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By T. J. Chen

Vanadium-beard bone coal is one of important vanadium resources in China.To extract vanadium tailings from Stone coal is produced after extracted vanadium from stone coal through the roasting, leaching and other processes. About 120-150 tons of tailings will be produced in extracting 1 ton of vanadium pentoxide. A lot of tailings that are willfully piled up have caused serious environmental pollution and wasting of resources; it is therefore necessary to realize its resource utilization. This study increases the activity of vanadium tailings by means of alkali fusion, and then uses different alkali activators to react with vanadium tailings so that geopolymer with high value added is produced. Sample of geopolymer is acquired from a mixture containing vanadium tailings, alkali activators, water and a little sodium aluminate through compression-molding process under 20MPa pressure. After cured in room temperature for three days, the maximum compressive strength of the sample can reach 36.2MPa. XRD analysis indicates quartz, the major crystal phase in vanadium tailings is decomposed,and the activity of vanadium tailings is heightened. FTIR and SEM analyses show: structural change having an important impact on the mechanical strength of geopolymer occurred during the process of vanadium tailings generating geopolymer.

Sep 1, 2012

By Pradeep K. Rohatgi, Clyde M. Adams

Dendritic aggregate of ice formed on freezing of aqueous soluitions has been studied. Chlorides of sodium, potassiutn, lithiunz , and hydroget1 were used as solutes. The spacing between ice platelets or den-drites was experimenlally found proportzonal to the square root of freezing time when the freezing rate was constant from beginrting to end of solidification; the constant freezing rates were obtained during freezing of small droplets of aqueous soliitions surrounded by relatively large heat sinks. The transverse growth velocity of the ice platelets is proportional to the square root of the freezing rate. During unidirectional freezing from a constant temperuture chill, the solution at each location is subjected to a spectrum of freezirtg rates. The freezing rate is ini- FREEZING of solutions has been a subject of investigation in many disciplines. Aqueous solutions offer the advantage of transparenty; their study is of special significance due to the increasing interest in freezing processes for desalination. In addition dendritic solidification of aqueous solutions is in many ways analogous to freezing of metallic solutions. Aqueous solutions of most ionic salts freeze with tially low, passes through a maximum, and then decreases until solidificatimz is complete. The den-drite spacing increases linearly with the distance from the chill surface; it is inversely profiortional to the square root of the maximum freezing rate. The dendrite spacings in the two systems (the constanl freezing rate and the varying freezing rate) are equal, when the maximum freezing rate of the varying freezing rate system equals the average freezing vale of the constant freezing rate system. Mass transport in interdendritic liquid duriug solidificatiotz is analyzed; the experimental observations indicate that maximum concentration difference (AC) and supercooling (AT) in the interdendritic liquid are indepexdent of freezing rate. the separation of practically pure ice crystals from the liquid phase; with very few exceptions there is no solid solubility of ionic salts in ice. As an ice crystal grows there is rejection of solute from the moving interface into the liquid. Since the rejected solute moves primarily by diffusion, concentration gradients are established in the liquid. The highest solute concentrations are found in liquid immediately adjacent to liquid-solid interfaces and lowest concentrations farthest from the interface. Two-phase equilibrium obtains only at the solid-liquid interface; at other locations the liquid becomes supercooled because temperature gradients are negligible compared to concentration gradients. This is an immediate consequence of the fact that thermal diffusivities are considerably higher than mass diffusivities.

Jan 1, 1968

By Henrik Saxén, Mikko Helle

The operation of hot stoves used for preheating the blast in the ironmaking blast furnace has a strong effect on the consumption of reductants, economic performance of and CO2 emissions from the steelmaking site. Generally, it is recommended to maintain as high blast temperature as possible, because this minimizes the rate of reductants in the blast furnace. The blast temperature is affected in a complex way by the time periods of heating and cooling of the stoves, and by the amount of gas combusted in the stoves. Furthermore, as the hot stoves show degraded performance with age, it is a non-trivial task to select optimal operation parameters for the stoves. The paper addresses this computationally by applying a one-dimensional heat-transfer model of the hot stoves for optimization of the performance of the system. The complexity and strong coupling of the decision variables is demonstrated by numerical examples, where the blast temperature is maximized under different constraints.

Jan 1, 2015

By Karl Peterson, Bibhu Mohanty, Chanakya Nariseti

The mechanism of crack formation in two target rocks (Kuru granite and Flamboro Limestone) is studied experimentally by simulating the impact action of a percussive drilling bit. Rock samples are dynamically loaded using a custom made impacting bit (8 mm, 12 mm and 15 mm diameter bits). The target rocks are impacted at velocities 8, 10, and 12 m/s. The resulting crack patterns are visualized by three techniques, Dye penetration, CAT scans and Optical scans. Mapping of the crack patterns is manually done with Photoshop. For 3D damage visualization, the crack patterns are mapped in two planes (impact surface and longitudinal sections). The three techniques are compared to determine an optimum technique for better damage visualization. The evolution of crack pattern with impact velocity and bit diameter is discussed.

Jan 1, 2015

By A. S. Romphf, C. K. McKenzie

Recent full-scale field studies involving single-hole charges fired to free faces under a wide range of operating conditions have delivered precious insights into airblast characteristics and propagation. The field tests involved production blasthole diameters in the range 89 to 406 mm (3 ½ to 16 in), bench heights in the range 9 to 24 metres (30 to 79 ft), burden ratios (burden/hole diameter) in the range 14 to 51, stemming ratios (stem height/hole diameter) in the range 11 to 36, explosive types of ANFO, heavy ANFO and pumped emulsion, and both solid-column and double-decked charge configurations. Around 700 measurements of peak amplitude and wave shape were made in all directions (0 to 360 deg) from the free face, from 38 single-hole tests in nine North American operating quarry/mine environments. The most striking observations were the strong dependence on directionality of the wave propagation parameters and wave frequency, the consistency of wave shape which resembled the modified Heelan wavelet, and the occasional appearance of distinct, multiple pulses from single events, shown to be echoes/reflections from quarry faces. In-hole deck charging failed in this study to achieve expected peak overpressure reductions, with the peak overpressure levels in Pascals/psi/millibars being approximately 40% higher than the as-charged weights. Inter-deck delay times in excess of around 25 ms are required for effective reduction of peak overpressure levels from front-row holes. Simple linear-superposition models based on synthetic wavelets applied to large production blasts produce composite waveforms which capture the important features of the actual pressure-time history, and correlate well with measured waveforms.

Jan 26, 2026

By J. W. Leonard, J. C. Anderson, C. T. Holland

PREPARATION CONTROL IN UNDERGROUND MINING Selective Mining According to district Depending upon the particular geographic location or seam characteristics modem raw coal preparation practices can be used to obtain improved product quality and uniformity. Nevertheless, certain coal markets may require only marginal quality while others may require very high quality and these objectives may be sought by commencing the preparation of coal underground at the "working face." Underground preparation involves choosing those portions of the bed which can be cleaned to satisfy predetermined market requirements involving (1 ) maintenance of uniformity in chemical quality, (2) elimination of removable impurities, (3) control of sizes and size ratios and (4) control of moisture. The methods employed to attain these objectives vary widely with the (1) seam under development, (2) mining equipment available and (3) changing trends in the consuming markets. When a mining property is opened and development progresses from one section to another the (1) petrography of the coal in the bed does not re- main uniform, (2) character of roof and floor are subject to change and (3) character and prevalence of mineral impurities are subject to considerable variation. The quality of coal shipped to market from any mine depends upon intelligent foresight, planning, execution and supervision. Mining becomes a highly technical art. The quality of coal as determined by chemical and petrographic analysis is without question one of the most important considerations in the development and life of any coal-mining property. Variations in such proper- ties as volatile matter, ash, sulfur, Btu content and petrography are of considerable interest and to a limited extent so are such properties as phosphorous content, free swelling index, plasticity, hardness, pressure formation during coking and ash composition. The maximum and minimum specifications of these characteristics as established by competitive market conditions place definite limits on the marketability of a coal. The prospecting and evaluation of any area containing one or more salable coal beds by means of channel samples taken from outcrop openings and/or from diamond-drill cores can yield valuable data on coal characteristics. By correlating the data developed from distinct petrographic sections of channel and/or drill core samples, the quality of the bed according to stratification will be evident. There are few coal beds that do not show wide variations of such characteristics as ash and sulfur

Jan 1, 1968

By Xianglin Yang, Hong Zhong, Jingjing Xiao, Guangyi Liu

"The selective adsorption of a flotation collector to a mineral plays a crucial role in enhancing the hydrophobicity of targeted mineral particles for attaching air bubbles in pulp. The recent progress of the structure-reactivity relationship of flotation collectors, the characterization methods for mineral surfaces with adsorbed collectors and their commercial application are reviewed in this paper. Particular emphasis is placed on the density functional theory (DFT) for understanding the reactivity of new collectors, the surface analysis techniques including time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), in situ scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) to characterize mineral/collector interface, and the flotation technologies for optimizing recovery of valuable minerals. Especially, the recently developing collectors such as Gemini, alkoxyalkylthiourea, dithiourea, amide-hydroxamate and oximido-thiol surfactants, and their specificity to given minerals are evaluated. Based on this crucial review, it is evident that the structural modification approaches for minerophilic or hydrophobic groups, and combined surface analysis approach for further understanding the adsorption mechanism of collectors on mineral surfaces will lay a solid foundation for the future development of flotation collectors. INTRODUCTIONIn mineral processing, flotation is the main process for separation and recovery of valuable minerals from the ores contained them (Fuerstenau et al., 2007). One of the key requirements in flotation process is to increase selectively the surface hydrophobicity of the targeted minerals by collector adsorption so that these mineral particles can preferably attach to air bubbles in a slurry or pulp (Fuerstenau et al., 2007). Flotation collector is a kind of functional surfactant, which is composed of polar and non-polar groups (Somasundaran, & Wang, 2006). Non-polar portion, commonly being linear, branch or ring hydrocarbon group, is termed hydrophobic group. The polar portion, exhibiting strong affinity to mineral surfaces, is known as minerophilic group (Nagaraj, 1988). According to mineral types including saline, oxide and sulfide minerals, flotation collector divides into sulfide and oxide mineral collectors. For efficient recovery of valuable minerals from the refractory complex ores, insights into the adsorption mechanism, hydrophobic model and subsequent flotation approach of flotation collectors have been regarded as an indispensable issue in mineral processing."

Jan 1, 2016

By G. R. M. Del Giudice, A. F. Taggart, Othon A. Ziehl

In a previous paper1 in which one of the authors collaborated, it was postulated that All dissolved reagents which, in flotation pulps, either by action on the to-be-floated or on the not-to-be-floated particles affect their floatability, junction by reason of chemical reactions of well recognized types between the reagent and the particle affected. This generalization, apparently, like many pioneer structures, had for certain observers a flimsy appearance, and these, judging its stability rather by the number than by the character of its foundation posts, have attempted variously to overthrow it, either by the frontal attack of general denial, or by the flanking movement involved in assuming that those cases in which the facts were unknown or unproved were, therefore, discordant. But as time has passed and further evidence on the question has accumulated, it has become apparent that the results of verifiable experiments add stone by stone to the substructure of the hypothesis, and that the super-tructure has lost nothing in weathering. The present paper constitutes an examination of the opposing positions in the light of the more recent evidence developed. It will clarify the discussion if, at this point, we state more fully the implications of the disputed hypothesis. In the first place, it is explicitly limited to reagents that are dissolved in the water of the flotation pulp. Next, it refers only to such of these dissolved reagents as act on the solid particles in the pulp to affect their floatability. This includes the collectors, activators, and certain depressors and gangue-control reagrnts, but not the pure frothers, and not, necessarily, conditioners whose function seems to be merely that of pH control, although in certain cases it has been demonstrated that such control has the effect of regulating the primary reaction of the collector, depressor, or the like. Finally, there is no limitation as to the nature of the chemical reaction postulated.

Jan 1, 1935

By Albert Stazicker

AT Climax the warehouse department operates as an independent unit similar to the mine and mill departments. It has the responsibility of receiving, checking, unloading, and storing all material and supplies delivered to the plant. In addition, the transportation of all supplies comes under the direction of the warehouse so that prompt delivery of supplies to all departments is one of its major functions. The transportation division operates heavy and light trucks, trailers, two large tractors, and two snowplows. In addition to delivering supplies it is also responsible for snow removal from the roads, hauling of sand and gravel for concrete and domestic coal to employees. and all miscellaneous work involving the use of tractors or trucks.

Jan 1, 1946

By W. C. Smith

Over the past several years, the Bureau of Mines has conducted studies on the performance of fully grouted resin bolts In underground mines. The effectiveness of resin-grouted bolts in maintaining a competent roof, even in weak rock, has been well documented in the literature. Recent Bureau studies have evaluated the affects of shortened grout columns on bolt behavior in a variety of rock types (1, 2, 3). The application of partial grout columns to primary roof support systems has been introduced as a viable alternative to fully grouted bolt systems in some mines. The point-anchored resin bolt and combination bolt represent such alternatives. While both systems usually employ some mechanical interlocking system, their primary difference lies in the length of resin column used. Point- anchor systems rely on an anchoring device that is a short length of resin column of 2 feet or leas. Combination bolts, on the other hand, often require 3 feat or more of resin column. Resin migration into voids and fractures intersecting the borebole wall is a major problem when installing fully grouted bolts in weak roof rock and can result in a reduced column length that provides reduced anchorage. The relationship between column length and anchorage integrity deserves closer study. The Denver Research Center of the Bureau of Mines has examined the load- carrying capabilities of resin-grouted bolts in weak strata. Pull tests were performed on about 900 resin-grouted, 4- foot-long bolts with column lengths ranging from 6 to 48 inches. The practical performances of 8 different column lengths were evaluated for 10 mines under in sit" conditions using data obtained from standard pull tests. In addition criteria are discussed, including engineering properties of the host rock for designing safer and more effective grouted bolt installations.

Jan 1, 1987

By A Castleden, G Cavanough, M Kochanek, J Cunningham

ROES« is a proposed new mining system for underground hard rock mines. Ore is accessed from within a shaft, which is located close to or within the stope, and pitched either vertical or within approximately 20 degrees of vertical. The shaft is designed to exclude personnel entry so production drilling and explosive placement is done using remotely controlled or automated machines. Routine remotely controlled survey of the shaft, stope back and broken rock within the stope is typically done following each blast. The survey may include excavation geometry, rock fragmentation and geotechnical characteristics. Blastholes are surveyed before placement of explosives. This provides mine operators and engineers with real-time data, allowing them to monitor production performance and risk factors so that they can make rapid changes as required. ROES« is designed to apply to open stoping or sublevel caving situations either in disseminated, geologically defined, thick tabular or narrow vein orebodies. The technologies developed for ROES« will also have potential applications to block caving operations to reduce the risk of frozen ore and poor fragmentation. In a typical sublevel open stope application, ROES« will reduce the amount of stope-associated development by about half and therefore will allow ore to be brought on-stream sooner and at significantly reduced cost. Other savings are expected to flow from the centralisation of mining activities and operational data, reduction in mining fleet, reduction in ventilation requirements, improved occupational safety and reduced mine complexity. CSIRO and Orica Mining Services are developing the required technology and AMIRA is seeking sponsorship for a project to trial the mining method. This paper details the ROES« method, expected benefits and applications and includes typical stope and mining block designs and design requirements.

Jan 1, 2008

By Robert Bosworth

THE liability for damages to the surface caused by subsidence is an ever present threat in all underground mining. In ordinary lode mining, this threat rarely materializes into an action, due to the method of mining metalliferous ores, the dip of the veins, and the nature of the ground itself. In the mining of coal, however, this threat is very real. The coal frequently lies close to the surface, in beds underlying large areas of land of which the surface is suitable for agricultural or urban development. Furthermore, the coal is generally mined by the "room and pillar" method and when the pillars of coal are removed, the subjacent support is destroyed. This question of the duty of surface support has now become a very live one in Colorado. What was waste prairie land a few years ago has become valuable agricultural land dotted here and there with growing towns. Frequent references will be made here to Colorado conditions and adjudicated cases, but those conditions and cases and the conclusions to be drawn therefrom are applicable to all coal-mining states. Briefly stated, the question is "Does the owner of the substrata or underlying mineral owe any duty of surface support to the owner of the superjacent strata or surface?" There is -no absolute duty of support owed by the mineral owner and this assertion is made with full knowledge of numerous expressions to the contrary by courts of Pennsylvania, Illinois, Colorado and other coal-mining states. Whether or not any duty exists depends upon the circumstances surrounding each case, and since in the nature of things those circumstances are rarely identical, there can be no absolute rule.

Jan 1, 1928

By W. W. Anderson

WEBSTER'S dictionary gives the following definition for "efficiency": "Effective operation as measured by a comparison of actual and possible results." Engineers think of this definition in terms of the ratio of output to input, and since they learn early in their careers that output cannot be greater than input, they usually consider a machine to be 100 pct efficient if it operates perfectly, and to be 0 pct efficient if it performs no function at all. Hence, values of efficiency between 0 and 100 pct reflect how well or how poorly a machine has performed; and any method of calculation for determining efficiency that does not show 0 pct when no function has been performed, and 100 pct when a perfect job has been done, is looked upon with skepticism. The literature on performance of coal cleaning equipment contains many references to efficiency of performance, but there is no unanimous agreement among the authors as to how the efficiency should be determined. Numerous methods of calculation have been proposed from time to time, most of which attempt to fulfill the definition of efficiency by comparing output to input, using float and sink data or some other characteristic, such as dry ash content, as a measure. However, to the best of our knowledge, none of the methods advocated in the past meets the requirements of a practical engineer in judging cleaning plant performance, because the formulas previously advocated do not confine numerical values of efficiency between 0 and 100 pct, and the literature does not contain an explanation of the meaning of the formulas under various conditions of operation. Therefore, the following formula, based on Yancey's concept of misplaced material,' is proposed as a measure of efficiency which will conform with the requirement that the values of efficiency must be confined between 0 and 100 pct: Quantitative Efficiency = 100.0 — (pct wt sink* in cleaned coal + pct wt float* in refuse)t • At gravity of separation effected by cleaning equipment. t Total product basis of the size of material under study. It will be noted from this formula that an actual separation between cleaned coal and refuse must be effected by the cleaning equipment before the formula can be used; also, that improperly distributed material in the products must be determined at the gravity of separation, rather than at some arbitrary test gravity. It will further be noted from this formula that the weight of cleaned coal recovered and the weight of refuse rejected by the equipment have their proper influence, because the sink in the cleaned coal and the float in the refuse are expressed in the equation as a per cent weight of the total products of a definite size discharged from the plant. This formula has one other important characteristic, in that it requires no knowledge of the feed to the cleaning unit. Comparison of data on the products from a cleaning unit with the feed to the unit can lead to many worthwhile conclusions. but not in regard to the efficiency of separation effected by the equipment. The reason for this is that mechanical fracture of many pieces of the feed occurs during the cleaning process; and in some processes crushers are deliberately incorporated in the flow to produce size degradation to free impurities from cleaned coal, thereby altering the washability characteristics of the material while in process. When such size degradation occurs in a cleaning process, it is quite possible that this crushing will result in a reduction in ash content in the finer sizes of cleaned coal when compared with the raw coal feed, even though no true separation has been effected. This is due to the fact that the finer sizes have been "sweetened" by the crushing of cleaned coal from some coarser size. Many formulas advocated in the past show high cleaning efficiencies

Jan 1, 1951

By F. R. Zacher

Unmined blocks in the Sewickley seam, surrounded by worked out areas, have been found to transmit overburden oads through the interval strata to the Pittsburgh seam workings 90 ft below. Operating experiences under these conditions are described in this paper. IT has always been understood, in northern West Virginia where both the Pittsburgh and Sewickley seams are mined, that pillaring or splitting in the lower Pittsburgh seam could break the interval strata and make mining in the overlying Sewickley difficult or impossible. In some instances, however, mining methods practiced in the overlying Sewickley have reversed the problem, resulting in a shifting of the intermediate layer and destroying valuable acreages of the Pittsburgh seam below. The Pittsburgh seam in this area is, on the average, 102 in. thick. About 18 in. of low-quality head coal are left for roof protection as it is mined. Immediately over the coal are two draw slates, two rider seams, and a good hard black shale, locally called black rock, which serves as a permanent roof where draw slates and riders are taken down on certain main haulroads. In most areas mined in this seam in the past the bottom has been satisfactory but soft. However, in areas now being mined by the Christopher Coal Co. in Monongalia County the bottom is very hard and unyielding. The Sewickley seam, lying 85 ft above the Pittsburgh, will average nearly 70 in. in thickness and is overlain by massive shales and sandstones. Much of the seam is mined only down to the "sheep skin," a hard band about 4 in. above the bottom, which is composed of relatively hard shale. Fig. 1 shows a typical cross-section through the Pittsburgh and Sewickley seams in the area being discussed. The thin Redstone seam is not deep-mined but is stripped in some locations where it outcrops. Most of the Sewickley seam in the Morgantown areas has been mined out from 10 to 30 years. There are at present only two large mines and five or six others of small production operating in that seam. Mining systems in the past were generally of the room and pillar type with some full pillar extraction. This seam in the Scott's Run area was operated by as many as thirty or forty different companies at one time, during an era beset with strikes, market failures, and depressions. Most of the barrier pillars along the many main haulroads were abandoned, and blocks of Sewickley coal that would be fully recovered with today's machinery were left unmined when conditions became anything less than favorable. Consequently the mined-out Sewickley is spotted throughout with solid blocks varying in size from 100x100 ft to 200x400 ft and larger. It is these unmined Sewickley blocks surrounded by worked-out portions that have caused transmissions of roof stresses to underlying Pittsburgh mining areas, see Fig. 2, resulting in untold difficulty. As the Christopher Coal Co. operates both the Pittsburgh and Sewickley seams, accurate maps of workings in both seams are readily available and are regularly consulted. The first Pittsburgh squeeze attributed to overlying Sewickley blocks occurred in the Arkwright mine, where a shuttle car crew was developing a section consisting of seven panel headings. These entries were being driven in solid coal 3400 ft from the nearest worked-out Pittsburgh area. As mining advanced it was noticed that certain ribs began to slough and certain areas to show signs

Jan 1, 1953

By L. S. Darken, H. A. Wriedt

An investigation has been made of nitrogen absorption by the lattice defects in a low-carbon steel afte~ Plastic deformation. Specimens in which defects were distributed by various combinations of cold rolling and vacuum heat treatment were equilibrated with controlled ammonia + hydrogen mixtures at 300° to 450°C to study the relation between the solubility and the thermodynamic activity of nitrogen. The results are interpreted in terms of nitrogen being absorbed upon two different types of defect sites, called A sites and B sites. The concentrations of these sites are calculated for specimens with various histories of straining and annealing; and the thermodynamic relations descrihing the equilibrium distribution of nitrogen among the A, B, and ordinary interstitial sites in ferrite are evaluated as follows: THE generalization that the solute atoms in a solid solution interact with imperfections in the solvent lattice is now universally recognized and the subject of an extensive literature. All types of imperfections—point, line, or surface—exhibit these interactions, but the relative importance of each type depends upon its concentration, the strength of its interaction with the particular solute atom, and whether the interaction is attractive or repulsive. The strength and sign of the interaction vary with the vectorial displacement of the solute atom from the imperfection in the crystal. The concentration of lattice defects increases during plastic deformation and the effect of the imperfections upon the solute atoms is usually perceived only after cold work or irradiation. Two experimental methods have previously been used to observe the effects of interaction between nitrogen atoms and lattice imperfections in a iron. Internal friction, which was first used for this purpose by Dijkstra,1 has been applied more often than the electrical-resistivity method of Cottrell and Churchman.2 The method of the present investigation has not been used before.* Uniform specimens of steel with a metastable defect structure are produced by cold rolling and subsequent heat treatment below the recrystallization temperature. Variations in the defect structure are obtained by varying the amount of strain and the heat-treatment conditions. The specimens are then saturated with nitrogen at moderately elevated temperatures in ammonia + hydrogen mixtures having various thermodynamic activities of nitrogen below saturation with Fe4N. From the nitrogen contents of analyzed samples, the metastable equilibria of interactions between the defects and nitrogen can be established and the concentration of sites for nitrogen atoms in the lattice defects calculated. A steel was used in the present experiments instead of purified iron or iron alloys because the amount of nitrogen absorbed at defects is larger in the steel over a much wider range of experimental conditions and could therefore be measured more accurately. The effect of alloy composition is discussed in Part II of this paper; it is sufficient to say here that impurities and phase heterogeneity in ferritic alloys favor the generation and/or retention of larger defect concentrations during plastic deformation and annealing at 300° to 500°C. MATERIALS AND EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE The experimental specimens were prepared from stock of a low-carbon steel, which will be called "X steel" here, with the composition: C, 0.12 pct; Mn, 0.43 pct; P, 0.010 pct; S, 0.034 pct; Si, 0.007 pct; As, 0.086 pct; Cu, 0.022 pct; Ni, 0.009 pct; Cr, 0.003 pct. The stock was all from a single ingot made by the basic open-hearth process, which was hot-rolled to strip 0.080 in. thick.. This hot-rolled strip, given the code designation "XH", was the starting material for preparing a series of cold-rolled sheets. The latter are designated "XC27",

Jan 1, 1965

By W. W. Anderson

WEBSTER'S dictionary gives the following definition for "efficiency": "Effective operation as measured by a comparison of actual and possible results." Engineers think of this definition in terms of the ratio of output to input, and since they learn early in their careers that output cannot be greater than input, they usually consider a machine to be 100 pct efficient if it operates perfectly, and to be 0 pct efficient if it performs no function at all. Hence, values of efficiency between 0 and 100 pct reflect how well or how poorly a machine has performed; and any method of calculation for determining efficiency that does not show 0 pct when no function has been performed, and 100 pct when a perfect job has been done, is looked upon with skepticism. The literature on performance of coal cleaning equipment contains many references to efficiency of performance, but there is no unanimous agreement among the authors as to how the efficiency should be determined. Numerous methods of calculation have been proposed from time to time, most of which attempt to fulfill the definition of efficiency by comparing output to input, using float and sink data or some other characteristic, such as dry ash content, as a measure. However, to the best of our knowledge, none of the methods advocated in the past meets the requirements of a practical engineer in judging cleaning plant performance, because the formulas previously advocated do not confine numerical values of efficiency between 0 and 100 pct, and the literature does not contain an explanation of the meaning of the formulas under various conditions of operation. Therefore, the following formula, based on Yancey's concept of misplaced material,' is proposed as a measure of efficiency which will conform with the requirement that the values of efficiency must be confined between 0 and 100 pct: Quantitative Efficiency = 100.0 — (pct wt sink* in cleaned coal + pct wt float* in refuse)t • At gravity of separation effected by cleaning equipment. t Total product basis of the size of material under study. It will be noted from this formula that an actual separation between cleaned coal and refuse must be effected by the cleaning equipment before the formula can be used; also, that improperly distributed material in the products must be determined at the gravity of separation, rather than at some arbitrary test gravity. It will further be noted from this formula that the weight of cleaned coal recovered and the weight of refuse rejected by the equipment have their proper influence, because the sink in the cleaned coal and the float in the refuse are expressed in the equation as a per cent weight of the total products of a definite size discharged from the plant. This formula has one other important characteristic, in that it requires no knowledge of the feed to the cleaning unit. Comparison of data on the products from a cleaning unit with the feed to the unit can lead to many worthwhile conclusions. but not in regard to the efficiency of separation effected by the equipment. The reason for this is that mechanical fracture of many pieces of the feed occurs during the cleaning process; and in some processes crushers are deliberately incorporated in the flow to produce size degradation to free impurities from cleaned coal, thereby altering the washability characteristics of the material while in process. When such size degradation occurs in a cleaning process, it is quite possible that this crushing will result in a reduction in ash content in the finer sizes of cleaned coal when compared with the raw coal feed, even though no true separation has been effected. This is due to the fact that the finer sizes have been "sweetened" by the crushing of cleaned coal from some coarser size. Many formulas advocated in the past show high cleaning efficiencies

Jan 1, 1951

By F. R. Zacher

Unmined blocks in the Sewickley seam, surrounded by worked out areas, have been found to transmit overburden oads through the interval strata to the Pittsburgh seam workings 90 ft below. Operating experiences under these conditions are described in this paper. IT has always been understood, in northern West Virginia where both the Pittsburgh and Sewickley seams are mined, that pillaring or splitting in the lower Pittsburgh seam could break the interval strata and make mining in the overlying Sewickley difficult or impossible. In some instances, however, mining methods practiced in the overlying Sewickley have reversed the problem, resulting in a shifting of the intermediate layer and destroying valuable acreages of the Pittsburgh seam below. The Pittsburgh seam in this area is, on the average, 102 in. thick. About 18 in. of low-quality head coal are left for roof protection as it is mined. Immediately over the coal are two draw slates, two rider seams, and a good hard black shale, locally called black rock, which serves as a permanent roof where draw slates and riders are taken down on certain main haulroads. In most areas mined in this seam in the past the bottom has been satisfactory but soft. However, in areas now being mined by the Christopher Coal Co. in Monongalia County the bottom is very hard and unyielding. The Sewickley seam, lying 85 ft above the Pittsburgh, will average nearly 70 in. in thickness and is overlain by massive shales and sandstones. Much of the seam is mined only down to the "sheep skin," a hard band about 4 in. above the bottom, which is composed of relatively hard shale. Fig. 1 shows a typical cross-section through the Pittsburgh and Sewickley seams in the area being discussed. The thin Redstone seam is not deep-mined but is stripped in some locations where it outcrops. Most of the Sewickley seam in the Morgantown areas has been mined out from 10 to 30 years. There are at present only two large mines and five or six others of small production operating in that seam. Mining systems in the past were generally of the room and pillar type with some full pillar extraction. This seam in the Scott's Run area was operated by as many as thirty or forty different companies at one time, during an era beset with strikes, market failures, and depressions. Most of the barrier pillars along the many main haulroads were abandoned, and blocks of Sewickley coal that would be fully recovered with today's machinery were left unmined when conditions became anything less than favorable. Consequently the mined-out Sewickley is spotted throughout with solid blocks varying in size from 100x100 ft to 200x400 ft and larger. It is these unmined Sewickley blocks surrounded by worked-out portions that have caused transmissions of roof stresses to underlying Pittsburgh mining areas, see Fig. 2, resulting in untold difficulty. As the Christopher Coal Co. operates both the Pittsburgh and Sewickley seams, accurate maps of workings in both seams are readily available and are regularly consulted. The first Pittsburgh squeeze attributed to overlying Sewickley blocks occurred in the Arkwright mine, where a shuttle car crew was developing a section consisting of seven panel headings. These entries were being driven in solid coal 3400 ft from the nearest worked-out Pittsburgh area. As mining advanced it was noticed that certain ribs began to slough and certain areas to show signs

Jan 1, 1953

By Georges E. Vaillant

Air pollution control in primary aluminum smelter . Various processes are known for air pollution in electrolysis plants. Mainly two systems have to be taken into consideration: -Treatment of concentrated gases collected directly from hooded pots. This is normally achieved by either dry or wet process. This is not the object of this paper as these processes have been already described. -Treatment of low concentrated fumes. A certain amount of gaseous and solid fluoride (35 % of total fluor pollution) goes out of the hooded pot. Gases commonly called secondary fumes are generally treated by wet process. The object of 'this paper is to describe two plants with specific treatment for secondary fumes. 1/ A plant in operation in Vlissingen (Netherlands) for PECHINEY. 2/ Presentation of tests carried out by a specialized Company. The results of such tests have been used for the design of the scrubbers presently under construction for ALUMINIO ESPANOL San Ciprian (Spain).

Jan 1, 1978

By P. S. Lewis

Shortage of natural gas is reviving interest in low-Btu fuel gas made by gasifying coal in fixed-bed producers. The Bureau of Mines gasified strongly caking Pittsburgh bed coal over test periods lasting four days in an experimental gas producer located at Morgantown, W. Va, Mechanical stirring throughout the fuel bed was effective for keeping the fuel moving and this stirring made the operation successful; hence, the gas producer was named the stirred-bed producer. Nuclear density gages were applied as control instruments to indicate coal flow and fuel level, and to record the frequency and location of void spaces in the bed, The gas, of nominal 140 to 165 Btu/scf calorific value, could be burned in a boiler for generating steam.

Jan 1, 1972

By R. P. Stahura

In many ways, conveyors are the lifeline of mining and processing operations. Like arteries in the human body, they continuously supply materials to and carry finished products and waste away from vital on-going operations. And like arteries, when the conveyors are running with less than maximum efficiency and productivity, it spells serious trouble for the operation's overall health. Inefficient conveyors suffer carryback, leading to the build-up of materials on idlers and other expensive components. They spill and leak material at loading zones and conveyor transfer points, causing accumulations that can damage the belt, wear moving components, and increase both clean-up labor and maintenance expense. They wander or mistrack, spilling material and endangering personnel and conveyor components including the belt itself. And through these inefficiencies, they multiply the operation's hidden costs. These added expenses are created in lost production, increased downtime for service and maintenance, and the cost of the replacement of prematurely worn equipment. In addition, the attitude that inefficiency is "good enough" is recognized elsewhere in the organization; as a result, other departments relax or operate at less than peak performance. Quality goes down and with it employee morale.

Jan 1, 1992