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By R. S. C. Smart

Surface chemical factors, including the balance of hydrophobic (e.g. collectors) and hydrophilic (e.g. oxidation products, precipitates) species, are major control determinants in flotation rates of specific minerals and therefore grade and recovery. There are a number of challenges involved with the surface analysis of different mineral phases from process streams in a flotation facility. The first is to collect samples that are representative of the process and retain their surface chemistry prior to introduction into the instrument. The second challenge in studying the surface chemistry of specific minerals is to find reliable methods of mineral phase recognition. In surface analysis of mineral particles, confident mineral selection can be difficult with many multi-metal minerals and with precipitated, adsorbed, reacted and contaminant species in the outermost molecular layers. The third challenge is to provide a statistical surface analysis of multiple grains of the same mineral. Methods to achieve these aims are described. Principal component analysis (PCA) of ToF-SIMS data provides improvement in phase recognition, particle selection and associated variations in surface species. Specific examples from both lab and plant operations, demonstrate that this technique can be utilized to differentiate surface chemical factors promoting (hydrophobic species) or inhibiting (hydrophilic species) flotation. A study of copper ion transfer (inadvertent activation) from chalcopyrite to pyrite and sphalerite clearly identified a statistical difference in copper intensities between the sphalerite and pyrite phases corresponding to their flotation response. The PCA analysis applied to concentrate and tails samples collected from the Inco Matte Concentrator demonstrated extensive CuOH and NiOH transfer between chalcocite and heazlewoodite minerals. The statistical analysis has been able to identify mechanisms controlling recovery and selectivity. High intensity conditioning (HIC) tests in which sphalerite was separated from a complex sulfide ore gave a 5% increase in the overall Zn recovery. The PCA/ToF-SIMS statistical analysis revealed the discriminating depressant action of adherent aluminosilicate (gangue) fine particles and adsorbed ions on the surface of sphalerite grains. HIC conditioning resulted in the removal of these gangue fines improving surface collector attachment efficiency.

Jan 1, 2014

By Paolo Cavalcoli, Marco Ziller

"ABSTRACT: In the year 2010 the State of Denmark together with the Municipality of Copenhagen, launched a very important and complex Project : the complete construction of a new double Subway Line :the CITYRINGEN.Copenhagen is the capital with a metropolitan population of 1,9 million.This line is like a ring placed in the very town center which includes all the most historical and monumental buildings and churches, with a total length of 17 km, and the presence of 17 stations plus 4 service shafts.The buildings have been built in the last centuries in an area where the groundwater is near to the surface and there are lakes and channels: the techniques adopted were advanced for those times, but limited as far as regards settlements and resistance to horizontal movements.The soil consists in 2 main groups.1.Upper sediments of the glacial ages : thickness total = 5-20 m composed by clay- silt-sand-gravelcobbles- granite boulders and flint in blocs and in layers : frequency and size of these obstacles wherenot determined.2.Limestone layers : 2a. upper limestone : highly fractured ,highly permeable2b.Itermediate limestone : less fractured, medium permeability.2c. Lower limestone : almost not fractured, low permeability.2d Bryozoan limestone : composed by fossils with microscopic dimensionsIn all the limestone formations there are important layers of flint , having thickness variable up to 3 m and important extensions. Water : in a part of the areas of the Cityringen the water is drinkable and utilized in the public waternet.Pollution: there are polluted zones due to previous industrial activities. Benzene areas have been identified, and for those areas special protections against pollution have been implemented.METROSELSKABET ,the public owner of the Cityringen,has set as priority to operate for the construction of the Cityringen the full protection of the environment and the respect of all the stakeholders :Very strong limits for the exhausted gas emissions have been introduced, by far stronger than those applied from the State of Denmark, very strong limits for the acceptable noise emission. And last but not least very important safety measures and procedure to avoid any accident on site."

Jan 1, 2014

By J. Morris, R. Sellaro

El petrodiesel es un colector común para la flotación de carbón, pero la partición de compuestos orgánicos de diesel (DRO por sus siglas en inglés) en corrientes de proceso no ha sido ampliamente estudiada. Investigaciones preliminares sugieren que bajo esquemas de dosificación normales los contenidos residuales totales de DRO en aguas de procesos deben estar limitados a la fracción soluble en agua (WSF por sus siglas en inglés) sub-ppm. Es más, los hidrocarburos aromáticos poli-cíclicos (PAH por sus siglas en inglés) debería segmentarse de manera proporcional con los compuestos orgánicos de diesel (DRO). El propósito de este estudio fue confirmar estos resultados en pruebas de flotación realizadas en laboratorio. Se midieron los contenidos totales de DRO Y PAH en aguas asociadas con los flujos o corrientes de concentrados y relaves. Los resultados muestran que las aguas con concentrados tenían de manera consistente mayores cantidades de DRO que las aguas de relaves. Es más, los contenidos de DRO en ambos flujos generalmente se incrementaban con el aumento de la dosis de diesel. De acuerdo con la investigación preliminar, los DRO parecían estar limitados a la fracción soluble en agua (WSF) y los PAH tendían a segmentarse proporcionalmente con los DRO. Bajo condiciones de operación típicas, los DRO residuales no deberían representar una preocupación medioambiental, pero deben evitarse situaciones que permitan una sobredosis significativa de diesel.

Jan 1, 2014

By D. Auerswald, M. Kotze, V. Yahorava, T. Udayar

Uranium can be recovered from lower grade uranium ores (<800 mg/kg U3O8), leach residues, and waste dumps cost-effectively via resin-in-pulp (RIP). Using this technology, no solid/liquid separation or washing of the leach residues are required. Furthermore, the uranium recovery can be higher than with conventional methods. RIP technologies have, however, been perceived negatively due to concerns around potential resin fouling and losses. This paper highlights the advancements made in RIP and discusses a number of potential applications where the technology could deliver economic and consequential environmental benefits by reducing the uranium levels in the waste.

Jan 1, 2014

By Adnan A. Malik, Tadashi Maejima, Jiro Kuwano

"ABSTRACTTheoretical approach to estimate the ultimate pile capacity gives a rough idea at the initial stage of design that later on strengthen by the execution of static pile load test at site. The static pile load test is the only best option for the estimation of ultimate capacity of various types of piles. There are various methods based on strength, serviceability, net deflection for end bearing, shaft adhesion, graphical and extrapolation approaches for the interpretation of pile load test data to calculate the ultimate capacity. In this paper an attempt is made to evaluate the best-fit method for the estimation of ultimate capacity of single helix screw pile. The pile load tests on model scale were performed on screw piles of different helix diameter. The purpose of adopting model scale of testing was to achieve a state at which settlement increases without further increase in vertical load. The ground was compacted with dry sand at denser state. It was observed from the test results that extrapolation methods such as Chin- Kondner and Decourt predict the load settlement curve of screw piles very well, however ultimate pile capacity was on higher side which may not be suitable for the strength of helix plate. Decourt approach to plot the pile load data showed clear indication of the deformation of helix due to strong subsurface condition. A modified approach in Decourt method is proposed for estimating the ultimate capacity of screw pile having deformed helix whereas reduction factor is suggested for Chin-Kondner method for the estimation of ultimate capacity of intact screw pile.INTRODUCTIONDeep foundations are used to avoid the soft ground at shallow depth that is not suitable for carrying the structural load. Different types of piles have been used to transfer the load to deeper stratum. The screw pile is one of the new piling method and its use is considerably increasing. It consists of a cylindrical steel shaft with one or more helices at various length of the shaft. The diameter of helices (Dw) is usually 2 – 2.5 times the shaft diameter (Ds). The pile is installed to the required depth through torque and pressure. The advantage of screw pile over other piling system is its quick installation mechanism, high end-bearing and uplift resistance, noise reduction and minimum use of man power."

Jan 1, 2014

By Sarra Scherbakova, Alexander Kurkov, Andrey Egorov

"Deep concentration of iron ores involves extraction, in addition to magnetite concentrate, of hematite and martite concentrates and recovery of other valuable components. A flotation technology was designed specifically for finely disseminated hematite ore, allowing producing saleable hematite concentrate containing 64-66% Fe. The main process challenge is caused by the presence of other ferruginous minerals such as carbonates, silicates, and phosphates, and fine hematite and martite mostly concentrated in the -0.044 mm fraction. Main operations of the processing circuit are removal of slime, flotation to remove impurities (carbonates, phosphates etc.) with an anionic phosphorous collector in an alkaline environment, hematite and martite flotation using same collector in a slightly acidic environment to produce commercial iron concentrate. Tailings of wet magnetic separation of magnetite containing 24.5% Fe and finely disseminated hematite ore containing 51% Fe were processed to produce iron concentrates with a yield of 15% and 50%, respectively, containing approximately 65% Fe and 5% of silica. Hematite flotation tailings had the highest content of gold (up to 0.09 - 0.11 g/t), while in other products it never exceeded 0.02 g/t. Using a Knelson concentrator was able to recover 40 to 45% of the gold into 3.31 g/t Au gravity concentrate. The success of gravity concentration is due to high gravitational contrast of gold to mostly quartz and aluminosilicates in the hematite flotation tailings. In general, the proposed process can be used as a solution to the challenge of selective concentration of finely disseminated iron minerals."

Jan 1, 2014

By Masaki Kitazume

"Abstract The wet type and dry type of deep mixing methods have been developed and widely applied for on-land and marine constructions in Japan. The quality assurance (QA) of the methods has been usually carried out by unconfined compression test on field stabilized soil sampled by core boring in Japan. In some other countries, stabilized soil excavated by the wet grab sampling instead of core sampling is often subjected to unconfined compression test for quality assurance. There are several merits and demerits in each method, but few studies have been carried out to compare the stabilized soil strength of these two types of specimens to discuss their applicability to practical construction. The author has conducted a series of field and laboratory tests to compare the stabilized soil strength and discuss the applicability of wet grab sampling to QA for wet and dry types of deep mixing method.In this study, the wet grab sampling was carried out at two road embankment construction sites where the wet type and dry type of deep mixing were applied. The cement stabilized soil was excavated at the three depths by a wet grab sampler soon after the DM column construction. The test result is compared with the other test data in the previous study to discuss the applicability of the web grab sampling method for QA of cement stabilized soil.IntroductionThe Deep Mixing Method (DMM), an in-situ soil stabilization technique using cement and/or lime as a binder, is often employed to improve soft soils (Kitazume and Terashi, 2013). A variety of factors and their interactions affect the eventual strength of a deep-mixed column, while some of which are controllable (e.g. binder type and dose) by engineers while the others are not (e.g. soil types, ground temperature, etc.; Babasaki et al., 1997). In addition to laboratory mix tests, which in essence are a parametric study to estimate the influence of these factors on a particular soil’s strength, the quality assurance (QA) practice in Japan usually involves unconfined compression test on sampling cores from the stabilized columns after a given curing period. It has been recognized, however, that the ‘field strength’, or the strength of the retrieved core, quf is on average lower than the ‘laboratory strength’, qul, evaluated by laboratory mix test. Also allowing for the inevitable variability, existing guidelines (for example, PWRC, 2004 and CDIT, 2008) recommend the design quf /qul values of, for example, 0.5-1.0 for the CDM (Cement Deep Mixing; a wet-type technique, in which binder is added as slurry) and 0.2-0.33 for the DJM (Dry Jet Mixing; a dry-type technique, in which binder is added as powder)."

Jan 1, 2014

By N. Tsoni

The separation and recovery of fine and ultra-fine particles during the processing of mineral commodities by conventional separation methods is difficult and inefficient. This is due to the problems posed by the very small size of the mineral particles. The fine and ultra-fine mineral particles are either generated during size reduction processes or are necessitated by liberation size. This problem is expected to deteriorate, as deposits of even lower grade are processed. The inefficiency of the conventional separation methods with regards to the processing of very fine particles leads to the loss of considerable quantities of mineral commodities to the tailings. Novel methods and techniques as well combinations of known methods have been tested over the years. Among them, selective aggregation, along or in combination with flotation, has been given much attention. This study deals with the application of hydrophobic agglomeration as a separation method for very fine particles. The selected mineral system is magnesite/quartz, due to its sensitivity to physi-cochemical separation methods. The aim was the selective agglomeration of magnesite using sodium oleate. Tests on single minerals revealed that separation seems feasible and efficient. The parameters examined were: pH, quantity of sodium oleate, conditioning time, and, finally, settling time. Tests carried out on artificial mixtures of the two minerals, under various proportions, confirmed the results obtained from single mineral tests but they were slightly inferior. Finally, hydrophobic ag-glomeration tests were carried out on single and artificial mixtures of minerals using sodium oleate and petroleum as reagents. The results show that the addition of petroleum improves the results. In conclusion, hydrophobic agglomeration can be applied successfully even for fine particles of difficult-to-be-separated systems such as magnesite and quartz.

Jan 1, 2014

By Christopher Robben, Alexander Mosser

"X-ray transmission (XRT) sorting has been introduced into the minerals industry in 2006 and has found various applications in diamonds, industrial minerals and metal ore processing since. The technology offers planar projections of the atomic density of single particles similar to the principle known from airport scanners, but being capable of treating up to 150tph per metre working width. In 2010, a pilot operation using a belt-type sensor-based sorter went into production at the Mittersill mine to treat the fraction 16-28mm. After an optimisation phase, the results were superseding expectations and therefore in 2012 a bigger production plant was set up. Two XRT-based sorters are parallel in operation since. One is treating the fine fraction 16-30mm while the other one is treating the coarser fraction 30-60mm after the secondary crushing stage. The XRT sorters are operated with the objective to reject barren waste before it enters the mill and flotation plant. 105,000tpa of waste material are rejected per year and can be sold as aggregate for road construction. This means that about 22% of the run-of-mine ore are rejected at an early stage with a waste reject grade lower than 0.03wt%WO3. The installation has not only led to lower specific operating costs but also led to reduced tailings disposal in an environmentally sensitive area. This allows the mine to reduce its headgrade which allows for a longer mine life. Alternatively it is possible to produce more tungsten concentrate, which is delivered to the smelter. This article will introduce the technological principle of XRT-based sorting and will discuss the flow-sheet of the Mittersill mine. Experiences that have led to the current plant design are described as well as the impact it has on the operation."

Jan 1, 2014

By T. M. Bhatti

The main purpose of present study was to characterize the dissolution of uranium from low-grade black shale with indigenous isolated strain of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (BSAF-01). The nature of shale is quartzite-schistose and contains uranium content of 0.005% U3O8 (50 ppm U3O8). Uranium is present in the tetravalent oxidation state (U4+) in the shale matrix. The main minerals identified are graphite, quartz, pyrite, mica minerals (phlogopite, biotite, sericite, and chlorite), microcline, K-feldspar and kerogen (hydrocarbon-compounds). Bacterial oxidation of pyrite was an acid-generating system and produced sulfuric acid and ferric sulfate during this biological phenomenon. A series of bioleaching experiments were conducted in shake flasks for leaching of uranium from black shale. The leaching experiments were performed at 50% pulp density using indigenous Fe- and S-oxidizing bacterium (Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans). Bioleaching data revealed that about 90% ~ 95% U3O8 was leached out from black shale ore. Uranium dissolution from shale depends on pH (pH 1.5~1.9), redox potential (=500 mev) and the concentration of Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions in the leaching environment. The oxidative leaching of U4+ involves a redox reaction with Fe3+ as an oxidant and bacterial re-oxidation of Fe2+ in acidic leaching environment. Uranium leaching efficiency was attributed to the sulfuric acid and ferric sulfate production during bacterial oxidation of pyrite.

Jan 1, 2014

By Jennifer Williams, Donald J. Berger

Originally built between 1913 and 1916, the Ashton Dam & Hydroelectric Facility has experienced various seepage and piping incidents since completion. Ashton Dam is located within 15 miles (24 km) of the historical Teton Dam failure site and about 2.3 miles (3.7 km) west of Ashton, Idaho. Numerous repairs conducted over the years ranged from filling sinkholes on the crest of the dam to placement of rockfill on the upstream slope to improve seismic stability. In addition, the existing low level outlet works was grouted full and abandoned in 1991 due to significant vibrations induced on the dam during its operation.

Jan 1, 2014

By David F. Gearhart

A cooperative study was conducted between Signal Peak Energy and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to evaluate the behavior of a pre-driven recovery room under less than 200 ft of cover. The design of the support systems for a pre-driven recovery room must provide control of the roof and ribs during the changing stress environment experienced throughout the final advance of the longwall into the recovery room. It must also provide a stable area where mine personnel are not exposed to undue hazards during shield recovery operations. This recovery room was constructed in two phases; each phase mined a 21-ft-wide room that was heavily supported, and subsequently fully backfilled with 800-psi, cellular concrete. Instrumentation to monitor the recovery room performance included borehole pressure cells (BPCs) placed in the head gate and tailgate pillars, at four locations across the longwall panel, in the fill material, and in the first row of outby pillars near the center of the panel. Four roof-to-floor convergence sensors were installed in the back fill material and a vertical, multipoint borehole extensometer (MPBX) measured the displacement of the strata above the recovery room. Surface surveys were conducted to measure MPBX collar movement. The data show that the front abutment load was transferred onto the recovery room backfill and the out by pillars as the longwall panel was extracted. As the longwall approached the recovery area, the fender and shields yielded, but the backfill provided enough support to keep the room stable as the longwall advanced to its final position. The system worked as planned and the face was recovered in record time.

Jan 1, 2014

By M. Steyn

The coordination compound tetrakis(1,3-diphenyl-1,3-propanediona to)zirconium(IV), [Zr(DBM)4], (DBM = dibenzoyl methane/1,3- diphenyl-1,3-propanedionol) was synthesized and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. [Zr(DBM)4] crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/c (a = 24.769(4) Å, b = 10.216(5) Å, c = 19.314(4) Å, and = 101.541(5)°). The coordination geometry around the zirconium atom, formed by the eight O-donating atoms of the four -diketonates, is found to be a near-perfect square antiprism. Crystal packing is stabilized by C?H... interactions throughout the crystal lattice. This structure is a noteworthy example of the application of ambient condition synthesis of zirconium compounds in N,N&apos;-dimethylformamide (DMF) as reaction and crystallization solvent, highlighting the possibilities of aerobic condition metal purification through chelation.

Jan 1, 2014

By G. B. Harris

It has long been appreciated that chloride chemistry has a number of advantages over the more traditional sulphate route for both extracting and separating metals. Modern materials of construction, coupled with the development of a more cost-effective and efficient hydrochloric acid regeneration technology mean that chloride-based processes are now more competitive and attractive. Such processing routes are able to recover more of the contained metal values in a feed, including iron in a benign and/or marketable form, and particularly the so-called rare and rare-earth elements which are increasing in demand in our electronic age. These factors, therefore, add appreciably both to the overall economics of a project, but also offer a much more sustainable approach to our dwindling natural resources. Additionally, chloride-based flowsheets can be much more environmentally-friendly, offering practical alternatives to two of the biggest headaches faced by the industry, namely cyanide usage and the generation of red muds. This paper presents a brief theoretical background, focusing on the latest developments of ferrous iron oxidation and the low-temperature, selective hydrochloric acid regeneration process, which is the key unit operation for any chloride flowsheet, and discusses in general the advantages of the chloride approach. Several recently-developed flowsheets, which have been tested at the miniplant level, are presented for gold, base metals, titaniferous magnetites and lead-silver ores wherein the advantages of considering a chloride approach are highlighted.

Jan 1, 2014

By T. Badrujaman

In September 2005, after 30 years experiencing in operating an ESF using a falling water film shell cooling system, Antam entered the new era in operating an ESF, after completely modernized its ESF No. 2 from a falling water film shell cooling system to a copper cooling system. Further, in the beginning of 2007, Ferronickel plant No. 3, where its ESF also uses copper coolers, was successfully commissioned. By operating an ESF using a copper cooling technology, Antam has to face some challenges to establish the operation stability. Besides that, the chances to maximize the furnace efficiency are greatly opened. The shielded-arc mode of electrode tip is selected to operate an ESF under relatively high furnace power to produce metal having tap temperature below 1500? and slag having tap temperature below 1600?. It leads to electric current unbalance. Further, operating an ESF using a copper cooler system under high voltage as consequence of the furnace power raise increases metal and slag tap temperature. This condition damages furnace integrity fast. Besides that, relatively high metal temperature increases its pressure during metal tapping. It leads to failure in closing the metal tap hole. The main different ways in operating an ESF using a falling water film shell cooling system and a copper cooling system lie in the electrode tip mode, the water specification used for cooler, metal tap block maintenance and allowed metal & slag level in furnace. Since a copper cooler system allows an ESF to be operated by consuming nickel ore having ratio Fe / Ni up to eight and producing slag having relatively high Fe content in slag, an undesirable silicon reversion phenomenon becomes an obstacle in reaching the operation stability. A copper cooler technology lets Antam to take a chance to increase its capacity. Modernizing the ESF No.2 had increased its furnace power from 17 MWh to 25 MWh. Meanwhile the ESF No. 3 can be operated up to 42 MWh. This technology allows an ESF to be operated under relatively high furnace power above 25 MWh safely as well as prolong the campaign life of ESF brick. Further, lowering ESF power consumption, extending the limitation of ratio S/M in nickel ore consumed and adjusting Ni grade in ferronickel product can be gained by applying this technology.

Jan 1, 2014

By Y. L. Tian

Low-grade bauxite with A/S of 4.4 from Henan province was used as raw material and the selec-tive grinding of bauxite, grinding efficiency, particle size and Al2O3 and SiO2distributions of ground products were investigated using ball and vibration mills. The results show that the selective grinding can be used to realize the separation of aluminum from silicon within a certain particle size. The optimal grinding conditions of the ball mill with bauxite are as follows: grinding material to charge ratio, 1.2, charge volume ratio, 40%, pulp con-centration, 70wt%, medium size distribution, F30mm:F20mm:F15mm=20%:50%:30%. Under the conditions, the weight rate of ground product with A/S over 7.5 is 27% and the recovery of Al 2O3is 30%. The optimal grinding condition of the vibration mill with bauxite are as follows: grinding material to charge ratio, 0.9; charge volume ratio, 70%; concentration, 70%; medium size distribution, F40mm:F30mm:F20mm=20%:30%:50%. Under the conditions, the weight ratio of ground product with A/S over 7.5 is 25% and the recovery of Al 2O3is 27%. The research is significant for the rational and economical utilization of the low-grade bauxite.

Jan 1, 2014

By Ö. Genç

In this paper, full-scale mill data collected from three different circuit configurations in cement plants demonstrated the size reduction performance of dry ball mills in relation with the ball size classification achieved by the classifying liners used in the grinding compartments. Findings indicated that, breakage rates at the last 2 ~ 4 meters of the mill are not sufficient to give reasonable size reduction ratios for the production of fines. Application of only damming rings without classifying liners resulted in inverse ball size classification which lead to reduction in size reduction performance thus specific breakage rates.

Jan 1, 2014

By K. S. McClure, S. B. Chitralekha, R. B. Gopaluni, Chmylek. T., S. L. Shah

This is a tutorial paper on industrially successful approaches for nonlinear process monitoring. Online process monitoring is essential to continuous operation of plants at high efficiency. The problem of process monitoring is one where an impending but undesirable process condition has to be identified and used to alert process engineers. This problem has traditionally been solved by practicing engineers using statistical techniques that detect a change in the underlying correlation structure of process variables. For linear correlation structures, algorithms such as principal components analysis, independent component analysis and partial least squares have been proposed. However, many industrial processes exhibit nonlinear correlation structure between the process variables. In this tutorial we describe various nonlinear monitoring techniques and elaborate on two recently developed methods, namely Support Vector Machine and Local Linear Embedding. The two methods are evaluated by application on two experimental case studies, a SAG mill and a polymer extruder.

Jan 1, 2014

By Alex Heath, Andrew Barycki, Baladron. Javier

"Efficient flocculation is important to thickener performance, affecting the overflow clarity, solids settling flux, underflow density and operability. Many factors affect flocculation; from the material/flocculant type, dilution of the feed and flocculant solution, mixing, to the shear rate and shear history. The flocculant addition point (or points) can be used as a tuning method to alter the effective flocculation time in a feedwell, with addition further up the feed pipe increasing the residence time but making the aggregates more prone to breakup if they experience high shear later in the process. Conversely, adding the flocculant later, eg under the feedwell shelf decreases the mixing time but allows some free (unadsorbed) flocculant to be available at the feedwell exit. An extensive trial has been performed on an operating thickener comparing seven individual different flocculant dosing positions through a Vane feedwell, and some combinations of two dosing points simultaneously. Measurements of the velocity, solids concentration and aggregate size were made throughout the feedwell at the different positions, with the dosing points significantly changing the aggregate size and clarity, and also affecting the solids concentration at some positions. The results are accessed in terms of flocculation kinetics and used as CFD validation data."

Jan 1, 2014

By Stefano Trevisani

Abstract The FIEC Sustainability Vision states that “risks should be identified and allocated in a fair manner across the project team from the early stages of the design phase. A partnering approach, where objectives and timescales are agreed in advance together with all relevant partners in the value chain, offers a useful solution to improve on site efficiency and reduce disputes”. An alliance or collaborative form of contract involving all parties is the best way to ensure fair contract conditions and proper risk allocation in construction projects. Collaborative contracts are particularly useful where there is uncertainty or undefined information or in the event of technical difficulties and other risks difficult to allocate among the parties involved in the project. Owners sometimes require even special output in terms of innovative technical solutions or special performance. In addition, this particular form of cooperation has been construed and developed with the intention of avoiding and mitigating another great risk associated with the construction industry (especially in complex projects): disputes and conflicts, which are often a major cause of delays, increased costs, loss of reputation and opportunities. In contrast, Alliances are a way to increase and strengthen business relationships, technical and economic innovation and effectiveness, in a worldwide global context where the waste of resources must be avoided in order to guarantee future recovery and growth. Of course, the total cost of a project is usually a key factor and the main driver for the Owner and the Contractors in deciding the type of relationship between them as well as the subsequent relationship with subcontractors and lower-tiers. This paper and presentation, will explain the main features and the principle benefits that the use of collaborative contracts can bring to all parties involved in the construction project, including the sustainable financial return that might be achieved if costly and time consuming disputes can be avoided.

Jan 1, 2014