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By R. Escalera-Lozano, M. Herrera-Trejo, M. A. Pech-Canul, J. López-Cuevas, A. L. Leal-Cruz, M. I. Pech-Canul

"The use fly-ash (FA) and rice-hull-ash (RHA) offers the potential for the manufacture of hybrid Al/SiCp/spinel composites via reactive infiltration, both with recycled aluminum. The main reason behind this statement is the beneficial role that both waste materials play in preventing the degradation of SiCp reinforcements when the composites are processed with aluminum in molten state. Experimentally, MgAl2O4 is formed in situ during the infiltration of SiCp-preforms in the temperature range 1050-1150 oC for 50-70 min in argon atmosphere at a pressure slightly above to that of the atmospheric pressure. Results reveal that both FA and RHA help in preventing SiCp dissolution and the subsequent formation of the unwanted Al4C3; and although FA-composites still might be susceptible to corrosion via Al4C3 -by the interaction of native carbon in FA with liquid aluminum- a proper FA treatment significantly mitigates its deleterious effect. Primary corrosion mechanisms and strategies to overcome the potential degradation effects are outlined.IntroductionOwing to inherent materials characteristics and post-processing complications –such as corrosion damage- development of metal matrix composites (MMCs) from recycling/waste sources might be a challenging task. Fly-ash (FA) and rice-hull-ash (RHA) are two primary waste materials that offer excellent opportunities for the development of Al matrix composites. Due to its singular hollow-spherical shape and low density, FA has attracted the attention of many researchers. For this reason, most of the efforts to develop Al-based composites from waste materials have been centered on the use of fly ash. Extensive research efforts in the use of FA for Al-based composites have been undertaken by Rohatgi and coworkers [1-4]. In addition to lowering costs, incorporation of fly ash into aluminum has been proved to decrease the materials’ density, increase their hardness, abrasion resistance and stiffness [1]. One of the major outcomes from the mechanical evaluation of aluminum composites prepared with fly ash is that related to their compression characteristics. Typical compressive stress-strain curves form A356/hollow fly ash composites show a linear elastic region followed by a plateau (associated to the collapse of the hollow particles), and then an increase in stress, representing densification of the foam. The crushing of the cenospheres in the composites has been related to an enhancement in the energy absorption capabilities of the material and to a better damage tolerance [4]."

Jan 1, 2008

By P. Christmann

"In June or July 2005, the European Commission will present its Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Natural Resources proposal to the Council and European Parliament, one of the seven Thematic Strategies to be developed and implemented under the 6th European Environment Action Programme in support of the European Union’s Sustainable Development Strategy defined by the European Union’s Head of State at the Göteborg European Council, in June 2001. The time scale for this Thematic Strategy is 25 years (2005-2030). This paper discusses some of the key issues related to the EU minerals and metals industry that needs to be addressed by the Strategy. These are: - the need for access to mineral reserves in the EU and abroad; - the need to strenghten the capacity of developing countries to sustainably promote and regulate the use of their mineral potential; - the need for an EU mineral resources intelligence capacity. There are additional important needs, which are not discussed in this paper, such as: - the need to foster further innovation in mining, ore beneficiation and metallurgical technologies; - the need to integrate and simplify the exisitng complex regulatory framework applicable to the EU mining industry and to effectively implement existing legislation."

Jan 1, 2005

By G. L. Oldright

In the previous study that has been made by the authors on smelting in the lead blast furnace, the furnace examined was one that operated under conditions that have been considered as more or less normal up to the present time. That is although the furnace had in its charge a large portion of sinter, it also handled considerable quantities of naturally oxidized direct-smelting ore. Other ingredients, such as the limestone, were also added as fairly coarse material. The charges contained only about 24 per cent of lead. Until the changes incident to modern flotation began to take effect, many lead plants doing semicustom smelting in districts where competition was keen and much of the bonanza ore was exhausted were faced with the difficulty of obtaining enough lead to get a sufficient "lead fall" in the blast furnaces to clean the slag thoroughly and to separate it from the lead. A charge containing 24 per cent of lead would have been considered a very rich one by such smelters.

Jan 1, 1931

By D. W. McDonald, N. A. Duke, R. L. Hauser

"The NERCO Con Mine is situated in the amphibolite facies aureole of the Western Plutonic Complex overprinting the Yellowknife Greenstone Belt. Metamorphic grade of the upright monoclinal basaltic succession decreases from hornblende-amphibolite facies along the border of the batholith to greenschist facies. Metamorphic isograds, subparalleling the faulted margin of the batholith, transect volcanic stratigraphy and coincide with major goldbearing shears.Gold mineralization is confined to north-striking, west-dipping shear zones where hangingwall amphibolite facies mineral assemblages retrogress to chlorite-carbonate-sericite-sulfide bearing schists hosting multiple generations of quartz-ankerite veins. The gold-producing portions of the Con and Campbell Shears occur where these structures transect an east trending thermal corridor. The corridor is defined by granitic plugs and a number of related breccia bodies, that can be traced outwards from the batholith across the greenstone belt.Prograde reactions of greenstone during amphibolitization effectively liberate fluids that partition metals. With retrograde reactions at shear zones, gold is precipitated with quartz due to the destabilization of sulfide and arsenic complexes. The coupling of regional prograde metamorphic and restricted retrograde metasomatic overprints suggest mineralization is temporally related to emplacement of the Western Plutonic Complex. Economic gold concentrations within the intrusive corridor indicates enhanced metamorphic overprint of hornfelsed greenstones enveloping satellite intrusives peripheral to the main batholith."

Jan 1, 1993

By James J. Brady, Kenneth L. Faught, Chadi El Mohtar, Chaoshi Hu

"During construction of a 9.5-ft. diameter sanitary sewer tunnel, the City of Edmonton encountered a large pocket of flowing sand that flooded their TBM and caused significant surface subsidence, stopping further tunneling by the TBM through this zone. A unique collaborative effort ensued between the authors representing the city, consulting engineers and academic researchers to develop the optimal strategy for grouting the problematic soils. The site has a layer of very find sand between 20 and 30 ft. in depth with fines contents ranging from 5% to more than 40%. The collaboration extended from requesting additional site investigation efforts to shipping samples to the UT-Austin laboratories for grout testing plus ground and grouting characterization tests resulting in field recommendations for a full scale ground improvement program. New research information on the grouting of fine sands along with a collaborative framework for the design of in-situ grouting projects are the key topics presented. INTRODUCTION Encountering a large unexpected pocket of flowing sand with an open-faced TBM while excavating a tunnel below the groundwater table is never a good thing. This was certainly true for the City of Edmonton when one of their Lovat TBM’s became inundated by flowing sand while excavating the 9.5-ft. diameter Millwoods Double Barrel Replacement Tunnel in September 2013. However, since the City of Edmonton self-performed this work, a rare situation existed where the site could be investigated objectively, without the prejudice of contending parties selectively influencing how information was gathered and presented, to accurately examine site conditions with a goal of identifying the best remediation measures."

Jan 1, 2016

By G. R. Leverant, C. P. Sullivan

To evaluate the effect of a dispersion of nondeform-able, incoherent, second-phase particles on high-strain cyclic deformation and fracture, recrystallized TD-nickel (Ni-2ThO2) and a commercially pure nickel, Ni-200, were fatigued under strain control at total strain ranges varying from 0.009 to 0.036. Relative to the Ni-200, the slip at the surface of the TD-nickel was more wavy and discontinuous due to the presence of the thoria particles. This made crevice formation (incipient cracking) within slip bands more difficult in TD-nickel than in Ni-200. Both materials cyclically hardened to a constant (saturation) flow stress which increased with increasing plastic strain amplitude. Cellular substructures were developed in both materials during cycling. The cell size in TD-nickel was controlled by the thoria particle distribution and was independent of plastic strain amplitude over the range investigated. The cell size in Ni-ZOO was larger than that in TD-nickel at similar plastic strain amplitudes and was a function of plastic strain amplitude. These results, together with the cyclic stress-strain curves for both materials, are discussed in terms of a model for fatigue strain accommodation at saturation recently proposed by Feltner and Laird. NUMEROUS fatigue investigations have considered the interrelation of slip character, dislocation substructure, and cracking in pure metals and solid-solution alloys. However, except for the studies of the low-strain fatigue of internally oxidized copper alloys1 and cast, dispersion-strengthened lead,&apos; little is known about the effects which small, incoherent, nondeform-able, second-phase particles have on cyclic deformation and cracking processes. Effects due to the particles alone are often obscured by a dislocation substructure introduced during thermomechanical processing of dispersion-strengthened metals. In the present study, recrystallized TD-nickel and a commercially pure nickel, Ni-200, were employed to evaluate the effect of a thoria dispersion on high-strai fatigue deformation and cracking at room temperature. I) MATERIAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The TD-nickel was supplied by DuPont as a 5/8-in.-thick stress-relieved plate which had been subjected to a proprietary schedule of thermomechanical treatments, and the Ni-200 as 3/4-in. bar which was subsequently annealed for 2 hr at 850°C in argon resulting in an average grain diameter of 0.05 mm. The compositions of these materials are given in Table I. The microstructure of the TD-nickel consisted of elongated grains parallel to the primary working direction with an average width of 0.16 mm, Fig. l(a). Many fine annealing twins were present indicating that the starting material was in a recrystallized condition; this supposition was confirmed by the absence of of any extensive dislocation substructure, Fig. l(b). Sheetlike stringers parallel to the rolling direction were occasionally seen both within grains and at grain boundaries. Some approximately spherical particles about 2 in diam, which may correspond to exceptionally large thoria particle aggregates, were also present. The average Young&apos;s modulus of the plate material in the rolling direction was 21.8 X 106 psi which is consistent with a {100}<001>recrystalliza-tion texture3&apos;* being prominent. In transmission microscopy, the 2.3 vol pct of thoria particles generally appeared to be uniformly distributed although some clusters, 0.1 to 0.3 in diam, of larger particles were observed as previously reported for TD-nickel sheet,5 and stringering of particles was present in some areas as welt. The average diameter of the thoria particles was 450A with a calculated mean planar center-to-center spacing of 2100A, as determined by quantitative metallographic analysis.= The 0.2 pct offset yield stress was 36,000 psi which agrees with the value predicted by the modified Orowan relation7 for edge dislocations bowing between thoria particles of the size and spacing observed in the present investigation. Fig. 2 illustrates the specimen design employed for the axial high-strain fatigue testing. Adapters were screwed onto the threaded portions of each specimen so that testing could be performed in the same manner as that reported for buttonhead specimens.8 Stressing was coincident with the working direction for both materials. The gage section of each specimen was electropolished and lightly etched prior to testing. The total strain was controlled, being varied between zero and a maximum tensile strain ranging from 0.009 to 0.036. In addition to these tests, a circum-ferentially notched TD-nickel specimen was cycled over a total strain range of 0.0075. The same strain

Jan 1, 1969

By J. Mark Gronseth

The instantaneous shut in pressure often times is not a well defined feature of pressure-time records from in situ stress determinations by hydraulic fracturing. As the applications of in situ stress data become more sophisticated, the grea5er the need for an unambiguous method with which to identify the instantaneous shut in pressure becomes. Controlled experiments suggest that the instantaneous shut in pressure should be equated with the pressure at the inflection point of the pressure-time record following shut in. A method for determining this value is presented. Often times the minimum instantaneous shut in pressure determined after several pressurization cycles is the best estimate of the stress acting perpendicular to the fracture plane.

Jan 1, 1982

By Kathleen M. Kowalski, Audrey Podlesny

The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was administered and scored for 154 Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), U.S. Department of Labor, employees who serve as accident investigators for serious accidents and fatalities as part of their job duties. The subjects responded anonymously during a workshop on stress. The subjects consisted of randomly selected individuals, representative of locations across the country and representative of all mining commodities: coal, metal, nonmetal, stone, and sand and gravel. The Maslach Burnout Inventory assesses three aspects of experienced burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishments. The average results of the scores for each of the three subscales fell in the moderate range for the study group of MSHA accident investigators. The scores within the moderate range show that the subject population was at the lower end of the range for emotional exhaustion and depersonalization, tending toward a lower burnout risk, while the group evidenced a lower sense of personal accomplishment in their jobs, indicating a higher risk for burnout. It is concluded that overall this group is at moderate risk for burnout, and the authors recommend follow-up with this population.

By Paul D. Torrey

The water-flooding of oil sands has been widely practiced for many years in the Bradford and Allegany fields. Its effect upon the production of these fields has been almost phenomenal. In 1907 their estimated production was 3500 bbl. per day; in December, 1929, the combined production is estimated at 33,000 bbl. per day, an increase of almost 1000 per cent. in 22 years. This increase in production is directly attributable to the successful application of water-flooding, which has transformed the fields that were rapidly approaching abandonment into one of the most actively operated regions associated with the petroleum industry, and has made them important factors in the production of Pennsylvania Grade crude oil. The writer is indebted to many companies for information included in this paper. He is particularly grateful to the Sloan and Zook Co., the Petroleum Reclamation Co., George Bovaird, Jr., and the Associated Producers Co., of Bradford, Pa., who have generously made available much valuable data. Owing to the frequently competitive and confidential nature of property purchases, it has not always been possible to make specific reference to individual wells or properties; but wherever feasible, specific references have been made. Economic Factors The successful application of water-flooding for increasing the recovery of oil has been almost confined to the Bradford and Allegany fields. This has been due not only to legal restrictions in other fields and to very favorable sand conditions in the Bradford-Allegany region, but also to certain economic factors which are worthy of consideration. There has been some alarm regarding the effects of the rapidly increasing production upon the oil market but the writer is inclined to believe that future development can be made sufficiently flexible to meet the demand for this grade of oil. There has been a decided tendency toward consolidation of properties by mergers and purchases and, in addition, many of the individual producers are content to take advantage of floods advancing on their holdings from adjoining properties without developing their own on an intensive scale. Cooperative drilling along

Jan 1, 1930

By J. E. Shelton

Flotation tests are described on samples of two lowgrade nickeliferous ores of Oregon and Washington. The sample from the Congress mine, Ferry County, Wash., contained 1.2 percent Ni, occurring chiefly as millerite. The sample from the Shamrock mine, Jackson County, Oreg., contained 2.20 percent Ni and 0.78 percent Cu occurring chiefly as pentlandite, nickeliferous pyrrhotite, and chalcopyrite. The millerite in the Congress ore was concentrated by flotatioin with aulfydric collectors in a series of locked tests to recover 73 percent of the nickel as a 7 percent bulk concentrate. By successively regrinding and floating the bulk concentrate, it was further concentrated to 12.4 percent Ni at a recovery of 59 percent and 21.8 percent Ni at a recovery of 50 percent. Attempts at selective concentration of the copper-nickel Shamrock ore were only partly successful because of the intimate association of pentlandite and chalcopyrite. The nickel concentrate, which contained 86 percent of the nickel, had an analysis of 4.42 percent Ni and 1.03 percent Cu. The copper concentrate had an analysis of 18.8 percent Cu and 1.96 percent Ni and contained 48.5 percent of the copper. A bulk sulfide concentrate contained 92 percent of the copper and 01 per¬cent of the nickel and had an analysis of 4.17 percent Ni and 1.63 percent Cu.

Jan 1, 1956

By Itavahn Alves da Silva, Jose Dimas de Arruda, Amanda Aparecida Fátima Arruda, da Silva de Souza, Carlos Antonio da Silva, Varadarajan Seshadri, Samuel

The knowledge of the flow field inside a continuous casting mold is essential to improve operational efficiency of the process and also to achieve better inclusion control. Physical modeling, PIV technique and CFD have been employed to assess the velocity distribution in the metal- slag interface region in a slab mold. The analysis of results shows how higher casting velocity and lower immersion depth of submerged nozzle can lead to higher turbulence in the slag-metal interface. The effects of density difference between slag and metal and interfacial tension between the phases have been highlighted.

Jan 1, 2016

The United States has not begun commercial operations to tap its largest poten-tial sources of oil supply - oil shale and coal. The reason is that domestic petrol-eum has been plentiful in the past and liquid products probably could be produced from it at the lowest cost. In view of the ever-increasing need for petroleum in the United States, the critical international situation threatening foreign supplies, the growing demands for steel, and the heavy costs to industry of constantly discovering and developing new oil fields, it is believed that the prompt development of a synthetic fuel industry based on oil shale and coal is not only requisite to safeguard our oil supply but is an economically sound course for the foreseeable future, To neglect its development is to close our eyes and minds to our own resources at a time when they are needed critically. It also is apparent now that neither the Government nor industry would be taking any considerable economic risk in starting the initial plants, especially as measured against their potential value in meeting critical oil and chemical demands and in building a new industry in the West.

Jan 1, 1951

By Roy T. Southin*

The finding of Wojciechowski and Chalmers that columnar crystal growth can be stopped by an already existing network of equiaxed crystals is supported by other recently reported work on both static and mechanically stirred ingots.27,28 Support for the dendrite arm fragmentation mechanism, too, can be obtained by comparing the effects of spinning on ingots cast in a material which has a dendritic solid/liquid interface during solidification with one which has a cellular interface, since no evidence of change at the interface, other than a change in growth direction, can be found in the cellular material. But there are alternative ways of producing an equiaxed zone in materials which characteristically solidify with a cellular interface. For example, interrupted spinning of a normally cast ingot can do it. In this case it has been shown28 that the equiaxed zone is caused by the showing of dendritic particles from the top surface of the ingot to nucleate a network of equiaxed crystals which forms a barrier to the continued growth of the columnar grains. This showering has also been shown to be a major effect in materials solidifying with dendritic interfaces. It has also been proposed28,29 that, for an equiaxed zone to form, not only must nuclei be present ahead of the interface but also these nuclei must grow to sufficient size to be a barrier to the further growth of the columnar grains. A further requirement is that a network of these grains continually be produced ahead of the growing interface; otherwise there is a reversion to columnar growth as found by Wojciechowski and Chalmers. In normally cast ingots it is possible for nuclei ahead of the interface to grow since during a large portion of the solidification time there is no temperature gradient ahead of the interface,30 and, in fact, the liquid may be slightly undercooled.29 This then is the major difference between the work under discussion and normal industrial solidification conditions, since Wojciechowski and Chalmers imposed a considerable temperature gradient in the liquid. The statement in the Wojcieshowski and Chalmers paper that one needs to lower the temperature gradient

Jan 1, 1969

By T. O. Massalski, J. D. Ayers

A massive transformation, 0 —am, takes place in a number of copper-based systems where the ß phase field at high temperatures extends to compositions that are slightly less solute-rich than the limits of the a phase field that exists at lower temperatures. Consequently a solid-state transformation becomes possible that does not involve a change of composition. Within this narrow range of composition the massive am phase can be usually produced in two ways: by a fast quench from the ß phase through the a phase field, or by pulse heating into the a phase field of an undecomposed ß phase retained at room temperature by a prior quench. In the Cu-Ga system the occurrence of a massive am phase has been also observed in alloys whose composition falls outside the equilibrium a phase field1 but not in the Cu-Zn system.2 We have recently observed the occurrence of the ß — am transformation also in two silver-based systems, Ag-Zn and Ag-Cd. The a and 0 phase fields in these systems again slightly "overlap" in a narrow composition range. In the Ag-Zn system this range falls between 36.7 and 40.2 at. pct Zn, and in the Ag-Cd system between approximately 41 and 42.5 at. pct Cd. Alloys were prepared from high-purity materials and cast in quartz tubes under inert atmosphere. No significant change of composition occurred during casting. After homogenizing in the 0 phase field, small pieces of each alloy were reheated at the homogenizing temperatures for a few minutes and quenched into various media. There were examined metallographic-ally after removal of surface layers that may have suffered from contamination or from the loss of the solute element. In the Ag-Zn system extensive areas of the am phase (identified by selective etching, observation of the slip trace variants, and occurrence of twinning) were observed in a comparatively low-zinc alloy (37.8 at. pct Zn) for all quenching media employed: iced

Jan 1, 1969

By George A. Moore

A recent survey of existing analytical results, and an attempt to correlate them with each other and with the known history and behavior of the samples, indicated that none of the commonly applied methods could be considered established as intrinsically reliable. It was. therefore, desired to attempt to establish the reliahility of some one method by external evidence. If this were to be accomplished, other methods could then be evaluated in terms of the method establibhed. The correct method was accordingly to be chosen without regard for cost, speed, or convenience; with the requirements for routine application to be reserved for 1ater consideration. The method of total combustion was chosen and submitted to a limited number of tests against primary standard samples. Considerable experimental difficulty was encountered, indicating that additional work on the experimental arrangements is desirable. While the work to (late by no means represents a completed investigation, it is helieved that the combustion method is basically sound and that its development should be continued. Choice of Method Of the several available methods, mechanical disintegration. electrochemical methods&apos;2&apos;3 modifications of the Sieverts experiment,% and vacuum fusion, were all judged to contain one or more factors of un- certainty not at present completely cvaluated or suhject to complete control. These methods, therefore, were considered currently unsuitable for referee purposes. Solid evolution was considered to be of doubtful significance when conducted in the alpha range. A reasonable chance for a true analysis was found for evolution in the gamma range. Preliminary tests have indicated a very slow rate for evolutioll from gamma iron. indicating a running time of possibly 100 hr. for a one-centimeter sample. Difliculty in distinguishing such slow. evolution from blank gas was anticipated, hence the method was not consitlerctl the most suitable for the present purpose. The combustion method was evaluated as being most sound on fundamental principles. The only important unknown would be to determine that the iron oxide formed did not occlude water at the tcmperaturv of the combustion.with the odvious precautions of using a sound and clean specimen, providing a system sufficiently tight to give acceptable blanks in longtime runs, and providing a suficicntly sensitive measuring system, reasonable, precise, and truthful analytical results could be logically expected. Apparatus The equipment as originally operated is shown in Fig. I, and the glassw-are in its latest modification in Fig. 2. The sulphuric acid drier and small safety tube in the upper right of Fig. I were replaced by a KOH drier and combined manometer safety tube, to permit operation at reduced

Jan 1, 1945

By J. W. Cunningham, M. J. Stultzman

THE demand for improved materials for high-temperature service has increased during the last few years. Iron,- nickel,- and cobalt-base alloys have been investigated extensively and many alloys with outs&apos;tanding high-temperature strength have been developed. Considerable research has been directed toward improved methods of processing these alloys. The vacuum furnace as a tool for the purification and improved control of high-temperature alloys has been studied extensively and production units are in operation. The research covered by this paper studied the effects of casting in air, vacuum, or argon upon the elevated-temperature properties of two nickel- and two cobalt-base alloys. The alloys investigated were Stellite 31, He 1049, Udimet 500, and Guy Alloy. MELTING AND CASTING PROCEDURES Two heats of each of the four alloys under investigation were melted and investment cast under the following conditions: 1) Stellite 31 was melted and investment cast in air and in vacuum, with an argon atmosphere for pouring. 2) He 1049 was melted and investment cast in air and in vacuum, with an argon atmosphere for pouring. 3) Udimet 500 was melted and investment cast in vacuum with and without additions of zirconium and boron. 4) Guy Alloy was melted and investment cast in vacuum and in argon. The heats were all melted in induction furnaces equipped with preformed magnesia crucibles of 50-lb capacity. The air-melting furnace was powered by a spark-gap converter of 40 kw capacity. The vacuum-melting furnace was powered by a motor-generator set of 100 kw capacity. The argon heat of Guy alloy was melted in the vacuum melting furnace under an argon atmosphere. Virgin materials were used for preparing all heats except the air heats of Stellite 31 and He 1049. The charge for the air heat of Stellite 31 was a commercial blend of shot. The charge for the air heat of He 1049 was Stellite 6 shot plus those virgin materials necessary to give the desired composition. All of the materials used were of the same grade used com-

Jan 1, 1960

By M. O. Magnuson

This publication describes abandoned-mine fire-control work administered by the Bureau of Mines under cooperative agreements with State and local governments. The work was done by private contractors under the supervision of Bureau engineers. The work is authorized by Public Law 738, approved August 31, 1954, and Public Law 89-4, approved March 9, 1965. Earlier work was authorized by Interior Department Appropriations Acts for fiscal years 1949-55. A total of 70 fires have been controlled under this program in the eastern bituminous region. The nature and extent of the abandoned-mine fire problem in the bituminous region is discussed, and the methods used for controlling these fires are described. The methods that have been used, either singly or in combination, include loading out and cooling the burning material, installing fire barriers, surface sealing, and water and pneumatic flushing.

Jan 1, 1974

By Shilai Yuan, Huimin Lu, Liyuan Zhao, Zhijiang Gao

"A purification process was developed to removal impurity element boron from metallurgical grade silicon by electromagnetic induction slag melting. Vacuum melting furnace was used to purify boron in both Al2O3-MgO-CaO-SiO2 slag system and Al2O3-CaO-SiO2 slag system. The relationship between different slag chemistry and the removal of boron in silicon were studied using Back Propagation (BP) Neural Network model. The best slag chemistry for the removal of boron was predicted by Genetic Algorithm (GA) contributed by the use of Matlab. The results show that the mass fraction of Boron in silicon is reduced from 11.7496×10-6 to 2.3259×10-6 after slag melting in 28.96%Al2O3-3.43%MgO-36.24%CaO-31.37%SiO2 slag system. The relative error obtained with GA-BP Neural Network model was below 0.35%.IntroductionSolar energy, due to its low green house gas emissions, has been paid great attention. Accordingly, the demand for solar grade silicon (SoG-Si) has been growing rapidly. The quest for developing a low-cost method of producing SoG-Si has been moving forward in the last decade. Refining of metallurgical-grade silicon (MG-Si) attracts research interest due to its low material and energy costs, and more environmentally friendly technology in comparison to the traditional Simens process. As such, impurity elements in MG-Si must be removed to low levels for the photovoltaics (PV) cell to operate at optimum efficiency. Most impurities in metallurgical-grade silicon (MG-Si), especially metal elements, can be separated by directional solidification and the zone refining plasma-arc method [1, 2]. The main focus in refining MG-Si to SoG-Si is on the impurities which are the most difficult to remove. Boron has relatively high segregation coefficients (KB=0.8, concentration of Boron in solid silicon divided by its concentration in liquid silicon) [3] and higher vapor tension (the saturated vapor pressure of boron and silicon are 6.78×10-7 Pa and 0.4 Pa, respectively). The vacuum melting and directional solidification methods hence have no effects on boron removal.Slag refining involves melting MG-Si in the presence of a flux to produce a slag phase that can take up the impurity elements. The mechanism of slag refining is considered to include two main steps: the oxidation of boron and the absorption of boron oxide by slag materials. The oxidation of boron, described by the oxygen potential (PO2), resulting from the equilibrium Si and SiO2. The absorption of boron oxide, described as the slag basicity, is interpreted as expected to facilitate their extraction to alkali and alkali-earth oxides in the slag phase. Thus, effective removal may be obtained for a certain slag composition. Researchers [4-5] examined the effect of boron removal in CaO-SiO2 based ternary systems and showed that the addition of excess CaO can decrease the activity of SiO2. Researchers [6-8] studied the boron behaviors in CaO-SiO2-Al2O3, CaO-SiO2-Na2O, Al2O3-BaO-SiO2, CaO-SiO2-Li2O and Al2O3-CaO-MgO-SiO2 slag systems by adding boron in the silicon to a degree. Li2O, Na2O, MgO and BaO are thought to be associated with B2O3."

Jan 1, 2014

"It is projected that the reactivity of acid generating tailings and waste rock can be minimized by reducing the access of oxygen by placing these materials under water in natural or manmade lakes. A project under the MEND and B.C. AMO Task Forces has been in progress for four years to evaluate active and historic tailing sites in B.C. and Manitoba. The sophisticated geochemistry studies conducted on the interstitial pore water has illustrated encouraging results which are discussed. The additional studies which are needed to complete the scientific database for the study sites, for achieving regulatory and public approval and for the engineering of application of this method of control are outlined.IntroductionWorld wide research effort is in progress to find the solution to the acid mine drainage problem. A great deal is known about acid mine drainage but much work is required to find economic and effective approaches to the problem. Two coordinated programs have been initiated recently in Canada: the National Mine Environment Neutral Drainage (MEND) program and the British Columbia Acid Drainage Task Force.Disposal of tailings materials under a water barrier such as a natural lake, is thought to be one solution to prevent acid generation by preventing oxygen and bacterial action on the sulphide surfaces. The deposition of reactive tailings materials under water in natural lakes has been used historically at various mines in Canada. However, there has never been a thorough review of the long and short term impacts of historic sites which may provide crucial information to understand the physical, chemical and biological processes which are taking place.This paper provides a general overview of a series of studies which examine the general biophysical characteristics and the sediment geochemistry of four lakes where subaqueous disposal has been or is currently being used for acid generating tailings. The subaqueous disposal studies have been conducted from 1989 through 1991 and were initiated and supported by both research task forces. The objectives of this paper are to summarize the history and the background information of the studies conducted, the general results obtained from each lake, an overview of the major collective results and the additional work which is required to achieve the final objective of developing criteria for applying this technology in the industry."

Jan 1, 1992

By Vahid Javaheri, David Porter, Tun Tun Nyo

A field emission scanning electron microscope equipped with EBSD has been employed to evaluate the role of 0.013 wt% Nb on the evolution of the microstructure and texture of a novel thermomechanically processed low-alloy, medium-carbon steel. Specimens were subjected to hot-rolling with a total reduction of 80%, four passes in the recrystallization regime and four passes below the non-recrystallization temperature. Immediately after rolling, the strips were quenched to 420 °C and subsequently cooled slowly in a furnace to simulate strip coiling with transformation of austenite to bainite. The results showed that Nb microalloying results in a finer microstructure with a sharper texture when compared to an identical steel but without Nb. In addition, analysis of the retained austenite texture indicated that the main bcc texture components are the product transformed brass and copper components in the parent austenite.

Mar 1, 2018