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By Ingvar Ymén, Anders Sandc, Jan Rosenkranzc, Lisa Malma, Ann-Sofi Kindstedt Danielssonb

The understanding of particle surface properties is essential for the study and evaluation of froth flotation phenomena, particularly in the investigation of various chemical or reagent effects. Dynamic Vapor Sorption (DVS) is a method used for the analysis of surface properties of powders for instance in the pharmaceutical industry. To the knowledge of the authors, it has however not been used before in applications related to mineral processing. The DVS technique involves measurement of the water uptake of a relatively small amount of sample as a function of the relative humidity (% RH) in a temperature-controlled environment. The purpose of this work was to evaluate the method and investigate how it can complement existing techniques for surface characterization in mineral processing. Four samples (feed, CuPb concentrate, Cu concentrate and Pb concentrate) from the Cu – Pb flotation process in the Garpenberg concentrator, Sweden, were analyzed by DVS and the traditional capillary absorption technique (Washburn capillary rise). This enabled comparison between the two methods and evaluation of their respective advantages and disadvantages. Both methods give the expected ranking of the hydrophobicity for CuPb concentrate, Cu concentrate and Pb concentrate, but a discrepancy was observed for the feed. Washburn gave a value for the contact angle which was in the same range as for the CuPb concentrate, whereas DVS gave a value for the moisture uptake which was much higher than for the CuPb concentrate. Thus, DVS ranks all samples correctly, but with an unexpectedly high value for the feed whereas Washburn gives good ranking for three samples out of four. Potential reasons for the discrepancies are discussed.

Jan 1, 2018

By R. Kaibyshev, I. Zuiko

"The effect of thermomechanical processing (TMP) including cold working by tension or rolling before aging on mechanical properties and a dispersion of secondary phase particles of an AA2519 alloy (Al–5.64Cu–0.33Mn–0.23Mg–0.15Zr–0.11Ti–0.09V–0.08Fe–0.01Si (wt. %)) was examined. It was shown that the use of tension to impart pre-strain =10% in the alloy provides the best combination of properties in peak aging condition of the material. The AA2519T87 alloy processed by tension exhibits the yield stress, ultimate tensile strength and elongation to failure of 425.4±2.4, 475±2.4, 12.1±0.4, respectively. The one pass rolling leads to -5% decreases in yield stress and –20% decreases in ductility. Dislocations serve as heterogeneous nucleation sites for ?'-phase precipitation. The positive effect of tension is attributed to the formation of more homogeneous dislocation structure, uniform distribution of ?'-phase particles with higher aspect ratio. Precipitation of the O–phase plates on {111}a habit plane was detected. In addition it was shown that the low angle boundaries are heterogeneous nucleation sites for ?' and O particles.INTRODUCTION Precipitation-hardened alloys are a commercially important group of the materials because their mechanical properties can be modified by treating and changing the microstructure. Age-hardenable aluminum alloys belonging to the Al–Cu–Mg system are widely used due to their attractive combination of high specific strength, good fracture toughness and enhanced creep resistance attributed to the highly efficient strengthening by the ?'-phase (Palmer, StJohn, Nie, & Qian, 2017). An AA2519 alloy exhibiting superior mechanical properties among high-strength Al–Cu alloys (2XXX-serie) due to minor Mg additives. It is known that, in alloys with high Cu/Mg ratio (=5.6) the classic precipitation sequence (Palmer et al., 2017; Wang & Starink, 2005; Wang et al., 2010) of supersaturated solid solution (SSSS) decomposition occurs: SSSS ? GP zones (Al3Cu) ? ?? (Al3Cu) ? ?' (Al2Cu) ? ? (Al2Cu) (1)"

Jan 1, 2018

By Onur Kacar

A numerical approach has been implemented to assess the settlements of pile groups bearing in clay. A three-dimensional finite element program has been utilized to model a vertically loaded spread footing, a single pile and a pile group. The soil-pile interaction was modeled with elastoplastic soil and interface elements. The model has been calibrated using a full scale load test results of the spread footing. The load transfer between the pile cap and the piles was assessed and compared with the measured load transfer. The predicted settlements for the pile group were compared with the settlements measured in the load test. Two analytical methods were adopted to predict the pile group settlements and they were compared with the measured values. The group effect determined from the analysis and load tests was compared with the interaction factor approach. It was shown that three-dimensional finite element approach can be successfully utilized to assess the soil-structure interaction and hence the load transfer between the piles and pile cap. Also, it was shown that the interaction factors method and equivalent footing method work well in the working stress range, however they underpredict the settlements at larger loads. INTRODUCTION The settlement and stress distribution of pile groups have been traditionally estimated based on load test results of single piles and accounting for the group effect using various approaches. The most widely used approaches are group interaction factor method, equivalent footing method and equivalent pier method. These approximate solutions are used very commonly in practice as full-scale load tests on pile groups are very expensive and time consuming. These approximate solutions are also adopted in design guidelines such as AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Guidelines (2014) and FHWA Design and Construction of Driven Pile Foundations (2016). In this paper, a full-scale foundation load tests performed by Nagai et al. (1961) and reported by Koizumi and Ito (1967) is modelled using a three-dimensional numerical method. The settlements and the stress distribution on foundations were then compared with the traditional equivalent footing method and interaction factor methods.

Jan 1, 2018

By Zhiyong Gao, Ruiying Fan

"Crushing and grinding are the prerequisite processes in many industries, such as minerals processing and powder technology. During crushing and grinding, minerals will cleave or fracture along the directions by broken the interlayer bonds (e.g., ionic bonds), generating some commonly exposed surfaces. The broken (or dangling) bonds at the generated surface makes the surface more active and determine the reactivity of the surface. In this work, the population of broken (or dangling) bonds on commonly exposed surfaces of fluorite mineral (a chosen model mineral) was calculated. Based on the calculated broken bonds information, the anisotropic surface reactivity of fluorite such as surface energy, surface relaxation, dissolution, wettability, surface charge and adsorbability, were discussed. The results show that the surface broken bonds density, which is positively related to the surface energy, can be used to predict the cleavage nature, surface relaxation degree and surface stability of fluorite crystal. The distribution characteristic and the number of broken (or unsaturated) bonds of surface active atoms (like Ca for fluorite crystal) can be used to predict and explain the anisotropic wettability, surface charge and adsorption mode and strength of organic molecules on different commonly exposed surfaces. It is easy to conclude that the calculation of surface broken bonds can serve as a fast and accurate way to start the mineral chemistry studies. These findings will be helpful to the mineral/material chemistry research in related interfacial science communities.INTRODUCTIONGrinding for mineral liberation is a prerequisite for a successful flotation separation. Also grinding for size reduction is a prior process for a favorable powder technology. During the grinding process, the minerals / materials will cleave and fracture along certain crystal directions with relatively weak interlayer chemical bonds1 to form a number of common exposed surfaces. Exposed surfaces are the outer boundary of a solid substance. In the mineral / material block, the bonding orbital of the atoms is filled with electrons and the atoms are in a steady state. Atoms on these exposed surfaces appear to show dangling bonds (or broken bonds) by losing chemical bonds to adjacent atoms in the previous block. Therefore, surface broken bonds serves as an initial property of a fresh surface. The lattice arrangement and crystal orientations causes differences in the number of dangling bonds on each exposed surface, i.e., anisotropic surface broken bonds2. The anisotropic dangling bonds enable the exposed surfaces to show varying degrees of surface reactivity (including surface energy, surface charge, surface relaxation, dissolution, wettability and adsorption behavior), known as anisotropic surface reactivity."

Jan 1, 2018

By Regis Texeira, Leopoldo Gutierrez, Vicente Hernandez, Caludia Vidal, Lina Uribe

"Molybdenum is currently the most important by-product of Chile´s copper mining industry. This mineral has gained international relevance over the years, because of its price. At mining deposits in Chile, copper and molybdenum are extracted together and then separated in a concentration process consisting of several flotation steps using sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) as copper depressant. However, there are environmental issues related to the potential emisions of toxic hydrosulfide gas and bad odours, which affects nearby communities and suppose a risk for operators. This problem has led to the need for development of new technologies to eliminate the use of NaHS in the process of selective flotation of Cu and Mo minerals. In this work, results of flotation tests in which lignin derivatives reagents are used to obtain the selective separation of Cu and Mo minerals by flotation are presented. In this technology molybdenite is depressed by the action of lignin derivatives (lignosulfonates), while copper sulfides remain hydrophobic and float. The use of lignin derivatives in the selective flotation of copper molybdenum minerals represents a non-toxic alternative to NaHS.INTRODUCTIONSeparation of copper sulfides from molybdenite is commonly achieved through a two-stage flotation process. In the first stage the collective flotation of copper sulfides and molybdenite is promoted to generate a collective concentrate which is then treated in a second stage with sodium hydrosulfide (2.5-3.0 kg/t NaSH) to depress copper sulfides flotation without affecting the flotation of molybdenite. As a result a copper concentrate with 30-35% Cu, and a molybdenum concentrate with 50-52% Mo are generated. Although this process is widely used at industrial level, environmental issues related to the risk of H2S generation and bad odors have always been a concern. Thus there is a need in the industry for a more environmentally friendly process to separate copper sulfides and molybdenite."

Jan 1, 2018

By Xiaoxu Sun, Jianchao Yao, Jiancheng He, Shijie Lu, Hongxi Zhou

"The ball mill performance relies on impact grinding, but it has disadvantage of the lower efficiency when the ore is finer; while tower mill relies on friction shear affection with high energy efficiency, which is considered to be one of the most potential fine grinding equipment all over the world. Generated by the agitator device, the internal media movement is complex because of comprehensive interaction of screw mechanism, cylinder structure and adjacent media, which is the key factor of grinding process. But the kinematics parameter ,such as speed, acceleration, stress and so on, of media motion cannot be obtained through traditional laboratory test method, which restricts deeply research on finer grinding mechanism seriously. In order to solve this problem, characteristics of media motion in tower mill is studied via the discrete element method. Coefficient of restitution, coefficient of static friction and coefficient of rolling friction are the key parameters affecting the media movement, which were calibrated by stacking angle test firstly. A 3kW tower mill is established as the model for simulation. At last one appropriate simulation strategy is selected to increase simulation accuracy. The characteristic of media motion is obtained based on the computer simulation analysis: macroscopically, the media in tower mill is a dynamic equilibrium state generally accompanied by spiral up and down movement all the time. And it has been found that the maximum lifting height is proportional to the rotation speed of agitator shaft. The velocity of media at the edge of screw stirrer is biggest, while the velocity of media near the cylinder wall is smaller, so the grinding performance between the two ring areas is the best. The rotational speed of agitator shaft and media filling ratio are the two most important operating parameters in tower mill. The impact curve of two main operating parameters on the grinding intensity and energy efficiency are obtained. All these can provide theoretical basis and technical support for operating parameters setting of industrial tower mill."

Jan 1, 2018

By V. G. Minenko, V. A. Chanturiya, A. L. Samusev

Eudialyte is one of perspective resources of zirconium and other rare earth elements (REEs). Large reserves of eudialyte concentrated in the Murmansk region of the Russian Federation. Usually, technologies of REE treatment include the decomposition of eudialyte concentrate in different acidic, extraction and utilization of all components. The main problems in the leaching of eudialyte include are: the formation of an unfiltered silicon-containing gel; low recovery of REE; difficulty extraction of metals from the productive solution; high aggressiveness of the reagents. One of the promising trends of intensification of the processing of hard-to-degrease rare metal raw materials is the use of energy methods for affecting mineral suspensions. These methods make it possible to increase the efficiency of break up fine-dispersed mineral complexes and extracting micro- and nanoparticles of a valuable component in subsequent deep processing. The purpose of this work is to investigate the effect of energy impacts on the nitric acid leaching of eudialyte concentrate. Experimental studies were carried out in a developed laboratory facility that makes it possible to evaluate the effect of electrochemical, ultrasonic and combined effects on the leaching of zirconium and REE from eudialyte concentrate. The studies carried out on the samples of eudialyte concentrate with the size class of -0.315 + 0.063 mm showed that the use of electrochemical and acoustic effects increases the extraction of ZrO2 in the production solution in 1.6 - 2.5 times, REE in 1.3 - 2.2 times, respectively. An analysis of the microstructure and phase composition of the surface of the eudialyte concentrate showed that the intensification of the leaching process is due to surface cleaning from the silicon-containing gel, as well as the opening of capillary channels and microcracks, which accelerates mass-transfer processes. The results obtained open wide opportunities for creation of modern and effective technology of processing of eudialyte concentrate, producing high-quality zirconium products and REE.

Jan 1, 2018

By K. C. Corin, M. S. Manono, J. G. Wiese

"It has been suggested that hydroxo species, particularly those of calcium, selectively adsorb onto gangue minerals. Such species enhance the depressive action of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) onto gangue via an acid-base interaction between the positively charged mineral surface and the negatively charged CMC molecule. Thus, the hydrophilicity of gangue minerals is enhanced, preventing the dilution of the concentrate. However, as there is little evidence to support these claims it is important to investigate. Adsorption data and mineral surface charge analyses will allow a fundamental understanding into how electrolytes and their ionic strengths affect gangue-depressant adsorption. It is strongly anticipated that decoupling these effects will allow process operators to tailor their process water quality needs towards best flotation operating regimes and in the long run effect closed water circuits. Thus, using talc and pyrrhotite as proxies, this work investigates the influence of the ionic strength of process water on the adsorption of CMC onto minerals in sulphide flotation.INTRODUCTIONThe phenomenon of gangue depression in mineral flotation is of critical importance as regards the attainment of a required concentrate grade. This thus suggests that the depressant of choice has to have a highly selective affinity for the targeted gangue minerals. This would ensure the necessary prevention of gangue from reporting to the concentrate without inadvertently depressing the value bearing mineral. The chemistry of the environment regulates the manner in which gangue depression occurs. In sulphide flotation, polysaccharides are used as depressants of choice to depress naturally floatable gangue which may in the case of Merensky ores exist as talc. The two widely used polysaccharides in the South African context are carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and modified guar gum. It is suggested that polysaccharides depress gangue by rendering the surface of gangue hydrophilic or by preventing the formation of hydrophobic layers on gangue mineral surface, forming large gangue aggregates and thereby increasing their heterocoagulative nature (Shortridge et al., 1999)."

Jan 1, 2018

By T. Bhambhani, O. Yavuzkan, D. R. Nagaraj

"The recovery of oxide Cu minerals by flotation is a longstanding challenge in the minerals industry, especially for high acid-consuming ores which would not be economical for direct acid leaching. Sulfidization (often using controlled potential sulfidization or CPS) using NaSH (or Na2S) followed by flotation using traditional sulfide collectors is the widely used technique. CPS has certain limitations: a) inability to recover certain oxide Cu minerals because they are refractory to sulfidization, b) high consumption of NaSH (or Na2S), and c) potential health and safety hazards associated with NaSH (and Na2S). Flotation of oxide copper minerals using alkyl hydroxamate (AHX) collector has been studied extensively. Investigations using single minerals and laboratory ore flotation have been conducted in the past to demonstrate the efficacy of alkyl hydroxamates. The technology has been used intermittently in plants. One of the main challenges in plant use has been quantifying the true potential for alkyl hydroxamates for recovery of various oxide Cu species in complex and variable ore systems and identifying the most suitable conditions for optimal use. Quantitative mineralogical analysis using QEMSCAN was used in this study to characterize flotation products lab flotation samples. Analysis of concentrates and tails from hydroxamate flotation and CPS flotation stages demonstrated that certain oxide Cu minerals respond exclusively to alkyl hydroxamates and not to CPS. The hierarchy of interaction of AHX with the various oxide Cu minerals could be inferred from these studies. Finally, these studies also allowed quantification of a group of minerals species, which (erroneously) report as part of the Acid-Soluble Cu [ASCu] but cannot be recovered by flotation, thereby facilitating an estimation of the true recovery potential for alkyl hydroxamate.INTRODUCTIONCopper that is economically recoverable occurs in three major types of ores, which are defined by the modal mineralogy of Cu. For sulfide ores, Cu occurs as sulfide minerals and is satisfactorily recovered by flotation using sulfide collectors. Non-sulfide ores, which contain Cu in the form of oxides, phosphates, carbonates and silicates, described in the industry as “oxide” ores (or ores containing “acid-soluble” Cu or ASCu), are currently treated using hydrometallurgy, which involves leaching with dilute sulfuric acid followed by solvent extraction and electrowinning, unless the ores contain acid consuming gangue minerals such as dolomite. For mixed sulfide-oxide ores (i.e. containing both sulfide and oxide Cu minerals) that do not contain acid consuming gangue minerals, Cu values are easily recovered by flotation of sulfide Cu minerals followed by leaching of oxides (only when a leach plant is available). However, when the ore contains acid consuming gangue minerals flotation is required to recover both sulfide and oxide Cu minerals."

Jan 1, 2018

By Vladimir F. Skorokhodov, Nikolay N. Melnikov, Svetlana P. Mesyats

"Among the problems of the civilization development, a problem of interaction between man and natural environment can be highlighted. In the twentieth century the human transforming activity had got scales of geological processes and defined the contradiction between the goal to increase the quality of human life and possibilities of the natural environment. Last twenty-five years after the World Summit on the Environment (1992) indicate that the development of civilization is still based on receiving super profits from the natural resources exploitation. This statement is confirmed by economy globalization rates, growing contradictions between consumption and production, depletion and degradation natural environment. A new technological order is formed at the time of growing world population, technological capacities, organizational complexity, from one side, and global scales of geo-resources consumption, on the other side. Sciences, determining the further civilization development, should take on the task to change the social worldview, since the preservation of human population consists in remediating and maintenance of biosphere functions as a regulator of ecological balance. The new worldview in the geo-resources exploitation is based on the Ecological strategy of mining development, which consists in reducing mining-induced loading on natural environment while increasing efficient mineral production and processing, and providing for a comprehensive solution of tasks on mineral deposit development. One of strategic trend of mining development is to increase complexity and completeness of useful component extraction from ore and mining deposits while reducing wastes and decreasing their stockpiled volumes. The implementation of the ecological strategy has shown that the future is determined by reduction of the environmental impact while improving the efficiency of mineral mining and processing.INTRODUCTION The global nature of environmental problems caused by the scale of consumption of natural resources, huge amounts of waste, and intensive man-made impact on the environment requires a revision of the strategy for the natural resources development. Many existing technologies are ineffective in achieving the ultimate goal. Direct output in the raw materials - the end product technological chain rarely exceeds 10%, which implies a huge amount of work to move the soil. In addition, the feature of scientific and technological progress at the present stage is the growth of power-to-weight ratio."

Jan 1, 2018

By J-S. Marois, F. Cappucitti, Y. Dodier, D. Downey, G. Matton

"The flotation processes of the Niobec Mine have been affected by a seasonal loss of recovery and a significant increase in reagent consumption over the past few winters. This paper discusses the problem-solving methodology that was used to identify the root causes, to develop solutions and to implement changes that resolved the problem to restore the process to summer-like conditions year-round. Mainly, it was found that the process water was contaminated by phosphates ions, which adversely affected the carbonate pre-flotation, and caused detrimental effects on the subsequent niobium flotation. The phosphate ions were being generated by the process itself, but were consumed by algae in summer conditions. It was determined in laboratory studies that concentrations as low as 5 ppm were enough to affect the circuit and that the multiple additions of process water throughout the circuit was worsening the effect. Also, temperature was found to have an impact on the reagent performance. The performance of the plant was restored by implementing a natural treatment of our process water with a simple cost-free rearrangement of our circuit streams. In addition to that, our extensive geometallurgical program was used to provide ore to the plant restricting phosphate generation in the process. Also, a modification of the collector was developed and introduced in the carbonate pre-flotation that provided improved performance during the periods of low pulp temperature.INTRODUCTION Niobec is one the three major global producers of niobium presently in operation. Situated in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region of Quebec and in operation since 1976, the site produces ferroniobium (FeNb) to be used mainly in High Strength Low Alloy (HSLA) steel, which is known to have better mechanical properties than carbon steel. The Niobec operation consists of an underground mine, a concentrator and a converter plant. The concentrator concentrates niobium-bearing minerals, mainly pyrochlore and columbite, to produce a high-content Nb2O5 concentrate which is then converted to FeNb in the converter plant by an aluminothermic reaction. The Niobec concentrator flowsheet, which has gone through many expansions and optimisation over the years, consists of grinding, desliming, flotation and leaching steps. The flotation steps are numerous, sensitive and difficult to operate due to the non-selective nature of oxide mineral collectors. Thus, the pyrochlore concentration process at Niobec still faces many challenges and is constantly going through periods of continuous improvement."

Jan 1, 2018

By S. G. Luckey, N. R. Harrison, F. Nadeau, U. Brüx

"The adoption of tailored-rolled or tailor-welded blanks (i.e. TRB/TWB) in the automotive industry has been known to offer great potential for the optimization of weight, function, cost and complexity. Vehicle light weighting can further be achieved by using high strength aluminum alloys like the 7xxx-series. 7xxx-series alloys are capable of delivering specific strengths equal to or greater than high strength steels. However, room temperature formability of this aluminum class is limited, so one approach to forming 7xxx-series alloys is by hot stamping. Hot stamping utilizes an elevated temperature blank and the high pressure stamping contact of the forming die to simultaneously quench and form the sheet. This paper explores the initial feasibility of tailored thickness material for body-in-white applications when processed under hot stamping conditions.INTRODUCTION Steel tailor-rolled blanks (TRB) or tailor-welded blanks (TWB) have been used within the automotive industry as a method of reducing weight, expanding material utilization, and decreasing overall part/assembly cost (Ganeasan et al., 2015; Merklein et al., 2014; Hirt et al., 2005; Kridli et al., 2000). The production of such tailored thickness materials has resulted in over $2.5 billion (2016) in combined industry sales (Mubea, 2018). As automakers begin to adopt the manufacturing practices traditionally reserved for steel such as tailor rolling/welding with greater enthusiasm for vehicle light weighting, there exist an opportunity to expand the material database to extend beyond the traditional aluminum alloys found in current production. High strength aluminum alloys, i.e. 7xxx-series, are ideal for structural automotive applications due to their high specific strength; however, they have limited room temperature formability. Hot stamping, another manufacturing practice used by the steel industry, can be used to form these high strength materials. The combination of tailoring the thickness of a sheet material and hot stamping provides an opportunity for significant weight saving within an existing manufacturing footprint. This paper explores the potential and challenges of this approach when applied to structural body-in-white components. The methods for tailor rolling, tailor welding and hot stamping are described and applied to the production of a 7075 aluminum alloy B-pillar. The results are discussed in terms of feasibility and weight savings."

Jan 1, 2018

By M. Saghaeian, R. Hejazi, M. Mohammadinejad, M. Zare

"Water quality and quantity at the Tailing Thickening Section of processing plants is considered to be a crucial factor and impacts the performance of several sections. Therefore, gaining stable and effective performance at the Tailing Thickener Section is one of the principal goals of minerals processing plants. Different factors such as: qualitative and quantitative sustainability of plant feed, the balance between the mass of input and output water flow, the dissolving method and distribution of flocculant and the amount of dirt, solid percent of thickener inlet pulp, affect the performance of Tailing Thickener. The present study investigates the successful improvement of Tailing Thickener performance at Jalal Abad Hematite Iron Ore Concentrate plant through optimizing the above operational parameters. For this purpose, the following optimizations have been done: homogeneity and sustainability of plant input feed rates, fine pulp removal collected by the bag filters at the input of the thickener, adding an quietness box before moving the tail pulp into the thickener to reduce the pulp turbulence, replacing flocculant pump and injection pipes, improving water mass balance which leads to optimizing and stabilizing the concentration of input tail pulp into the thickener, adding a mixer to increase the flocculant preparation time, increasing the locations for adding flocculant to thickener from 1 point to 6 points. Applying the above modifications and monitoring the Tailing Thickener performance over the course of months, has led to the improvement of recovered water quality from 500 ppm to 200 ppm, increasing the solid underflow of the thickener from 40% to 48.5%, and similarly, reducing water loss by 60%. Of other important effects, due to improvement of water quality, grade of final concentrate 0.5% increased and because of 73% increase in monthly working hour, concentrate tonnage 55% increased. Finally, sludge thickener optimization has had a significant effect in selecting and designing the dewatering system from the underflow of the sludge thickener."

Jan 1, 2018

By Brock Wallis, Steve Davidow

The following text will present the concept of rock socketed drilled shafts used to support electrical substation structures, and discuss the cost and schedule risks that traditional design responses to unforeseen shallow rock can pose to a project. Design considerations will be detailed, including rock characterization, shear strength of drilled shafts, and modeling lateral resistance of the shaft and surrounding rock. The specific case of drilled shafts installed for heavily loaded structures at the Moxie Freedom Substation will provide an example of how close collaboration between the engineer and contractor to refine designs based on site-specific feedback can provide tangible benefits to the project. In this example, value engineered designs resulted in an approximate 40% reduction in shaft/concrete volume and a 60% reduction in total rock socket depth. PROJECT OVERVIEW The Moxie Freedom Project included the construction of a new 500 kV switchyard in Berwick, Pennsylvania. The foundation contractor was selected to install both small and large diameter drilled shaft foundations to support the structures within the switchyard. The small diameter shafts were utilized to support transformers, switches, bus supports and a static mast, while the large diameter shafts were used to support one 180-foot monopole and six H-Frame structures. CHALLENGES: ROCK SOCKETED DRILLED SHAFTS Available geotechnical data at the time of bid included limited borings and seismic refraction. The borings were not located at every structure, and the contractor and design engineer were left to interpret desktop studies and geophysics to determine the probable site-specific conditions at each foundation. The data suggested substantial variability in the quality and depth to bedrock across the project area, indicating significant risk of deep embedment into bedrock at all seven large diameter shaft locations. Rock socketed drilled shafts pose unique challenges for both designers and contractors, and the topic has become a focus of national foundation organizations. Traditional design models result in deeper and/or larger diameter shafts where rock is encountered. In the case where site-specific geotechnical conditions are not clearly understood and rock is encountered at shallow depths, this can lead to significant additional rock drilling, impacting overall project cost and schedule. Rock drilling can result in more than ten times the cost of soil drilling and can easily take in excess of ten times longer to excavate.

Jan 1, 2018

By Seung-Kyu Son, Michael T. Chandler, Youngtak Ko, Gyuha Hwang

Over the past decade, sea-floor hydrothermal vent fields have been studied by many researchers because of their commercial potential of mineral resources and the origins of Earth’s life. Approximately 300 of these are reported as massive sulfide deposits near the mid-ocean ridge, most of which are located in the Atlantic and Pacific ridges. However, only fourteen deposits have been identified in the Indian mid-ocean ridges. The Central Indian Ridge (CIR) between 8°S and 12°S is composed of three segments with a slow full- spreading rate of 33-37 mm/yr. The hydrothermal activity at the slow-spreading center can be generated along the ridge axis attended by volcanism or along the tectonic features, such as oceanic core complexes (OCCs). OCC is an exposed mantle rocks composed of peridotite and ultramafic rocks uplifted through long-lived detachment fault processes which can also lead to extensive hydrothermal circulation near the slow-spreading center. Therefore, the identification of OCC’s properties will be an important indicator for finding the sea-floor hydrothermal vents. To study hydrothermal activity of the CIR, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) have conducted expeditions using R/V Onnuri over four years (2009-2011, 2017). High-resolution bathymetry and backscatter data was obtained during expeditions using multibeam echo system of EM120 in 2009-2011 and deep-tow side-scan sonar system of IMI-30, which has more higher resolution than EM120, in 2017. In this study, we use these high-quality data for constraining location and size of OCC. We also analyze the geophysical and morphotectonic characteristics of OCC gathering high-resolution bathymetric map and backscatter image.

Jan 1, 2018

By Hidenori Hatta, Takero Watanabe, Hideo Yoshida

"The effect of the quenching rate on age hardening in an Al-6.0mass%Zn-0.75mass%Mg alloy sheet was investigated. The quenching rates and aging conditions were as follows: water quenching (WQ) or furnace cooling (FC) followed by pre-aging at 20°C,then artificial aging at 120, 160 or 200°Cwere performed. The peak strength of the FC and the WQ are very similarat120°C aging. It is important high strength was obtained even at the extremely slow quenching rate. On the other hand, the strength of the WQ significantly decreased compared to the FCat200°C aging. GP(I) zones were formed during the pre-aging at 20°C even if the cooling rate was very slow like the FC, and were transformed into the GP(II) ones at 70°C or higher and then into the ?’ phase. However, these zones were dissolved by reversion during heating to 200°C. Thus the strength of the WQ decreased. On the other hand, it is considered that an unknown cluster or GP zone with a thermal stability formed during the FC was not dissolved up to 200°C and was transformed into the ?’ phase. Therefore, a higher strength was obtained in the FC for the200°Caging.INTRODUCTIONAl-Zn-Mg alloys are widely available in commercial production because these alloy have lower quench sensitivity and can be produced by air cooling (AC). Heat treatable aluminum alloys are usually produced by water quenching (WQ) to increase their strength because a high cooling rate inhibits the precipitation of the stable phase during cooling and increases supersaturated solute atoms. However, Baba(1967)reported the strength of an Al-6%Zn-1.8%Mg(mass%) alloy without additional elements quenched by very slow cooling (15°C/min) was 96% of that quenched by WQ. Furthermore,the age hardening at room temperature (RT) occurs after annealing at 410°C followed by furnace cooling (FC, 0.5ºC/min or less)in these alloys. Therefore, the process of annealing at 410 to 430°C for 120 min followed by AC, and reheating at 230°C for 240 min, then cooling is recommended in the specifications (Japan Aluminum Association, 2011). Matsuda and Yoshida(1996)also recommended annealing at 300°C for Al-Zn-Mg alloy extruded products to inhibit age hardening at RT by precipitating the solute atoms and decreasing them in the matrix. It has been considered that the higher the content of excess quenched-in vacancy becomes by WQ, the higher aging rate at RT is obtained. Therefore,it is theoretically and commercially important to clarify the reason why the age hardening occurs relatively quickly in almost no excess quenched-in vacancies such as the FC, and why the same strength as the WQ can be obtained in the FC"

Jan 1, 2018

By B. Orberger, J. M. Milazzo, S. B. Blancher, J. Lützenkirchen, J. L. Dubos

"Industrial dusts are commonly agglomerated using empirical recipes with binders such as bentonite, while Sludges are agglomerated into mixes. Those materials contaminate the products, are expensive and generate significant amounts of slag. Achieving cold dust agglomeration with little or no binder requires understanding the controlling parameters in order to predict and optimize the process behavior. This in turn necessitates comprehensive dust characterization to base predictions on measurable characteristics. In the present work we collected 13 Mn-rich dusts over all the process chain: feed fines, smelting, and refining dusts, as well as ferromanganese alloy dust. This is the first systematic study of dusts along the Mn-processing chain for chemical, physical and mineralogical parameters. X-Ray Diffraction, Qemscan® and laser granulometry analyses show that the mineralogy, Particle Size Distribution (PSD) and morphology evolves from complex heterogenous to simple, homogenous along the process chain: The mineralogy of the primary ore dusts shows various hydroxides, oxides, carbonates, tectosilicates and phyllosilicates. The furnace dusts contain oxides, tectosilicates and carbonates with volatiles, while the refining dusts present only oxides and metal. Finally, the Metal dust is nearly pure metal. Particle morphologies and PSD vary from jagged, irregular particles with broad PSD (>1 mm to <0.3 µm) to smooth and spherical with narrow PSD (100 µm to <0.3 µm). The Metal dust is an exception with angular particles. The Cationic Exchange Capacities (CECs) of all samples range from 0 to 22 meq/100g. Specific surface areas (SSAs) range from <0.1 to 27m²/g, and seem to decrease with from ore feed to Metal dust. This may be due to the disappearance of hydrated and/or sheet-bearing minerals, since a smaller grain size usually implies an increased SSA. The zeta potential varies strongly over the range of the samples tested. However, beside the Gabon ore which has an Isoelectric Point (IEP) ~ 4.1, the other IEP ranges between 2 and 2.5."

Jan 1, 2018

By T. Grounds, K. Singh, W. R. Reed, R. Cross, G. Ross, S. Klima, M. Shahan

"A 2nd generation roof bolter canopy air curtain (CAC) design was tested by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) at a Midwestern underground coal mine. During the study, the roof bolter never operated downwind of the continuous miner. Using a combination of personal Data Rams (pDR) and gravimetric samplers, the dust control efficiency of the roof bolter CAC was ascertained. Performance evaluation was determined using three methods: (1) comparing roof bolter operator concentrations underneath the CAC to roof bolter concentrations outside the CAC, (2) comparing roof bolter operator concentrations underneath the CAC to the concentrations at the rear of the bolter, and finally, (3) using the gravimetric data directly underneath the CAC to correct roof bolter operator concentrations underneath the CAC and comparing them to the concentrations at the rear of the bolter. Method 1 dust control efficiencies ranged from -53.9% to 60.4%. Method 2 efficiencies ranged from -150.5% to 52.2%, and Method 3 efficiencies ranged from 40.7% to 91%. Reasons for negative and low dust control efficiencies are provided in this paper and include: incorrect sampling locations, large distance between CAC and operator, and contamination of intake air from line curtain. Low dust concentrations encountered during the testing made it difficult to discern whether differences in concentrations were due to the CAC or due to variances inherent in experimental dust measurement. However, the analyses, especially the Method 3 analysis, show that the CAC can be an effective dust control device. INTRODUCTION Canopy air curtains (CAC) have been shown to be an effective respirable coal mine dust control for roof bolters in a laboratory setting with dust control efficiencies ranging from 14% up to 75% [Goodman and Organiscak 2001, Listak and Beck 2012, Reed et al. 2017]. Unfortunately, there is limited information on their effectiveness for controlling respirable coal mine dust in the field. On continuous miners, CAC dust control efficiencies ranged from 23% to 69% [Krisko 1975]. Two underground tests of the CAC on roof bolters demonstrated dust control efficiencies of 35% and 53% [Listak and Beck 2012] before problems occurred with operation of the CAC. Since the implementation of the new respirable coal mine dust limit from 2.0 mg/m3 to 1.5 mg/m3 (Code of Federal Regulations, 30 CFR 70.100, 2015), roof bolter CACs are becoming more commonplace in underground coal mines as a dust control tool to prevent roof bolter operator overexposure to respirable coal mine dust. J.H. Fletcher & Co. has been instrumental in delivering an effective design which incorporates the filter, blower, and canopy plenum seamlessly into the design of the roof bolter, resulting in a successful operational roof bolter CAC."

Jan 1, 2018

By Chuanyao Sun, Zhenguo Song, Aijun Ren

"Lead-Zinc sulfide ore containing carbon is one of typical refractory resource. Because organic carbon has natural floatability, it has a great negative influence on flotation of lead-zinc sulfide ores. It is difficult to obtain qualified lead concentrate by flotation using conventional reagent system. In order to reduce the influence of organic carbon on lead and zinc flotation, two alternatives, i.e., removal carbon by pre-flotation or adding carbon depressant in lead and zinc flotation, can be adopted. If the flowsheet of removal carbon by pre-flotation is adopted, the lead and zinc recovery which are lost in the carbon tailings is often higher. If conventional carbon depressants are used in lead and zinc flotation, it has a certain depression effect on lead minerals. In the paper, the ore grading 1.49% Pb, 5.73% Zn, and organic carbon 3.14% has been carried out by flotation tests. In the bulk flotation of carbon and lead minerals, Pb concentrate is only about grading 21.00% Pb. In the pre-flotation of organic carbon, it’s hard to remove most of carbon, and the loss of Pb and Zinc recovery is too much in carbon tailings. New carbon depressant BK547 and three conventional carbon depressants including sodium lignosulphonate, Fe-Cr-lignosulfonate, and dextrin, are used in comparative tests of Pb flotation, and results show that BK547 have a good depression on organic carbon, and have almost no effect on Pb flotation. Using BK547 as carbon depressant, cycle test in flowsheet of two-stage Pb and Zn selective flotation and coarse concentrate regrinding have been carried out, and results show that concentrates grading 62.51% Pb and 41.33% Zn are obtained at recoveries of 70.24% Zn and 83.58% Zn.INTRODUCTION Lead and zinc mineral resources are still the main source of lead and zinc metal. For lead-zinc sulphide ore, lead concentrate and zinc concentrate are obtained by flotation. Minerals separation by flotation is a complex process and is dependent, along with other factors, on the relative distribution of hydrophobic (e.g. collector, polysulfide, elemental sulfide) and hydrophilic (e.g. metal hydroxide) species between different particles of the same mineral phase and between mineral phases (Piantadosi & Smart, 2002; Boulton, Fornasiero & Ralston, 2003). Organic carbon has natural floatability and is often associated with lead-zinc sulphide ores. If the content of organic carbon in the ore is more, the flotation index will become worse. The main problem is that the concentrates has too low grade to be qualified grade products for sale. At the same time, the consumption of reagents is more than ordinary ores without organic carbon. In order to solve the influence of organic carbon on the flotation of lead and zinc and other sulphide ores, a lot of research works have been carried out."

Jan 1, 2018

By Francis Breton, Daniel Larouche, Pierre Heugue, Rémi Martinez

"Nowadays, in order to fit environmental restrictions, automotive markets are demanding cast aluminum alloys working at high temperature (180–300°C). New generations of alloys are required for higher strength components in engine downsizing or start-stop systems which lead to higher loading and higher specific power and stretch current materials to their limits. Recently, transition metals, such as zirconium and vanadium, have been added as alloying elements into an AlSi7Cu3.5Mg0.1 alloy to improve physical, mechanical, thermodynamic properties with the aim of increasing service life of parts. In such alloys, the best mechanical properties are associated with the formation of precipitates through an optimum heat treatment sequence, including: solutionizing, quenching and artificial aging. This study is focused on the modified AlSi7Cu3.5Mg0.1 cast alloy with Mn, Zr and V additions for high temperature application. The characterization of the cast alloy in this study, firstly, helps to evaluate and understand its performance both chemically and structurally according to their physical state: as-cast or as-quenched. Comparison of precipitation kinetics between a binary Al-3.5%wt.Cu alloy and the AlSi7Cu3.5Mg0.1 (Mn, Zr, V) alloy has been characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, TEM observations and micro-hardness testing. The Kissinger analysis was applied to extract activation energies from non-isothermal DSC runs conducted at different stationary heating rates. The study focuses on the impact of the chemical composition such as Si content on the kinetics parameters.INTRODUCTION Pure metal Aluminum shows poor mechanical properties and its malleability is high, that is why alloying elements are added to the mixture before casting to improve physical, mechanical and thermodynamic properties (Javidani, 2015); such as Silicon (Si) for casting properties (castability, cold crack capability, wear resistance, shrinkage behavior), Magnesium (Mg) and Copper (Cu) to generate precipitation hardening systems. Aluminum hypoeutectic alloys (<12% Silicon) with Cu, Mg additions used in the automotive industry for manufacturing mechanical parts (Larouche & Javidani, 2014) are mostly subject, after casting, to precipitation hardening heat treatment (Mohamed & Samuel, 2012) according to specifications and associated standards. The best mechanical properties are associated with the formation of precipitates through an optimum heat treatment sequence, generally including: solutionizing, water quenching and artificial aging (Manente & Timelli, 2011). Hypoeutectic aluminum-copper alloy with amount of Cu around 1 to 4.5wt% is an elementary case for precipitation in heat treatable aluminum alloys. Researchers essentially focused their work on the full precipitation sequence of binary Al-Cu alloy during aging which is presented below."

Jan 1, 2018