Search Documents

By James W. Myers

The Bureau of Mines studied factors affecting ignition of coal mine refuse and on methods for control of burning. Laboratory experiments showed that air permeates more readily through segregated than through nonsegregated refuse and that air permeability is greater through coarse than through fine particle refuse. Minus 3-1/4-inch refuse ignites spontaneously more readily than minus 1/4-inch refuse. The burning of a 1,000-pound conical coal pile was con-trolled by capping with an 18-inch-thick layer of minus 1/4-inch refuse containing 37 percent combustible. In field trials, the burning of refuse at operating mines was controlled by capping with a layer of fine refuse. Water, applied as a spray or by injection, quenched surface flames and cooled the burning waste. Inspection of refuse piles at operating mines showed that the spontaneous ignition tendency is affected by the exposed surface relative to the total volume and the segregation of particles during dumping.

Jan 1, 1966

By J. Iannicelli

Kaolin, normally an inert filler when compounded with polymers, is converted into a strongly reinforcing pigment by prereaction with certain functional silanes. Modification of kaolin with amino and mercapto silanes allows it to form crosslinks and confers significant improvements in modulus, abrasion resistance, compression set and other physical properties of a broad range of polymers.

Jan 1, 1990

By A. Moskowitz, L. S. Redmerski

The corrosion resistance of stainless steels can be strongly affected by surface treatments. Changes in corrosion resistance can relate to surface composition, integrity and stability of the passive film, and to surface profile (roughness). Operations producing oxidation at the surface, such as annealing, heat treating, and welding, can result in a chromium-rich scale and a chromium-depleted metal surface. In order to restore full corrosion resistance, chemical or mechanical clean-up techniques must remove not only the oxide, but also a very thin layer of metal. Laboratory and field test studies show that these factors are particularly significant in less highly alloyed steels. Annealing stainless in a reducing atmosphere (bright annealing) avoids chromium depletion, but as-bright-annealed material does not display optimum corrosion resistance in certain environments. Electro passiva-tion can be applied to improve pitting resistance without significantly changing bright surface appearance. Potentiometric studies show that electropassivated material also displays significantly greater resistance to breakdown of passivity in acid solutions. The application of special surface finishes for appearance purposes can affect corrosion resistance. Roughness is a key factor. Samples of related appearance but with different surface profiles can show significant differences in corrosion resistance. Thus nonreflec-tive stainless with a relatively smooth surface produced by a special rolling process is much superior to material chemically etched to a similar low reflectivity. THE corrosion resistance of a stainless steel is affected by other factors in addition to its bulk composition and metallurgical structure. These other factors include those relating to the specific chemical and physical condition of the steel's surface. This paper will consider certain aspects of surface condition in relation to corrosion resistance. In particular, studies will be described on the effects of oxidation encountered in heat treating or welding operations, of passivation after bright annealing, and of different surface finishes. EFFECTS DUE TO OXIDATION When stainless steels are exposed to high temperature in an oxidizing environment, as in annealing or welding, the oxides formed are relatively rich in chromium. As a consequence of oxidation, the metallic layer directly beneath the scale may be low in chromium to some very thin but finite depth.1"8 Such a change in chromium content could lower the corrosion resistance at the surface, whether or not the oxide layer is removed. Studies were performed relating to the effect of oxidation and chromium depletion produced during annealing and welding on the corrosion resistance of stainless steels. The nominal compositions of steels used in this study and others are given in Table I. A) Annealing Studies on 17 pet Cr Steels. 1) Effects of Pickling Treatments. Studies were performed to investigate the corrosion resistance of air annealed type 430 stainless as a function of the amount of electrolytic pickling after annealing. The material used in this study had been air annealed and electrolytically pickled in the mill. All scale had been removed, and yet the material showed unusually poor corrosion resistance. Laboratory electrolytic pickling studies were performed to determine whether additional metal removal from the surface would improve corrosion resistance. Electrolytic pickling was performed in a sulfuric acid bath using various conditions of bath acidity, temperature, time, and current density. The samples were then rated for corrosion resistance in a ferric chloride spot test. For this spot test, a solution was prepared by dissolving 10 g of FeCl3 . 6H2O, 5 g of NaCl, and 2.5 ml of concentrated HC1 in 200 ml of water. An area on a specimen was cleaned and a drop of test solution was placed on the prepared area. After 5 min, the drop was rinsed off and the area wiped dry. The spot was then rated between 1 and 5 by visual comparison with standard spots. The numerical rating of the standard spots can be described as follows: 1—No clouding of surface; 2—very slight clouding of surface; 3—slight clouding of surface; 4—moderate clouding of surface; 5—strong clouding of surface. A rating of 1 or 2 was considered to have passed the test, a rating of 4 or 5 represented failure, and a rating of 3 was considered borderline. The severity of etching in this test has been related to the actual chromium content at the surface.4 Etching (clouding) occurs on type 430 stainless (rating of 4 to 5) when the surface chromium content is 14 pct or less. The effects of current density and retention time when electrolytically repickling this material in 6 pct sulfuric acid are shown in Fig. 1. Increasing the cur-rent density or retention time improved corrosion resistance as measured by the spot test. Similarly, increasing acid concentration of the bath or bath tem-perature was found to improve corrosion resistance. The conditions making for improved spot ratings resulted in increased metal removal, regardless of specific pickling conditions used, Fig. 2.

Jan 1, 1970

By Y. Mercadier, M. Ait-Ali, M. Dostie

"This paper presents the results of an analytical study to assist in the design of blast furnace tuyeres, including a prediction of the heat transfer process.IntroductionA blast furnace tuyere must be made of a material which must con serve its geometric and structural integrity in the environment of the fire-ball of the furnace. It must be cooled by a fluid forced through its internal cavities in such way as to keep its maximum temperature below the allowable limit. The prediction of the convective heat transfer coefficient inside the tuyere is of great importance in the design of new tuyeres with increased service life. We have developed a computer program which can predict the convective heat transfer coefficient for two-phase flow. This paper shows how the program work s and how it can be used for the numerical simulation of tuyeres.To simulate the h eat transfer conditions in water-cooled tuyeres, one has to predict:a) The heat flux (radiation and convection) generated by the combustion gases. This was evaluated using the single-zone gas-furnace model. This model yields results which are of the right order of magnitude. A more fundamental study of radiation heat transfer based on combustion and gas concentration s will be reported in a future publication.b) The local convective heat transfer coefficient at all points with in the tuyere.Prediction of the Convective Heat Transfer CoefficientTo calculate the convective heat transfer coefficient for refrigerant stream, semi-empirical correlations developed by the nuclear industry were adopted. These correlations permit us to analyze the entire range of the convective boiling range, as shown in Table 1. Our first attempt, with a single-phase flow correlation, has shown the need to take nucleate boiling into account."

Jan 1, 1982

By A. K. Mukhopadhyay, B. Sikdar, V. P. Arora

Introduction During the past several years, persistent concerns about an economic slowdown in India have tempered capital-expan¬sion plans. This has encouraged companies to find methods of increasing the capacity of existing production equipment. One of the more cost-effective methods of increasing produc¬tion capacity without major capital investment is to improve equipment maintenance to prevent needless machine down¬time. This can have a significant financial impact because of reduced maintenance costs and increased machine availabil¬ity. The maintenance program employs different techniques, but the analysis of the vibration behavior of machine compo¬nents to assess their condition was found to be the most accurate technique for monitoring various machine disorders. A dragline that handles overburden in open pit mines is one of the more capital-intensive pieces of production equip¬ment. It is imperative that the machine be run at its optimum capacity under the prevailing environmental conditions. Condition monitoring of the various components of the dragline through vibration analysis not only improves the machines availability but also ensures a long operation time free from sudden failure. This paper describes the application of vibration monitor¬ing and analysis techniques to assess the components of a W2000 dragline. The paper reveals that condition monitoring through vibration analysis can be as valuable in failure prevention as it is in failure analysis. Finally, the paper presents an approach to a knowledge-based expert system to the quick and correct diagnosis of mechanical faults in a dragline. Equipment A dragline is an intermittent-discharge-type excavator having a long boom at one end. Unlike other excavators, the bucket is not rigidly held by the frame structure. In favorable geomining conditions, the intensive operation of these exca¬vators is the least-expensive means of overburden removal. The basic working elements of this equipment are the hoist system, the crowd and retract system, the wing mechanism and the propel mechanism. The walking dragline is accepted as the most economical machine for stripping overburden at depths of up to 60 m (200 ft). They are electrically powered and the various motions are effected by individual drives. The Ward-Leonard system is used to provide the optimum flexibility in controlling different dc-drive motors. To mini¬mize the cost of mineral extraction, the largest such machine in India has a 24-m3 (850-cu ft) bucket with a boom length of 96 m (315 ft). Draglines are very costly, and considerable financial penal¬ties may arise from sudden stoppages due to component fail¬ures. Thus, operational reliability is of the greatest importance. Active measures are now being taken to minimize downtime by adopting condition-based maintenance techniques. Though a number of techniques come under this scheme, it has been observed that assessing the health of the dragline by measuring vibration is the best method of determining the dynamic behavior of its various rotating components to avoid any catastrophic failure. Based on criticality, the vibration-behav¬ior of the following components are studied: • motor-generator unit, • exciter unit, • hoist motor-gearbox unit, • hoist drum-gearbox unit, • drag motor-gearbox unit, • drag drum-gearbox unit and • swing motor unit The approach Increases in the vibration levels in different subsystems of the dragline were observed due to the presence of faults such as unbalance, misalignment, looseness and bad bearings. A vibration behavior study included the measurement of vibra¬tion level, trend analysis of time-domain vibration signals and vibration frequency analysis at bearing points of the components. A vibration meter, a vibration analyzer and a data collector are used. Vibration-level measurement. When the dragline was assembled and put into operation for the first time, vibration data were collected to generate baseline data for the equip¬ment (based on International Standard ISO 2372). After¬wards, the vibration levels were recorded regularly using a vibration meter. The measurements were taken at all bearing

Jan 1, 2000

By Albert L. Toenges

This paper is the fourth of a series5/ that describes some methods and practices of mining coal mechanically where operations are conducted on more than one shift. Many inquiries have been received regarding methods of extracting pillars with mechanized equipment, and this paper deals primarily with this phase of mechanical mining. Some of the questions that have been asked are:

Jan 1, 1942

By A. von Röpenack

A forecast of the consequences of our techniques and goods produced, at least a technical assessment will be demanded from us as an industry. The hydrometallurgical winning of zinc is therefore at a crossroads. New processes promise not only better economics, better maintenance of resources and simpler operation, but also more harmony with nature. Pressure leaching promises to eliminate roasting and thus one complete process step. The hematite process solves a difficult and always costly iron problem. HOA opens a possible road to a totally new ,generation of electrolysis. Zinc has a long tradition behind it. Its? importance is as great as ever-. There is still room for new production developments. In my estimation there are good chances for successful new techniques? which will benefit our whole industry. Zinc is a modern and forward-looking metal.

Jan 1, 1990

By Vitor Luiz Sordi, Gustavo Henrique Pelissari

O AISI201LN é um aço inoxidável austenítico com teor reduzido de Ni em relação aos tradicionais da série 300 e com adições de Mn e N como estabilizadores da austenita. Os aços da série 200 se propõem a substituir outros inoxidáveis em algumas aplicações com vantagem econômica pela redução do Ni, porém há pouca informação sobre o seu comportamento em temperaturas elevadas. Este trabalho avalia a resistência à tração do AISI 201LN na temperatura ambiente e na faixa de 500ºC a 800ºC e a resistência à fluência na temperatura de 700ºC. Observou-se que, comparado a outros inoxidáveis austeníticos, o material estudado tem resistência à tração comparável em temperatura ambiente e mantem boa relação ductilidade – resistência no intervalo de 500ºC a 800ºC. O aço AISI201LN apresentou desempenho em testes de fluência na temperatura de 700oC comparável ao de outros aços inoxidáveis austeníticos largamente utilizados para aplicações em altas temperatura, incentivando assim a ampliação dos estudos em outros intervalos de tensões e temperaturas.

Oct 21, 2019

By N. V. Peterson, R. S. Mason

The violent explosion of Mount St. Helens in the state of Washington on May 18, 1980 showered volcanic ash over vast areas of the Northwest. It was another eruptive episode in a long history of similar occurrences in the region, which extends from Canada to California and reaches several hundred miles inland from the Pacific Ocean. Pumice, pumicite, and cinders are products of explosive volcanic eruptions. Pumice and pumicite are produced by the violent expansion of dissolved gases in a viscous silicic lava such as rhyolite or dacite. Scoria is the mafic counterpart of pumice. Pumice is a light-colored, cellular, almost frothy rock made up of glass-walled bubble casts. It may occur as coherent, massive blocks composed of highly vesicular glassy lava in either a flow or vent filling, or it may be more or less fragmented by violent eruption. Pumicite, the diminutive of pumice, has the same origin, chemical composition, and glassy structure, differing only in particle size. Particles less than 0.16 in. in diam are designated pumicite. Pumice usually is found relatively close to the vent from which it was expelled, while pumicite may be carried by winds for great distances before settling as an accumulation of fine-grained ash or tuffaceous sediment. Mount St. Helens lofted an estimated 5 billion cu yd of ash and pumicite. The volcano, unlike most of the High Cascade peaks, is composed largely of dacitic material with only minor amounts of andesite and basalt. Volcanic cinders are the reddish to black vesicular fragments which pile up during explosive eruptions of volcanoes of basaltic composition. Most cinder deposits occur as cones or mounds of stratified fragments ranging from a fraction of an inch to several inches in diameter. Individual cones or mounds may be several hundred feet in diameter and up to 500 ft high. Properties and Uses Low bulk density, good heat and sound insulating properties, and excellent abrasive capabilities make pumice and pumicite useful in industrial applications. Cinders, though less cellular and somewhat heavier, also have a variety of industrial uses. The main use of pumice and cinders continues to be in the construction industry as road-surfacing material, railroad ballast, and building block aggregate. Pumicite is used in sizable quantities as a pozzolanic additive to monolithic concrete where it increases workability, strength, and durability of the concrete and reduces the heat of hydration. Volcanic cinders generally are denser and more coarsely cellular than most pumice. Markets for cinders include aggregate for road construction and surfacing and use in lightweight concretes, particularly blocks. Some producers having access to both pumice and cinders offer a variety of blends of the two materials to block manufacturers. Table I lists the principal applications of industrial pumice. Tables 2 and 3 show US sales and uses of volcanic products. Most pumice deposits are unconsolidated and usually have a minimum of overburden. Mining is by open pit and can be easily carried out with conventional loading equipment. Sometimes air drying precedes hauling to a crushing and screening plant which yields the size product desired. Multiple bins at railroad hauling facilities permit blending if desired. Pumice for abrasive use may require more sophisticated processing by fine grinding and air classification before being bagged for market.

Jan 1, 1983

By P Cleary, G K. Robinson, J Hilton, P Wilson

Concern has been expressed that Vezins can be biased when used for sampling fine materials if the cutter speed is as high as the 0.6 m/s which is often used. Using modelling techniques that consider airflow as well as particles, we have endeavoured to investigate sampling bias as a function of the size of fine particles, cutter aperture, cutter speed, shape of cutter blades, and the size of the gap between the inlet pipe and the cutter blades. Using crude estimates of the rate of airflow and a simple model of a single particle moving through air led to an approximate rule that bias will not occur due to mechanisms related to airflow for particles larger than about 200 microns; and bias will always occur for particles smaller than about 40 microns. For particles between these size limits, the extent of bias depends on particle density, cutter speed and cutter geometry as well as particle size.CITATION:Robinson, G K, Wilson, P, Hilton, J and Cleary, P, 2012. Avoiding bias when using vezins for sampling dusty materials, in Proceedings Sampling 2012 , pp 109-114 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Aug 21, 2012

By L. R. Smith

BUTANE OPERATED drilling rigs are a recent innovation in the petroleum industry, so extensive data on their operation are not available. However, experience indicates that, within limitations, as much can he accomplished with butane as with steam, at a decided reduction .in expense of installation and cost of operation. Commercial butane is a liquid motor fuel similar to gasoline, but much more volatile, so that it has to be stored under pressure. At 10° F. it is liquid at atmospheric pressure, but at 100° it has a pressure of 70 lb. or more. As soon as the pressure is reduced, it turns to vapor and in that state is far more easily mixed with the air necessary for combustion. Butane occurs as a by-product in the absorption process of natural gasoline extraction from casing-head gas. The product has been used to some extent 10 raise the octane value of gasoline. However, because of its volatile nature, such admixture is stable only to a limited degree. Attempts also have been made to introduce the product in a gaseous form into oil- hearing formations in repressuring work. It has, however, until recently, for the most part been wasted.

Jan 1, 1937

The following is an incomplete list of members and guests who called at Institute headquarters between Nov. 10 and Dec. 10, 1917. Harlan H. Bradt, Duluth, Minn. Lt. Geo. H. Morgan. Albert Burch, San Francisco, Cal. F. W. Osborn, Ajo, Ariz. J. A. Daniel, Institute of Mining & Metal- J. C. Ray, 2d Lt., 0. M. C., N. A. lurgy, London. A. E. Ring, Creede, Colo. Martin Fishback, Benson, Ariz. Geo. B. Rodgers, Dobbs Ferry, N. Y. E. L. Foucar, San Francisco, Cal. Forest Rutherford, Pueblo, Colo. I. A. L. Henderson, Institute of Mining & J. G. Scrugham, Reno, Nev. Metallurgy, London. A. F. Shurick, Forest Hills, L. I., N. Y. Jerome A. Hilbert, Santa Monica, Cal. Arthur C. Spencer, Washington, D. C. B. B. Hood, Chrome, N. J. Robert C. Sticht, Mt. Lyell, Tasmania. J. C. Hoyt, Jerome, Ariz. A. Perry Thompson, San Francisco, Cal. A. F. Kennedy, Duluth, Minn. J. B. Tyrrell, Toronto, Canada. Paul S. King, Wilmington, Del. Thor. Warner, Phoenix, Ariz. Alfred C. Levis, Golden, Colo. S. F. Wellman, Cleveland, 0. A. F. Lucas, Washington, D. C. Gardner F. Williams, San Francisco, Cal. B. E. McKechnie, Sharon, Pa. W. G. Woolf, Salt Lake City, Utah.' A. N. Mackay, Barranquilla, Colombia. C. W. Merrill, San Francisco, Cal. P. G. Beckett expects to be located in New York for some time, and may be addressed care of the Phelps, Dodge Corporation at 99 John Street. Corey C. Brayton and E. R. Richards have temporarily closed their San Francisco offices in order to give more time to their operations at Midvale, Utah.

Jan 1, 1918

By P Hagan, S Wang, D Li, B Loh

A study was undertaken to quantify the differences in performance between a full-length encapsulated cable bolt and a partially encapsulated cable bolt. Much research has been reported on the differences in cable bolt design and operational parameters such as borehole diameter and grout type with much of this based on the Laboratory Short Encapsulation Pull Test (LSEPT). However, there is a gap in knowledge surrounding the effect of anchorage length on load transfer and cable bolt performance particularly with respect to the role of the bulb in modified cable bolt designs. The objective of this study was to expand the existing knowledge base of cable bolt performance with the intent of developing a revised design criterion. Alongside a comprehensive review of current cable support theory, design and practice, a series of pull tests was undertaken to compare each anchorage method using a high capacity modified cable bolt. The results serve to confirm earlier work on fully encapsulated anchorage. Both the peak load capacity and stiffness of the fully encapsulated cable bolt were nearly double that of the partially anchored cable bolt. When the tests were repeated in an oversized borehole, while there tended to be more variation in performance, there was little significant difference in the mean results. In addition to anchorage length, there are other factors that contribute to cable bolt performance including in order of sensitivity: embedment length, water-to-cement ratio of the grout, type of grout and borehole diameter. CITATION:Loh, B, Hagan, P, Li, D and Wang, S, 2018. A comparison of the performance of fully versus partially encapsulated cable bolts based on laboratory-scale testing, in Proceedings The Fourth Australasian Ground Control in Mining Conference (AusRock), pp 291–302 (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne).

Nov 30, 2018

By R. V. Lundquist

The Bureau of Mines made a laboratory study of the amenability of anorthosite rock ( from the San Gabriel Mountains , Los Angeles County , Calif . ) to treatment by the lime soda sinter process for the extraction of alumina . The study was done under a cooperative agreement with the California Division of Mines and Geology . This report presents the results of the investigation , and it includes a review of the geology of the deposit ( 7 ) by Dr. Gordon B. Oakeshott . Interest in the recovery of alumina from submarginal aluminum silicate ores is stimulated by the fact that the domestic aluminum industry depends on imports of bauxite for its alumina requirements . Of the 8.0 million long dry tons of high - grade bauxite consumed in 1961 for producing metallurgicalgrade alumina , only 0.9 million long tons , or 11 percent , was mined in this country . During past years many organizations have carried out research programs to determine if alumina could be extracted economically from such domestic ores as clays ( 3 , 4 ) , anorthosite ( 8 ) , and other silicate sources . Successful alumina extraction is the ultimate objective of the Bureau of Mines program.

Jan 1, 1963

By Martin J. Gavin

During the present study of lubricating oils in the San Francisco laboratory of the Bureau of mines it became desirable to distill oils used in the experimental work at pressures as low as 10 mm., (mercury column) absolute. In the effort to overcome difficulties and eliminate sources of error the apparatus described below was finally developed. The distilling flask is essentially the Hempel flask used by the Bureau of Mines for the analytical distillation of petroleum3. The complete apparatus is shown in Figure 1. As air leakage at connections is an ever present or potential source of difficulty and error in vacuum apparatus, the, mouth of the flask is drawn down to one cm. internal diameter which materially simplifies obtaining an air-tight seal at this point. Before reducing the mouth, the spray screen is inserted and adjusted in position.

Jan 1, 1927

By Sevket Acar, Tim Acton

"Zarafshan/Newmont is a 50/25/25 joint venture between Newmont Gold and the State Committee for Geology and Mineral Resources, and Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinat, two entities of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The Zarafshan/Newmont joint venture consists of a heap leaching operation which will process 220 million metric tonnes of existing low-grade oxide ore stockpiles (averaging 0.036 oz Au/t) from the Muruntau mine. Net recovery over the 17-year life of the project is expected to be 4.8 million ounces of gold.The plant construction started in October 1993 and operations commenced on May 25, 1995. The crushing plant consists of four stages of crushing and screening to produce a 95% passing 3.35 mm product, followed by heap leaching and gold recovery by the Merrill-Crowe process. The dore metal is refined at the Muruntau refinery. All gold produced by the joint venture is sold on the world market. IntroductionThe Muruntau mine and nearby town of Zarafshan are located in the center of the Kyzylkum desert, 250 miles west of Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan. Following a mining conference in Moscow in 1990, a Newmont geologist was among the first team of westerners to visit the Muruntau Mine, the second largest gold producer in the former Soviet Union. At Muruntau, they found 220 million tonnes of low grade gold ore that had been stockpiled during the previous 25 years. In February, 1992, six months after Uzbekistan's independence, Newmont signed a 50/50 joint venture agreement with the Uzbek government to use heap leach technology to process the ore. The feasibility study was completed in November of 1992. Plant construction started in October, 1993 and operations commenced on May 25, 1995.Newmont Metallurgical Services performed metallurgical studies to obtain heap leach process design criteria parameters. The initial metallurgical study on 20 grab samples is the subject of this paper."

Jan 1, 1997

By L G. White

During 1958, prospecting parties working for the Mackenzie Syndicate in the Flat River area of the Mackenzie mountains, Northwest Territories, identified tungsten mineralization and located the property now being developed by the Canada Tungsten Mining Corporation Ltd. Scheelite mineralization, associated with pyrrhotite and minor chalcopyrite, occurs in lime silicate skarn replacement zones within a limestone-chert-argillite series intruded by granitic dykes originating from the ? main batholithic mass underlying the sedimentary beds. The results of surface outcrop sampling and 15,000 feet of grid-pattern diamond drilling have been combined to outline an orebody estimated to contain 1.32 million tons, grading 2.51 per cent WO after applying a 10 per cent dilution factor for mining purposes. T HE property of Canada Tungsten Mining Corporation Ltd. is located in the upper Flat River area of the Mackenzie mountains, Northwest Territories. Skarn-type replacement deposits containing scheelite mineralization are .situated between elevations of 4,500 and 5,500 feet above sea level along the east flank of the mountain range forming the boundary between the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories. The nearest supply center for the area is Watson Lake, Yukon Territory, located at Milepost 635 on the Alaska Highway.

Jan 1, 1963

By Brandon Buschmeier, Frederic Masse

"Inclusions are a type of ground improvement that provide an improvement of a soil mass by insertion of a material with better characteristics than the surrounding soils. There are primarily two types of inclusions: “Soft” inclusions which are constructed of granular material (Stone Columns, Rammed Aggregate Piers, VibroPiers...), and “rigid” inclusions which are constructed of grout inserted with or without pressure (VibroConcrete Columns, Controlled Modulus Columns, Soil Mixing Columns).While the central principle of the inclusions is similar (i.e., overall improvement of characteristics of the soil mass below the structure), the load transfer mechanism is radically different for each technique. Therefore, the applicable design methodology is specific to the type of inclusions and there exists no universal method of design which spans across all inclusions.This paper will present an in-depth comparison between the standard design methods used for “soft” granular-type inclusions (Priebe modified, Balaam & Booker, Goughnour & Bayuk...) and the methods used for “rigid” inclusions which mainly rely on finite element analysis. The paper will explain why the design for soft inclusion methods cannot be applied to rigid inclusions and vice-versa. Each design method will be reviewed in detail to better emphasize its limitations and advantages.Two case histories will also be presented; one for each type of inclusions in order to illustrate the concepts developed in the first part of the paper.1 INTRODUCTION1.1 GENERAL OVERVIEW OF GROUND IMPROVEMENT WITH INCLUSIONSThe use of ground improvement methods to provide the appropriate amount of foundation support is a growing and constantly evolving industry. Traditional structural foundation methods including ‘shallow’ and ‘deep’ foundations do not adequately address the wide range of settlement tolerances, soil conditions, and loading considerations inherent to each unique potential project. In some instances, ‘shallow’ foundation solutions are simply not feasible due to soil and loading constraints. Furthermore, ‘deep’ foundation solutions are used to ‘bridge’ the soft compressible soils, ensuring that the entirety of the load in the structure is transmitted through individual elements into competent layers below the ground surface (bedrock, dense residual soils). Highly concentrated structural loads are transferred into the individual elements by means of direct contact requiring the use of structurally rigid surficial components (structural slabs, grade beams, and pile caps).Ground improvement bridges the gap between these two traditional methods, offering adequate foundation support while using more costeffective techniques and design methodologies. Inclusions are a type of ground improvement used to provide a reinforcement of the soil mass through the vertical insertion of a material with better characteristics than the surrounding soils. Much like deep foundations, inclusions are installed through soil layers with high compressibility and/or low bearing capacity and terminated in a suitable bearing stratum. However, unlike deep foundations, ground improvement inclusions rely on a distribution of load between the soil and the inclusions. By doing so, some of the structural load is applied directly to the soil in a proportion equal to its bearing capacity and compressibility limits, while the rest of the load is shed into the vertical inclusions down to the bearing stratum. Load sharing is a critical aspect in the performance and design of the various ground improvement methods."

Jan 1, 2015

By Ben E. Lindsly

The recovery or partial recovery of the oil remaining in oil sands after the usual methods of production have become unprofitable is perhaps the greatest problem in the petroleum industry today. The amount of this oil remaining in the sand is variously estimated by those familiar with the subject to be 25 to 90 per cent of the original content.2 Lewis3 states, "The estimate of 80 to 90 per cent of the oil left underground does not seem incredible."

Jan 1, 1926

By A D. Turnbull

In Canada, although some research on extraction metallurgy is carried out by the universities and by government, the primary responsibility for the research necessary to the mining industry rests on the industry it-self. Automation is coming more slowly to the mining industry than to others, partly because of the problems of instrumentation. Operations research methods are, however, coming into use. Some new developments in the extraction of aluminum, in iron and steel, in pyrometallurgy and in pressure leaching of nickel, copper, zinc and lead are briefly outlined. Mention is made of uranium and the reactive metals. The importance of the by-product metals, notably antimony, bismuth, gallium, germanium, indium and tellurium, in the development of the electronics industry is also mentioned. The trend toward co-operative research by groups of producers, to develop markets for their products, is noted. In conclusion, there are a greater number of trained scientists, as well as larger amounts of scientific knowledge, available to the mineral industry than ever before, and, if properly used, this will result in great benefits to the industry and to Canada.

Jan 1, 1963