct thermal analysis is shown in Fig. l.* An extrapolation of the selenium-rich portion of the liquidus curve to the monotectic reaction isotherm (678.3"C) gave a value of 76.1 at. pct Se for the monotectic composition. A tabulation of all the thermal-analysis data is given in Table I. As we previously reported no experimental evidence was found Fig. l—The partial Pb-Se phase diagram from 0 to 76 at. pct Se as determined by direct thermal analysis. For the sake of clarity the points for the 49.00 and 49.16 at. pct Se alloys were not drawn on this phase diagram, see Table I. for the lead-rich monotectic reaction found by Nozato and Igaki.&apos; This result was further substantiated by the fact that none of twelve lead-rich alloys, see Table I, examined for this monotectic reaction exhibited a thermal arrest in the temperature range (849" to 863°C) cited by Nozato and Igaki for the lead-rich monotectic reaction. Hence, our results tend to support the earlier qualitative work of ~elabon&apos; and Friedrich and ~eroux" in the 0 to 50 at. pct portion of the phase diagram, though the selenium-rich monotectic composition and reaction isotherm temperature were in agreement with the approximate values (75 at. pct Se and 672" to 680°C) given by Nozato and ~~aki. &apos;

Jan 1, 1967

By Thomas A. Phillips

This publication is an economic evaluation of the Bureau of Mines electrolytic process for recovering lead from scrap lead-acid batteries. In this process, scrap batteries are crushed and separated into metal and sludge fractions. The metal fraction is cast as anodes and electro- refined. Lead in the sludge fraction is converted to lead carbonate by reaction with an ammonium carbonate-ammonium bisulfite solution. The lead carbonate is then dissolved in a fluosilicic acid electrolyte from which pure lead metal is electrowon. A cost estimate is presented for a plant capable of processing 10,000 scrap batteries per day. The fixed capital cost for this plant is estimated to he $14 million on a fourth quarter 1984 basis. Operating costs are estimated to be $0.15/lb Pb recovered. Assuming a lead selling price of $0.17/lb, the interest rate of return on investment after taxes is 11 pct. A lead selling price of about $0.21/lb is needed to obtain a 20-pct-interest rate of return.

Jan 1, 1986

By Fernando Altamirano Escobar

Una emergencia es todo evento que altera las condiciones normales de tranquilidad del hogar o las condiciones operativas del trabajo. Sin embargo, si no se está preparado para afrontarlo, la emergencia se convierte en una crisis o descontrol. Por ello, el presente texto señala los principios básicos para manejar una situación de emergencia y resolverlo con capacidad, rapidez e intelgencia. Así los procesos para la solución de una emergencia son: Definir el problema y establecer prioridades, organizarse ante la emergencia, tomar medidas rápidas sobre todo si hay riesgo de pérdida de vidas humanas, asignar tareas, pero lo más importante saber a qué personas se debe asignar las tareas, mantener a todo el personal motivado y con un enfoque positivo. Aprovechar las habilidades de la gente, manejar las relaciones públicas, conseguir que la prensa se ponga de nuestra parte y cuando todo haya terminado hacer un balance de la emergencia.

Apr 1, 2017

By J. J. Pelley

NOT being a scientist, an engineer or a metallurgist, I consider it a very great honor indeed to be asked to address the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers. Your program indicates that any lack of intricate and technical knowledge on my part in the field of metals will be well taken care of by others. Therefore, I believe any remarks that I have to make might well be devoted to the practical side of metals in railroad service and to the general railroad situation as I view it today. The experiments now being conducted on the railroads with so-called streamlined, light-weight trains and cars would not have been possible had it not been for scientific and engineering research in the past that made these lighter weight metals available. The railroads now have approximately forty units of these new trains in operation. Experi-ence with them will no doubt be a guidepost for future construction in that direction. While the best known experiments are in the passenger service, they are being extended into the freight service. Within the past three years there was constructed for the Association of American Railroads a new standard box car of ordinary carbon steel, in which, by reason of superior design, weight was reduced by 3500 to 4500 lb. under that of existing cars of like capacity. The Association is now testing a box car that weighs approximately six or seven tons less than practically all of the box cars of like capacity in service today. If these tests are successful a very large field for the use of lighter weight metals will immediately be opened, provided the costs of such metals are not too high. The fact that various experiments are being carried on with other classes of equipment constructed with so-called light-weight and non-corrosive metals no doubt will have a considerable effect upon the rebuild-ing of old equipment. The question then will be: How much can we afford to spend on the rebuilding of an old car weighing six to seven tons more than a new car constructed with the latest available materials?

Jan 1, 1936

By James A. Madonna

Information gathered while studying geological parameters that govern fine gold deposition in the a1luvial environment can be applied to the technological development and selection of fine gold recovery systems. It is recognized that substantial gold losses occur in the minus 1.5 mn (minus 12 mesh) fraction using conventional sluicing systems. Within the past two decades much attention has been given the design and efficiency of these thick bed concentrators. Studies and comparisons drew information from several foreign and domestic placer operations. These studies concentrated on: 1) the physical and chemical properties of alluvial gold 2) the parameters that control fine gold deposition 3) the geometrical form, components and general working structure of conventional sluicing systems 4) the physical properties which contribute to the overall efficiency of a sluice system 5) the comparison of three major styles of conventional sluicing systems. A dramatic improvement regarding fine gold recovery and water quality was observed when using modern multiple-channel sluicing systems in place of conventional single-channel sluicing systems.

Jan 1, 1988

By V. Concha, M. Hashemzadeh

"The objective of this study was to gain a better insight into the kinetics of chalcocite leaching in an acidic ferric sulfate media. Chalcocite leaching in acidic media is known to occur in two sequential stages, with the first stage being much faster than the second. The leaching residue from the first stage is typically assumed to be a covellite type of material. This study hypothesized that the mineralogy after the first-stage leaching varies in response to different leaching conditions. We investigated the dependency of the mineralogy of the first-stage leaching residue on temperature and initial ferric concentration. The experimental results showed that chalcocite leaching behavior altered upon temperature and initial ferric concentration. A proposed combined reaction model was found to be able to describe the experimental data. The first stage was described very well by the shrinking core diffusion model while the second stage was described very well by the shrinking core chemical reaction model. This finding has important implications for mine operations to manipulate leaching conditions to create the desirable leaching kinetics.INTRODUCTION The kinetics of chalcocite leaching in sulfate media has been extensively studied (Cheng & Lawson, 1991; Fisher, 1994; Fisher, Flores, & Henderson, 1992; Niu, Ruan, Tan, Jia, & Sun, 2015). Sullivan (John D. Sullivan, 1930) proposed a two-stage process for chalcocite leaching in an acidified ferric sulphate solution. The two-stage leaching of chalcocite is presented as the following reactions:"

Jan 1, 2017

There are some problems in the beneficiation of fine-grained oxidized iron mineral such as high cost, severe sliming, poor results and low recovery due to the fine disseminated size of the mineral. Taking several representative types of finely-disseminated oxidized iron minerals as examples, the author analyzed the main difficulties in the beneficiation of such kind of ores and discussed the existing problems in grinding-classification, technological process, flotation reagents and separation equipments and the resolvents of these problems.

Jan 1, 2014

By P. M. Hawley

Kennecott Corporation, in joint venture with Galactic Resources Ltd., recently began operation of an open pit gold mining and milling facility near Columbia, South Carolina. The deposit consists of two ore bodies (North and South deposits) hosted in deformed and altered meta-volcanics and meta-sediments of the Carolina Slate Belt. This paper describes the rock mechanics and engineering geology investigations conducted for design of interim, ultimate and final reclamation slopes for the South Pit. Emphasis includes the successful use of drill core orientation techniques to confirm complex geologic structure at depth; the development of a three-dimensional rock mass competency model, incorporating surface mapping data, results of bench mapping documentation, field index testing and laboratory testing; and kinematic assessments for design of optimum slopes.

Jan 1, 1991

By Mike Hall, Tim Kelly, Mohammad Reza Jafari, Ulf Georg Gwildis

"Qatar’s capital Doha is undergoing major infrastructure improvements including a multiphase stormwater management program. Although located in an arid climate, Doha experiences flooding during rainfall events. Dewatering operations and rising groundwater levels add to the management needs. To address those needs, construction of the Musaimeer collection tunnel along Doha’s southern rim is being followed by a marine outfall tunnel connecting a pump station to a dispersion field 10 km offshore. Qatar’s geology is characterized by sabkha deposits, a series of predominantly weak and karstic rock strata that creates challenging conditions for mechanized tunneling, as highlighted by the uncontrolled flooding of a tunnel boring machine (TBM) used on the Doha Metro tunnels. Risk associated with these challenges is magnified for the outfall tunnel by drive length, sub-sea elevation, and a single access point. This paper describes the outfall exploration strategy and design decisions made in light of experience gained during the collection tunnel construction. CONTEXT – STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PROGRAM Qatar has an arid climate with an average annual precipitation of less than 100 mm. Precipitation is mostly confined to the winter months when rare, but occasionally heavy rainfall events easily lead to flooding in Doha’s metropolitan area. Its coastal location and flat topography a few meters above the sea level mean that the depth to the groundwater table is generally shallow. The karstic aquifers in the regional dolomite and limestone series contain groundwater of high salinity, which is not suitable as a potable water source. For supplying Doha’s population of more than 900,000 (2014) with potable water, the Ras Abu Fontas seawater desalination plant is operated about 10 km south of the city. This potable water production capacity is crucial for Doha’s development and – in conjunction with overirrigation and leaking sewage tanks – is also the root cause for rising groundwater tables that have been observed over the past years."

Jan 1, 2016

By Johannes Labenski, Christian Moormann, Johannes Aschrafi

"Open steel pipe piles are used for various applications in costal engineering, port structures and increasingly important for offshore structures. During the installation of open steel pipe piles the formation of a plug has an influence on the installation process of the pile and also on the final bearing capacity. The formation of the plug depends on different factors, e.g. the pile diameter and the installation method. This paper starts with a structured overview about analytical methods (API, EAP-EAU, UWA-05, HKU-12, Modified API) to calculate the axial bearing capacity of open steel pipe piles. The numerical simulation of the installation process of open steel pipe piles has to fulfill high demands, i.e. to accurately represent the penetration of the pile inside the soil, the formation of the plug and also the stresses and strains during the installation. A numerical back analysis of a comprehensive field test, using the Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) method and a hypoplastic constitutive model for sand, reveals the stresses and displacements of the soil and of the piles. The analysis provides a comprehensive understanding of soilpile interaction.INTRODRUCTIONThe particular difficulty in the numerical simulation of plug formation, is that the effect of plugging inside open ended steel pipe piles has not been fully investigated. In scientific papers different approaches are documented to explain this phenomenon. Some are based on in-situ tests and others are based on numerical simulations. One of the challenges is to determine the end bearing capacity and shaft friction of the steel pipe pile. Different approaches have been developed over the years to determine them e.g. from Randolph et. al. (1991, 1994) and Paik et. al. (2003). Recent approaches are the ICP-05 Method (Jardine 2005), the UWA-05 Method (Lehane 2005) and the HKU-12 Method (Yu & Yang 2012a). A comparison of some methods can be found in Schneider et al. (2010). A plug inside an open steel pipe pile can be visualized as a spatial bracing of soil between the inner surfaces of the pile, cf. Lüking (2010).. However according to Lüking & Kempfert (2012) this bracing only exists for the height in the end of the pile equal to twice its diameter.To identify a plug inside a pile, there are different measurable parameters. One parameter is the development of stresses around the pile during and after its installation. Henke (2013) measured the inand outside horizontal stresses at the pile tip during the installation. The results showed higher stresses on the inside compared to the outside. To validate his measurements he performed a numerical back-analysis of the measured installation process and got matching results."

Jan 1, 2017

Any hypothesis for the origin of the Otago gold-quartz lodes must account for the following observations. 1. Southeast of Glenorchy, where the schists hosting the lodes are comparatively unaffected by Neogene Alpine Fault deformation, the dominant strike of the vein systems is NW-SE, parallel to the axis of greatest post-metamorphic uplift in the Otago Schist belt (Paterson, 1986). 2. The lodes are fault-hosted, with some developed along steep, low-displacement normal faults (eg Barewood, Bendigo, Nenthorn), implying NE-SW extension, and some developed along low-angle thrusts (eg Macraes) implying, in apparent contradiction, NE-SW contraction (Teagle et al, 1990). 3. The mineralising fluid was of metamorphic origin (McKeag and Craw, 1989), but while some of the lodes developed in a mesothermal environment at considerable depth (eg ~10 km for Macraes), others appear to have formed at very shallow depth (eg &lt;1 km for Nenthorn) (Craw and Norris, 1988). 4. The timing of the mineralisation is generally poorly constrained but postdates the main Rangitata schist metamorphism. It probably initiated during early Cretaceous exhumation and unroofing of the schist belt (140 - 120 Ma?) and may have continued well into the Tertiary (Craw, 1989). Estimates for the relative ages of the different lodes are largely speculative but, based on pressure estimates from fluid inclusion studies, Macraes likely represents the deepest and oldest lode system while Nenthorn (just 12 km to the southwest) is perhaps the shallowest and youngest (Craw and Norris, 1988).

Jan 1, 1992