Search Documents

By R. V. Ramani

This volume is the second of a four-volume final report on research carried out under a contract from the U.S. Bureau of Mines on the development of a computer simulation model for surface mine reclamation planning. The other volumes are titled as follows: Volume I: Ore Reserve Estimation, Volume III: Mine Coordinate Generator System, and Volume IV: User's Manual for OPMHS/2. The dragline model described in this report simulates the movement of the dragline bucket across the digging face, the swing load, the dump, and swing back. It is programmed to handle chopdown, key cut, main cut, and rehandling operations. Provisions have been made for simulating equipment and mining delays. Any mining method can be specified in terms of numbered blocks, the dragline positions for the mining block and the dumping location for the block. Accounting procedures permit the calculation of production rates, rehandle volume, dig and delay times. The model can be used to study the effects of varying mining conditions, cut width, and spoiling sequence with special reference to toxic spoil, overburden and bench removal procedures. The basic input data for the model include machine parameters, the geology and material characteristics, the mining parameter, and the delay characteristics of the equipment.

Jan 1, 1985

By Byron M. Bird

"The prevailing practice of washing unsized coal, 1/2-inch and finer, to 1/8-inch and finer, on a table is subject to certain limitations which are commonly overlooked. In some instances good results are obtained by this method, but often the opposite is true and the efficiency of the washing operation is low. Although the separation taking place on a concentrating table is not fully understood, the actual distribution of particles of various sizes and specific gravities was determined a number of years ago by ore-dressing investigators. Hence this paper consists of an analysis of an old problem by new methods. The experimental data on which the discussion is based were obtained in the course of coal-washing investigations conducted by the U. S. Bureau of Mines at the Northwest Experiment Station in cooperation with the University of Washington and with certain coal operator: of that State.Experimental WorkThe general method of study has been to take a large number of zonal products from the table, and separate them according to specific gravity and size into their component parts. The table used is one of the standard commercial sizes with a diagonal deck. The coal to be washed is split into representative portions, which are stored in separate bins. One portion is used for ""timing as"" the table; the products are collected continuously in the same turned to the feed bin, and thus a closed circuit is completed. When the despite conditions on the table are obtained, coal is fed from one of the re. After the table is operating smoothly the entire product is minute; such a sample is sufficiently large to represent accurately the work of the table and at the same time to minimize the effect of beginning at the end next to the head motion, separate samples are made for each foot along the edge of the deck."

Jun 1, 1926

By Spencer P. Howell, Munroem Charles E.

"Introduction;As in the case of TNT previously presented*, this report presents the results of an investigation to discover the safest and best way of utilizing picric acid for industrial blasting purposes. It describes the physical and chemical properties of this explosive, gives precautions to be observed in handling, packing, preparation of cartridges, and holes, presents the results of field tests in blasting stumps and bowlders, and compares the results with those obtained from dynamite.The investigations reported herein were undertaken and this paper has been prepared, solely to aid in the salvage of the surplus picric acid accumulated for war uses and released by the declaration of the armistice. No funds were available nor have any been appropriated with which to defray the expense of converting this picric acid into any other form or to prepare any explosive mixture from it. The sole problem was to find appropriate uses for this military picric acid in existing needs and to show that it can be efficiently used in carrying out essential civil projects.It is not intended by this publication to promote the use of picric acid as an industrial explosive further than is necessary for the proper utilization of this surplus. On the contrary, the authors believe that picric acid by itself is unlikely to come into general use as an industrial explosive, chiefly because of its cost but also as shown by the clouds of smoke it emits on explosion and the nature of the reactions it undergoes because we do not obtain from it its highest efficiency. As demonstrated in its previous use in Joveite, better results and higher efficiencies may be obtained by mixing picric acid in proper proportions with sodium nitrate or ammonium nitrate, to more completely oxidize the picric acid, and another nitrosubstitution compound, such as nitronaphthalenes, with which do desensitize and waterproof the composition formed. By such admixture not only may the energy resident in the picric acid, be more fully utilized but the cost of the resulting blasting explosive should be much less than that of picric acid."

Apr 1, 1921

By M. C. Malamphy

A general description of the activities and results of bauxite investigation by the Bureau of Mines at its bauxite project in Saline and Pulaski Counties, Ark., has been given in Report of Investigations No. 4251. The factual data obtained during the project are reported in a series of Reports of Investigation beginning with No. 4251, of which this is the fifth. The data are accompanied by maps showing the location of holes drilled and deposits developed. Each area upon which work was done is reported by half townships. Each bauxite deposit investigated was assigned a name and a number for ready reference and identification, and its location and name are shown on the appropriate half-township map. The description of each half township is followed by a description of each deposit developed in that half township. The 14 half-township maps and 77 detail maps of the bauxite deposits in this series of reports give the locations and numbers of all the holes drilled on the project except the deep holes drilled to test the geophysical anomalies. The locations of those holes show on figure 13 in Volume I. The descriptions of the deposits developed are followed by complete detailed logs of the drill holes. Many of the widely spaced exploratory holes did not discover bauxite of minable thickness and grade. The pertinent information obtained from the widely spaced exploratory drill holes has been summarized and tabulated, and a table for each half township is given with the discussion of that area.

Jan 1, 1948

By L. G. Trudell, J. W. Smith, K. E. Stanfield

Oil- yield data are presented for 40 sets of core samples and 83 sets of drill cuttings collected in 1952-62 from drilling operations in the Uinta basin of eastern Utah . This accumulated information on the location , extent , and richness of oil shales of the Green River formation is used to appraise the deposits as a source of oil and related products . Core samples used in the study were obtained specifically for evaluating oil shale , and they were satisfactory for this purpose , except they did not completely penetrate the formation . The drill- cutting samples were inferior to the core samples and yielded more erratic results . Consequently, oil yields based on cuttings should be regarded as indicative , rather than definite , until substantiated by other means . In general , the oil- yield data indicate Green River oil shale in Uinta basin is not as thick or as uniform as that in the Piceance Creek basin of western Colorado . However , it is an important potential source of oil . Estimates that beds 15 feet or more thick that average 25 gallons of oil per ton represent at least 120 billion barrels of oil in place are supported by the recent oil- yield data .

Jan 1, 1964

By Louis C. Brichta

The Rush Creek district of Marion County, Ark., has had a more or less continuous record of zinc production over the past 40 years. The ore has come from many small mines working on oxidized and semi-oxidized deposits found in the Everton formation where that formation forms the present surface rock. Prospecting has been restricted to the hillsides above the creek levels, the actual ore outcrops being the guides. Little attention has been paid the possible sulfide zones. In August 1942, the United States Geological Survey and the Bureau of Mines recommended exploration of the Powell and Cotter formations, which underlie the Everton, for which purpose the Survey had previously located 18 proposed drill-hole sites in geological structures that seemed favorable to are deposition.

Jan 1, 1949

By Cleo Griffith Rall

The method for determining the effective porosity, of oil- and gas- bearing sand described in this report is a development of an earlier method devised by Bureau of Mines. The apparatus has been improved and made more convenient to use, but the procedure has been in use for many years without essential changes. A tabulation at the end of the report gives the results of more than 2,000 porosity determinations for oil sands in the fields of 13 states. A selected bibliography of articles containing descriptions and evaluations of various methods of determining porosity Is a. part of this report. The method was devised and developed at the Petroleum Experiment Station at Bartlesville, Okla., as part of the Bureau's research on fluid-energy relationships and ,on methods of improving the recovery of crude oil from underground reservoirs.

Jan 1, 1949

By M. C. Malamphy

A general description of the activities and results of bauxite investigation by the Bureau of Mines at its bauxite project in Saline and Pulaski Counties, Ark., has been given in Report of Investigations 4251. In this volume and in a series of Reports of Investigations immediately following the factual data obtained during the project are reported. The data are accompanied by maps showing the location of holes drilled and the deposits developed. Each area upon which work was done is reported by half townships. Each bauxite deposit investigated was assigned a name and a number for ready reference and identification, and its location und name are shown on the appropriate half-township map.-The description of each half township is followed by a description of each deposit developed in that half township. The 14 half-township maps and 77 detail maps of the bauxite deposits in this eeri88 of reports give the locations and numbers of all the holes drilled on the project except the deep holes drilled to test the geophysical anomalies. The locations of those holes show on figure 13 in volume 1 (R. I. 4251). The descriptions of the deposits developed are followed by complete detailed logs of the drill holes. Many of the widely spaced exploratory holes did not discover bauxite of minable thickness and grade. The pertinent information obtained from the widely spaced exploratory drill holes has been summarized and tabulated, and a table tor each half township is given with the discussion covering that area.

Jan 1, 1948

By R. V. Ramani, K. V. K. Prasad, M. Swaminathan

"Engineering design involves, in addition to numerical calculations, considerable amount of expertise and judgement. The expertise and judgement is required to conceptualize and idealize the problem, select a suitable mathematical model for the problem and to interpret the model results in terms of stipulated design constraints. In recent years, knowledge based systems (KBS) have provided the capability to integrate the qualitative experiential and expert knowledge with ~he quantitative knowledge for improved analysis and design of systems. A possible KBS architecture for mine ventilation system design was discussed by Ramani and Prasad · (1987). The expert system (ES) component of the KBS supports the analysis and interpretation phases of the ventilation design process with an algorithmic program used for the solution of alternate designs. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the data and knowledge needs for developing such a system and a formal means of their representation on the computer. A number of ES shells were evaluated to explore possible development and delivery environments for the system. A brief summary of this evaluation is also provided.INTRODUCTIONLuxbacher and Ramani (1979) have discussed the design process of mine ventilation systems and have provided the interrelationships that exist between ventilation, strata control, drainage and material handling systems and mining methods. They have also outlined the importance of correct analysis of the problem, choice of the right solution method and a rigorous interpretation of the solutions. The expertise required for analysis and interpretation phases was identified as the key element in developing effective and efficient ventilation system designs. Such expertise is embedded in the right choice of questions to be asked of the user as well as in directing the user to a wide array of alternative methods that may satisfy the design requirements. With advances in artificial intelligence applications in recent years, particularly expert systems, the integration of expertise into traditional mine planning and design algorithms has been facilitated. These planning and design aids, employing the integration of numeric and symbolic logic and called coupled systems, are powerful tools for engineers to tap the benefits of experts (Kitzmiller and Kowalik, 1985; Fenves, 1985). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the means of representing knowledge for the design of mine ventilation systems through the use of a coupled system. The KBS is visualized as consisting of the following components:"

Jan 1, 1989

By O. C. Blade

This report on the properties of motor fuels sold through service stations in the United States was made in accordance with a cooperative agreement between the American Petroleum Institute and the Bureau of Mines of the United States Department of the Interior. This paper i8 a continuation of a series made in cooperation with the Coordinating Fuel Research (CFR) Committee of the Coordinating Research Council (CRC), Inc. The first of this series of reports presented data on motor gasolines sold during the winter of 1935-36, and succeeding reports described motor gasolines Bold during the summers and winters to and including the summer of 1941 Y. No reports were made on motor gasolines sold during the winter of 1941-42 and during the summer of 1942. However, starting with the winter of 1942-43, the semiannual reports were resumed.

Jan 1, 1951

By G. R. Strimbeck

This is a report on experimental work on development of a gasification process operating at near atmospheric pressures and using finely pulverized coal entrained in oxygen and steam. The gasifier was designed by The Babcock and Wilcox Co. in cooperation with engineers of the Bureau of Mines Morgantown station. The test work discussed in this report covers the first 34 tests made in the pilot plant in which a strongly coking Sewickley-bed coal, ground to either 70 or 90 percent through a 200-mesh screen, was used.

Jan 1, 1954

By L. C. IlsLey

Through the cooperation of the Pennsylvania Department of Mines the writer obtained from State, records detailed information concerning coal-mine accidents occurring in Pennsylvania bituminous mines during 1939, particularly those nonfatal accidents in which the injured person lost 60 or more days? time from mark. The writer wishes to acknowledge assistance received from Pennsylvania State officials, especially Richard Maize, secretary of mines, and. Joseph J, Walsh, deputy secretary of mines; also to Thomas Dickinson,3/ of the Bureau of Mines, who rendered valuable assistance in assembling the data an the several tables.

Jan 1, 1941

A list of permissible mine equipment approved by the Bureau of Mines before January 1, 1937, was published in Bureau of Mines Information Circular 6942.3/ Information Circular 7007,4/ published as a supplement thereto, listed equipment approved. Burin', the calendar year 1937. The present list includes most of the material liven in these two publications, as well as approvals that have been issued up to January l, 1940. Some equipment formerly listed has been omitted because it has become obsolete or is no longer actively marketed. The list now includes electrically-operated air compressors, coal drills, loading machines and conveyors, mining machine, mine ones, rock-dusting machines, room hoists, storage-battery gathering and haulage locomotives and storage-battery power trucks, mine telephones, junction boxes, electric cap lamps, flame safety lamps, electric hand and trip lamps, electric flood lens, flashlights, methane detectors, and single and multiple-shot blasting units. The appendix at the end of this circular lists trailing, cables that have passed tests prescribed by Schedule 2D. When equipment passes the inspections and tests prescribed by the United Status Department of the interior, Bureau of Mines, in published "schedules" or standards, it is formally approved as "permissible" for use in gassy mines, and the manufacturer is then permitted to mark it with an approval plate that identifies it as having been approved by the Bureau. The inspections and tests are designed to insure that each equipment satisfies the minimum requirements for safety in use. The Bureau's purpose in investigating equipment of this type and listing that

Jan 1, 1940

By Oren C. Baptist

[Several new oilfields have been developed in northwestern Wyoming during the past 10 years, production is obtained from discontinuous, permeable sands enclosed within impermeable shales. The energy to drive the oil to producing wells in supplied by gas in solution in the oil. Most of the wells had high-initial potentials, but rates of oil production have steadily declined, indicating a dissipation of the driving energy and the possibility that large volumes of oil will remain unrecovered in the reservoirs. The studies reported in this paper were undertaken to develop laboratory data of the type most likely to be needed by persons studying the susceptibility of the Newcastle sand reservoir to secondary-recovery methods.]

Jan 1, 1957

By J. D. McLenegan

The purpose of this investigation was to prepare a market survey of the refractories industry in California and Nevada (referred to in subsequent paragraphs as the region), and to determine the degree of self-sufficiency and the potential capacity for anticipated growth. The report includes estimates of the total annual refractories consumption, the quantity of refractories imported into the region, the tonnage of raw materials required for their manufacture, and the resources of fire clay and high-alumina minerals in the region.

Jan 1, 1956

By John C. Machisak

INJURY data and experience, with related employment statistics, at coal mines in the United States for 1958 are presented in this publication under the following general sections: (A) General injury experience: Tables 1 to 6: Current data on number of injuries, degree of injury, frequency and severity rates, average severity, and related employment and production data by work location. (B) Selected injury experience: Tables 7 to 38: Current data on principal agencies of injuries, distribution of injuries by part of body injured, days of disability, extent of hand and machine loading, experience by employment and production groups, and various other operating factors and physical conditions related to the occurrence of injuries at the Nation's coal mines. (C) Injury experience by States: Tables 39 to 43: Current data on injuries, their causes, rates of occurrence and severity; employment and production data by work location, by States. (D) Major disasters: Table 44: Data on major disasters from 1949 to 1958. A major disaster is defined as a single accident in which, or as a result of which, five persons or more are killed instantly or die at any time thereafter. (E) Historical coal-mine-fatality experience: Tables 45 to 49: Data on fatalities and their causes at bituminous coal, lignite, and anthracite mines from the earliest records through 1958.

Jan 1, 1961

By Margaret R. Egan

The U.S. Bureau of Mines conducted experiments in the intermediate-scale fire tunnel to assess the influence of air velocity on the gas production and smoke characteristics during smoldering and flaming combustion of Pittsburgh seam coal and its impact on the detection of the combustion products. On-line determinations of mass and number of smoke particles, light transmission, and various gas concentrations were made. From these experimental values, generation rates, heat-release rates, production constants, particle sizes, obscuration rates, and optical densities were calculated. Ventilation has a direct effect on fire detection and development. The results indicate that, in general, increased air velocity lengthened the onset of smoke and flaming ignition, increased the fire intensity, but decreased the gas and smoke concentrations. Increased air velocity also lengthened the response times of all the fire sensors tested. Rapid and reliable detector response at this most crucial stage of fire development can increase the possibility that appropriate miner response (fire suppression tactics or evacuation) can be completed before toxic smoke spreads throughout the mine.

Jan 1, 2010

By William L. Crentz

Floyd County, KY., contains sizable deposits of high volatile bituminous coal. Some of the coals have been blended with higher-rank coals and used in the manufacture of high-quality metallurgical coke. The Upper Elkhorn No. 3, Upper Elkhorn No. 2, and Upper Elkhorn No. 1 beds produce the bulk of the present output in the county and contain the main known reserves of coal. Little information is available concerning the quality and extent of the deposits underlying the Upper Elkhorn No. 1 bed, although small operations in the past have worked a bed that is reported to be; the Lower Elkhorn. Undoubtedly, these lower beds occur in Floyd County, but depth Will preclude their development into a major source of fuel as long as large deposits of more-accessible coal are available. More is known of the occurrence of the beds above the Upper Elkhorn No. 3 owing to sporadic mining ventures in the upper measures. Many of the coal samples from beds above the Upper Elkhown No. 3. were collected in mines that had been abandoned. Almost all of the present production of Floyd County coal is taken from the Upper Elkhorn beds, and it is unlikely that their dominant position as coal producers will be challenged in the near future. Table 1 shows the coal production of the county by beds, during 1950.

Jan 1, 1952

By W. D. Musgrove, B. W. Gandrud, A. C. Richardson

"INTRODUCTION The Cahaba coal field is the second largest coal—producing area in Alabama. This field underlies parts of Shelby, Jefferson, St. Clair, and Bibb Counties and has an area of about 270 square miles. The Cahaba formations contain a number of coal beds, about 8 of which are mined at present. Although the area contains many folds and faults, samples from various mines and beds indicate that, except for the variation in ash content, the coal from this field is very uniform in character and quality. It is a high-volatile bituminous coal used chiefly for steam-raising purposes and domestic fuel. The coal as mined usually contains too high a percentage of impurities to be marketed without some preparation. The majority of the mines have washing plants in which jigs are the favorite type of equipment, although at some mines tables are used for cleaning the slack sizes. The washing characteristics of the coal from the Cahaba field are very uniform and differ from those of the near-by Warrior field, in that the coarser sizes contain a much lower percentage of bony material than the finer sizes. In general, the bone increases with decrease in size. It breaks into thin flakes, making difficult its elimination in the cleaning process, and gives rise to what is known among the washery operators of the Cahaba field as the ""rash problem.""A previous publication 5 referred to rash from the standpoint of jig operation and suggested some means of handling it with jigs. This report presents the results of table tests on two samples of fine coal from the Thompson and Woodstock beds, respectively, of the Cahaba field to determine the influence of rash on table efficiency.This investigation has been made in connection with the study of coal-washing problems now being conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Mines and the University of Alabama, with the cooperation of the different coal operators of Alabama."

May 1, 1934

[~lis is the f'fth in a ~erieG of reports on properties of commercial motor fuels, made in accordance 1,'Vi t:h fl cooperative ae,ree-ment betwGon tho Cooperative Fuel ReRRarch (e.F.R.) Committee and the Bureau of I ines of the Dcpart~ent nf the Interior. The first report gave data on motor r-asolino~ sold during the wintor of 935-36.31 Thi~ report covers 84 brands of ga~oline represented by l,722 samples exclurling the Pacific Coast. T 3)Se J.rom th~. ?~'tcific Coast IV .ro avnrL)f:od b~r tho Pacific Coa!3t tecilnical group "bofore o8ing submi ttcd ruld arc p~.lbl:'shcd GX Gtl~r as they were submi tted. In some areas r~lJort~ . erc roceivod f~om ~ ix to eicht compD.l1ie~ on the same brands of gasoline. whoruar. in other areas only one company reported on a brond. Thut., it CU .. "! be senn that BO .. 0 uf the dnt ;.U'e more rCY>l'c entat vc thM others. The inclusion of r~0rts fro:n several ci tie. w' thin somo of tho di stricts has ir.rpr,)vcd the report by reducinc; tr.e numb~r of brand rcportel by only ono company.]

Jan 1, 1938