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By D. Weinstein

Yieldilzg in annealed arc-cast molybdenunz in torsion was studied as a function of strain rate and tem-perature. The temperature dependence of the yield point for different strain rates was used to calculate a heat of activation for the yield point. The heat of activation was not a constant but was approximately a linear function of the stress at yield. It is proposed that the rate effect in yielding is determined in part by a site place-change of C (or other interstitial atom) in the metal. THE low-temperature embrittlement phenomenon in metals and alloys has been known to exist for a long time. Although a transition from ductile to brit-tle behavior has been observed in some close-packed hexagonal metals1 and a face-centered cubic alloy, the most common class of metals exhibiting this be-havior has a body-centered cubic lattice structure. For example, a ductile to brittle transition has been observed in iron,3 molybdenum,4 chromium,5 colum-bium,6 and tungsten.7 In the present investigation, molybdenum specimens were tested in torsion over a wide range of temperatures at three widely separated strain rates, and the temperature for onset of embrittlement was determined. Characteristic of body-centered cubic metals and closely associated with plastic deformation is the appearance of a sharp upper and lower yield point. Theoretical explanation of the yield point in iron and low-carbon steel is due to Cottrell,8 who attributes the phenomenon to the pinning of dislocations by the formation of impurity atmospheres around the dislocations. These atmospheres tend to lock the dislocations and make them more difficult to move. The stress required to move a dislocation and thereby cause plastic deformation is greatly increased, and thus an upper yield point is observed. In addition, theoretical analysis,9 as well as experimental observations, show that the upper yield point is strongly a function of temperature. The upper yield point is observed to decrease with an increase in testing temperature, and above a certain temperature (-700° K in iron) it no longer appears. This is consistent with the concept that thermal vibrations will help free a dislocation from its atmosphere, so that the external stress required to free a dislocation from its pinning atmosphere decreases with increasing temperature. Furthermore, with increasing temperature the equilibrium concentration of impurity atoms around a dislocation decreases exponentially with the result that the dislocation is less firmly pinned. In Cottrell's theory of yield point a static model is visualized in which the pinning atmospheres, particularly interstitial atoms, are immobile, and the dislocations are anchored to stationary positions in the lattice. However, experiments1,7 show the upper yield point to be time-dependent or a function of the rate of straining, a high strain rate causing a high upper yield point. Present theory does not adequately account for the rate dependence of the yield point, and the exact function of the interstitial atom is not under stood. Nevertheless, observation of the temperature dependence and rate dependence strongly suggests that the upper yield point phenomenon is due to the interaction between dislocations and pinning atoms, and that a diffusion mechanism is important in determining the yield point.

Jan 1, 1962

By Patti J. Best

The Southern Powder River Basin (SPRB) now commands 30% of the US utility, coal market due to the region's low mine production costs, competitive rail rates and low sulfur content. In 1997, production exceeded 240 Mt (265 million st). This was an in¬crease of 104 Mt (115 million st) since 1989 and 4.5 Mt (5 million st) above 1996. Continued growth is expected as the second phase of the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) approaches. This growth will be the greatest in the southern part of the Basin where coal quality is higher. Coal characteristics SPRB coal is classified as subbituminous due to its low heating value and high moisture content. The coal is characterized by low sulfur and ash contents, low ash fusion temperatures and high reactivities. In 1997, the average heating content was 8,593 Btu/lb, with an average sulfur and ash content of 0.79 lbs S02/million [ ] Btu and 5.13%, respectively. The distinguishing characteristic of SPRB coal is its low sulfur content. Most SPRB coal contains less than 1.2 lbs S02/million Btu. This is the approximate definition of "compliance" coal for Phase II of the CA AA. Much of the coal, particularly in the southern part of the Basin, is referred to as "super-compliance" coal due to SO2 contents of between 0.4 and 0.7 lbs SO2/million Btu. The SPRB is divided into three geographic clusters based on coal quality. Mines located in the southern part produce coal with the lowest average sulfur content and highest heating content, almost 400

Jan 1, 1998

By Dennis C. Parker

The Porters Creek clay is mined for its absorbent properties. The formation is part of the Upper Mississippi embayment and is recognized in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and southeast Missouri. Major minerals in order of abundance are Montmorillonite, Quartz, Illite, Kaolinite, and Chlorite. Mining consists of open pit operation utilizing track loaders or scraper. The clay is dried or hardened in rotary kilns and crushed to size by roll crushers. The clay granules are sized and air classified prior to storage for shipment or packaging. Granules are sold for pet absorbents, oil absorbents, anti-skid material, fertilizer, and pesticide carriers.

Jan 1, 1979

By M. M. Makhofane

Anhydrous zirconium tetrafluoride can be used as a precursor for the manufacturing of nuclear-grade zirconium metal. This can be done by fluorinating plasma-dissociated zircon with ammonium bifluoride in a batch reactor. This paper describes the batch process. It was proved that anhydrous zirconium tetrafluoride can be manufactured by this route as confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The process shows potential for scaling up to the kilogram scale and possibly the tonnage scale.

Jan 1, 2012

By Paul Pedini

The challenge of Contract C19E1 of Boston's Central Artery Project called for the construction of two roadways under the commuter rail yard at North Station. Two options were offered for the method of their construction: Slurry Wall Roof-First or Soft Ground Tunneling. The instability of the indigenous soils seemed to rule out the use of tunneling, so the slurry wall method was chosen. However, these soils were incapable of holding up during slurry trench excavation. After many episodes of ground loss on early panel excavations, Modem Continental Construction suggested a method of trench wall stabilization. The Contractor (MCC) both suggested wall stabilization method and requested that the owner participate in the funding for the effort. The Project and the Contractor were able to agree on a solution which resulted in collapse-free excavation...and found an innovative way to fund the solution.

Jan 1, 2002

By Robert W. Bruhn

Ground movements associated with high extraction underground coal mining, such as pillar retreat and longwall, are sometimes large enough to disrupt the ground water regime as well as damage buildings and other surface structures. A U.S. Department of Energy/Bureau of Mines- sponsored subsidence study currently underway at Kitt Energy Corporation's Kitt No. 1 Mine near Philippi (Barbour County), West Virginia has provided an opportunity to monitor the ground water response above a mine panel during both developmental and pillar retreat mining. The initial findings concerning ground water effects presented in this paper indicate that total extraction mining produced significant water level declines in deep-lying strata but had little effect on water bevels at shallower depths.

Jan 1, 1985

By D. E. Healy

In 1989 an Autogenous Grinding Task Force was formed to study potential autogenous grinding circuits to replace the existing semi-autogenous grinding at the National Steel Pellet Plant located in Keewatin, Minnesota. Pilot plant test work performed by the Hanna Research Center (HRC) indicated that fully autogenous grinding with pebble extraction and crushing could feasibly be incorporated into the existing circuits. In 1990, one of the existing ten grinding mills was converted for an in-plant test incorporating pebble crushing. The full scale test work conducted in 1990 and 1991 verified the pilot plant projections with primary mill throughputs from the fully autogenous circuit utilizing pebble crushing being greater than throughput of the existing SAG mill circuits.

Jan 1, 1992

The stability of parallel underground coal mine galleries and pillars have been investigated using two- and three-dimensional (3D) numerical stress analysis. Anisotropic horizontal in situ stresses and the direction of the excavations have been considered in the numerical analysis. The stability of the tunnels driven in a coal seam at various working depths has been investigated taking into account different strata conditions and then results from two- and three-dimensional numerical modelling studies were compared. Maximum principal stress components have been chosen in three various directions: vertical, parallel and perpendicular to the tunnel axis. Analysis have shown that in the anisotropic in situ stress field, the favourable direction of underground mine openings which have different strata conditions depend not only on the horizontal in situ stresses but also on the vertical in situ stresses. Furthermore, 3D numerical modelling studies have been carried out to investigate stability of multiple entry longwall panel gate roads and pillars with various width-to-length ratios (W/L). Results of the modelling studies have shown that the critical dimension of coal pillars depends on their width and the direction of maximum horizontal stresses.

Dec 6, 2010

By C. W. Smith

The U.S. Bureau of Mines; Tuscaloosa Research Center, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under interagency Agreement No. 14-09-0078-1510, conducted a comprehensive sampling program of 10 upland disposal sites along the Alabama, Black Warrior, and Tombigbee River systems in Alabama. Samples from each site were characterized according to particle size, chemical analysis, mineralogical content, and potential end use. Additionally, samples were subjected to the Toxic Characteristic Leachate Procedure to determine the presence of potentially harmful heavy metals. Based on the results of these studies, each sample was determined to have properties amenable for use as aggregate in general-purpose portland cement concretes and certain asphalt concrete applications.

Jan 1, 2010

By S. F. Guo, B. W. Zheng, X. L. Huang, S. W. Qi

"The study of mechanical characteristics of rock discontinuities under different shear deformation velocities is an important premise of rock slope dynamic response analysis. According to disposing and calculating the experimental results of previous research about peak shear strength of rock discontinuities under different shear deformation velocity of constant normal loading, the law of influence of shear velocity on the total friction angle is studied. Based on the research results, it can be found that the total friction angle of rock joint specimens varies in the form of negative logarithm with the variation of shear deformation velocity. It’s also indicated that the total friction angle of rock joints decreases with the increase of shear deformation velocity for rock joints of relative strong homogeneity and isotropy. However, the total friction angle of rock joints increases with the increase of shear deformation velocity for rock joints of relative strong heterogeneity and anisotropy and the latter amplitude of increase is less than the former amplitude of decrease. The physical property and microscopic geometry of rock joints play an important effect on the increase or decrease tendency and amplitude variation of total friction angle with the increase of shear deformation velocity.INTRODUCTIONThe rock slope dynamic response is largely restricted by rock discontinuities. Hence the study of dynamic characteristics of rock discontinuities, especially the dynamic shear characteristics is an important premise of rock slope dynamic response analysis (Qi et al., 2007). Seismic load is both dynamic load and cyclic load (Liu et al., 2011). Under the dynamic and cyclic shearing actions of seismic load, the rock slope which is stable under the condition of static load may slide along the rock discontinuities whose shear strength reduce and then the earthquake landslides occur. The strength degradation and deformation mechanism of rock discontinuities under the dynamic and cyclic shearing actions is one of the key problems to be solved in the work of earthquake prevention and control of engineering slope. Based on the above understanding, predecessors conduct some researches which focus on the shear behavior mechanical characteristics of rock joints under cyclic shearing actions (Plesha, 1987; Hutson & Dowding, 1990; Jing et al., 1992, 1993; Huang et al., 1993; Qiu et al., 1993; Homand et al., 2001; Lee et al., 2001; Jafari et al., 2003; Liu et al., 2011, 2013). However, there are a few researches about the mechanical characteristics of rock joints under different shear deformation velocities because of the restriction of shear apparatus. Crawford and Curran (1981) conducted a series of one-way cyclic direct shear tests on four kinds of natural rock joints under different shear deformation velocities varying from 0 to 200 mm/s. The tests showed that at low normal stresses the peak shear strength of soft rock joints exhibited an increase up to a certain velocity, after which it remained essentially constant. For rock joints of intermediate hardness, the peak shear strength was essentially independent of shear deformation velocity; whereas for hard rock joints, the peak shear strength of which showed a significant variation with the shear deformation velocity. Jafari et al. (2003) carried out a series of conventional triaxial tests on artificial rock joints of regular saw-tooth shape with axial loading rate from 0.05 mm/s to 0.4 mm/s."

Jan 1, 2015

By H. R. Ogden, A. G. Imgram, D. N. Williams

The effects of composition on the mechanical properties and aging characteristics of several alloys in the Ti-V-Cr system, with and without aluminum modifications, were evaluated. Increasing the chromium, vandium, or aluminum content increased the strength of quenched structures with chromium being the most effective strengthener. Appreciable aging response was obtained with low chromium alloys, but high chromium alloys age softened rather than. hardened. High vanadium contents had a similar effect. Aluminum additions shifted the aging behavior toward that observed in lower chromium alloys, enabling high chromium alloys to be age hardened. DURING the course of titanium alloy development many a and a-ß alloys have been evolved to commercial status. However, only one all-ß alloy has achieved this same stature. This is the Ti-13V-11Cr-3Al alloy. It is characterized by a very sluggish ß-phase decomposition reaction such that very slow cooling rates can retain the 0 phase at room temperature. In addition, very high strength levels can be obtained by long-time aging treatments. Combinations of cold or warm working followed by aging produce even further improvements in strength. This paper describes the results of a research program in which the effects of composition on the mechanical properties and aging characteristics of several alloys in the Ti-V-Cr system, with and without aluminum modifications, were evaluated. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES Electrolytically refined, high-purity titanium was used as the alloy base for these studies. Iodide chromium, electrolytically refined vanadium granules, and high-purity aluminum sheet were used as alloying additions. The compositions of interest were melted as 250-g ingots in a direct current arc melting furnace under a flowing atmosphere of argon. The ingots were hot forged to 3/4-in.-diam bars, vacuum annealed for 6 hr at 1800°F to reduce residual hydrogen content, and then hot swaged to 1/4-in.-diam rods. Fabrication history, and interstitial analyses after fabrication are given in Table I. All specimens to be heat treated were sealed in Vycor capsules under a partial pressure of argon. Samples used to define the ß transus were quenched from temperatures ranging from 1350° to 1100°F after holding at temperature for 15 min. Samples for aging studies were quenched from above the ß transus temperature and then aged for up to 64 hr at 750°F and for 100 hr at 850°, 900°, and 950°F. The effects of straining prior to aging were also investigated. The results of these studies were used to select the heat treatments for the tensile specimen blanks. Heat treatments of the tensile specimens are described in Table 11. Alloys were aged after solution heat treatment or after solution heat treatment and cold swaging to 50 pct reduction in area. Standard 0.125-in.-diam tensile specimens were machined from the heat-treated blanks. All tensile tests were performed in a Baldwin-Southwark uni-

Jan 1, 1963

By W. de Klerk, M. B. Thorpe

Golden Star Resources Bogoso operates in Ghana’s Western Region. The gold recovery plant includes; a flotation circuit producing a concentrate for the BIOX® process that oxidizes sulphides before a CIL circuit; and a dedicated CIL circuit. BIOX® uses bacteria, therefore water from the BIOX® and CIL plants remained separated; CN water could not be introduced into the flotation / BIOX® circuit. The operation built a process water inventory with high TDS and installed a process water treatment plant (PWTP). Water was released in compliance the permits but containing some thiocyanate. The PWTP brine was returned to the TSF, further exacerbating the TDS. The operation experienced a drought removing the traditional water sources; the team evaluated the options to maintain production - various water streams were laboratory tested provided options for water use. The paper presents the story (treatment chemistry and process chemistry) of continued operations by treating stored water and PWTP discharge water with peroxide; brine usage within the CIL circuit, which increased gold recovery (laboratory testing) and reduced the TDS. Water flows were further modified to include hydraulic tailings re-mining to a CIL circuits. Details of the recovery, basic chemistry and costs savings are provided.

Jan 1, 2014

By F. Riedel

In May 2009 a test work programme was carried out at the sorting laboratory of CommodasUltrasort in Germany which was aimed at establishing the efficiency of X- ray transmission sorting for the recovery of unliberated diamonds in a size range of +8mm. A PRO Tertiary XRT belt sorter with a working width of 600mm and a belt speed of -3mJs was used for the test work. Dual energy X-ray transmission sorting is a type of sensor-based sorting which uses an X-ray scanning system, The attenuation of the transmitting X-rays is measured at two different energy levels, Thereby it is possible to eliminate the effect of the particle thickness on the measurement result. The effective measurement results in a classification by elemental order based on the periodic table.

Jan 1, 2010

This paper describes a simple finite element (FE) modelling approach which leads to the computation of seismic energy release rate (ERR) and strain energy storage rate (ESR) which result from mining. The concept of critical strain energy is introduced as a means to help evaluate the strainburst potential in mine structures. A new, energy-based, burst potential index (BPI) is proposed. The use of ERR, ESR and BPI is demonstrated by a cut-and-fill stope case study. The merits of using such energy parameters in the interpretation and analysis of strainburst phenomena are discussed. While the study gives promising results, site-specific back analyses would be required to first calibrate the model and fit it with the local mine conditions, before it can be adopted as a routine design tool.

Jan 1, 1999

By T. Y. Chong, J. A. Folinsbee, M. Fullam

PJV Dome Mine has used some form of gravity concentration since start of milling operation in 1909 to recover free milling gold. Amalgamation and conventional jigs were first used and were replaced with the Knelson Concentrators in 1993. The Knelson concentrates produced were upgraded on a conventional shaking table prior to smelting and refining into gold bullion. In May 2002, a comprehensive review of the latest gravity recovery technology led to a piloting campaign aimed at further improving gravity recovery. The Knelson concentrates, subjected to intensive cyanide leaching in an Acacia pilot plant, were found to be amenable to intensive cyanide leaching with over 98% of the gold being dissolved within 24 hours. An Acacia Intensive Leach Reactor was successfully installed and commissioned in December 2002, to replace the shaking table. his paper describes pilot scale testing, installation, commissioning and optimization of the Acacia Intensive Leach Reactor. Also, the economic impacts on down stream processes are highlighted.

Jan 1, 2005

The paper deals with the results of dynamic tests carried out on a range of surface support liners consisting of combinations of mesh (various types), shotcrete, and wire rope lacing. The testing was carried out over the period 1993 to 1998. The dynamic testing method made use of drop weight impact loading of test samples which attempted to simulate realistic in situ conditions, and the range of loading imposed was equivalent to small to severe rockburst conditions. The results of the testing provide quantitative data, in the form of input energy, which is relevant for support design and for the choice of support types appropriate for situations in which significant mine-induced seismicity occurs or is expected to occur. In addition to the wire mesh and shotcrete liner systems tested, estimates of energy capacity are made for other, untested, systems.

Jan 1, 2001

By Bradford F. Townsend, Colin R. Speers

INTRODUCTION This is the first in a series of papers addressing practical tunnel lining design. The format for this and future papers is to present a particular topic and support the presentation of the guidelines by the practical application of a case history. The primary intent is to provide guidelines for the geotechnical and structural design of tunnels where the tunnel size and/or ground conditions dictates that systematic support of the excavation is required following each increment of excavation. This method of tunneling is commonly referred to as Sequential Excavation and Support(SES) and is also commonly termed the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM) The authors developed the design guidelines from experience gained over the past two decades during the design and construction of several major railway, highway and water-transfer tunnel projects in Africa and Asia. During this time it has been possible to compare the performance of the as-constructed structures to the predicted performance as given by the design process. Excavation was typically carried out in widely varying ground conditions (weak-bedded rock, jointed hard rock, and soil-like poorly cemented rock with groundwater). It is therefore intended that the design guidelines could be applied, in general terms at least, to any tunnel excavated in any ground mass condition with any ground material type (hard rock, soft rock, bedded rock, soft ground, and soil) with or without ground water. This first paper is an introductory paper that defines the scope and a brief outline of the design issues that may be presented in detail in later papers. What is design? It may be thought of as any rational/verifiable/justifiable process whereby a concept is transformed into information that can be used to bring the concept to reality. In the case of a civil structure, design may be defined as that process, which is documented and can be audited, that determines information such as the shape (form) of the structure, the dimensions (size) of the structure, the thickness and strength of structural members that comprise the structure, etc. This information can be used to compute the time, money and resources required for

Jan 1, 2005

By R. L. Stanton

"The present contribution is complementary with a preceding one on the field association of the conform-able ""pyritic"" deposits. It considers the more important features of their mineralogical constitution and their microtextures, re-examines the present interpretations of these, and of-fer-some alternative explanations. The term ""pyritic"" for these de-posits is m many cases a misnomer, as two quite distinct ore types are inuolve. One is a banded pyritic sphalerite-galena-chalcopyrite ore (for which the term '•pyritic"" is in-deed quite suitable), while the other is non-banded and is composed essentially of pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite. In addition to these constitutional differences, each is distinctive in general appearance and texture. The occurrence of two such consistent but clearly distinguishable ore types is attributed -rather than to difference in source material and pressure-temperature conditions of deposition -to the contribution of similar source material to dissimilarly oxygenated environments of sedimentation. Textures in the banded ores generally thought to be indicative of replacement or of high-temperature exsolution are explained by slow, law-temperature segregation in situ during compaction, folding, and regional metamorphism."

Jan 1, 1960

By N. A. Beier, N. Slingerland

"Oil sands tailings impoundments rank among the largest (spatially) in the world, covering a total of approximately 220 km2 of northern Alberta, Canada. A preliminary geomorphic design for an oil sands tailings storage facility (TSF) landform was completed with the goal of eventual closure and delicensing in mind. This paper outlines methods identified during the design process that streamline closure when implemented early in the mine planning and TSF design stages. With most oil sands TSFs currently in active operation (and some still in the planning stages), geotechnical engineers and mine planners have the opportunity to make operational and design decisions, such as those outlined herein, that are likely to improve the geotechnical and environmental performance of the landform post closure. ¦ KEYWORDS Alberta, Athabasca oil sands (AOS), Landform design, Reclamation, Sand dam, Tailings storage facility (TSF) RÉSUMÉ Les bassins d’accumulation des résidus issus des sables bitumineux font partie des plus grands (en termes d’espace) au monde, et couvrent au total environ 220 km2 dans le nord de l’Alberta, au Canada. Une conception géomorphologique préliminaire a été réalisée pour le modelé d’une installa¬tion de stockage des résidus (ISR) issus des sables bitumineux en gardant à l’esprit la fermeture et le retrait de permis à terme. Cet article présente les méthodes identifiées pendant le processus de conception qui simplifient la fermeture lorsqu’elles sont mises en oeuvre dès les premières étapes de planification de la mine et de conception de l’ISR. La plupart des ISR issus des sables bitumineux se trouvent dans des exploitations actives (dont certaines en sont encore aux étapes de planification), aussi les ingénieurs géo¬techniques et les planificateurs miniers ont la possibilité de prendre des décisions en termes d’exploita¬tion et de conception, telles que celles présentées ici, qui pourraient améliorer la performance géotechnique et environnementale de la phase suivant la fermeture du modelé. ¦ MOTS CLÉS Alberta, assainissement, barrage de sable, conception du modelé, installation de stockage des résidus (ISR), sables bitumineux de l’Athabasca (SBA)INTRODUCTION The Athabasca oil sands (AOS) underlie 140,200 km2 of land in northeastern Alberta, Canada. Oil sands located within 100 m of the original surface account for 4,800 km2 of the total area and are considered to be economically mineable (Figure 1; ERCB, 2009). Bitumen, the thick, tar-like substance contained in the AOS, is extracted through open-pit mining and in-situ methods. During mining, the overburden is first removed as waste and the sandy, bitumi¬nous ore (“oil sand”) is transported to processing facilities via conveyor belts and 400 t trucks. Warm and hot water, as well as process aides such as caustic soda, are mixed with the oil sand, creating a slurry from which bitumen is mobilized and extracted. The resulting slurry waste product is called “tailings” and contains mineral solids, process water, and small proportions of unrecovered bitumen (Masliyah, Zhou, Xu, Czarnecki, & Hamza, 2004; Sobkowicz & Morgenstern, 2009)."

Jan 1, 2019

By J. Langwaldt

Ammonium-nitrate is a main component in blasting agents and dissolved ammonium residues may be discharged with mine water. The European Union aims to reach a good state of the water quality and recommends ammonium content below 0.5 mg/L for drinking water. Natural zeolites adsorb ammonium from water. In this work, the removal of low-concentration ammonium by commercial natural zeolites was studied in continuous tests. Natural zeolites made up between 83% and 95% of the mineral composition. The major zeolite minerals were chabazite and clinoptiolites and minor amounts of erionite and mordenite were as well present. The five natural zeolite samples, 500~710 µm, were conditioned to obtain zeolites in the Na-form. Ammonium adsorption onto natural zeolites depends mainly on the zeolite mineral type. The chabazite containing zeolite was superior over the four clinoptiolite samples for the removal of low concentrations of ammonium from water (pH of 7.5, flow 5 mL/min, room temperature). The adsorption capacity of chabazite was 48.3 mg NH4+/g zeolites, i.e. 73% of the theoretical exchange capacity 69 mg NH4+/g, during duration over 107 days and almost 6700 bed volumes exchanged. The four tested clinoptiolites had an ad-sorption capacity of 15.7mg to 25.0 mg NH4+/g zeolites. The natural zeolites were rapidly regenerated by an alkaline sodium chloride solution fed to the columns.

Jan 1, 2014