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By Ron Stewart, Richard Youmaran, Andy Adler

In the current context of heightened concerns with explosives security, there is significant interest in technological controls to improve security. It is important to be able to control what is fired, by whom, where and when. This paper describes research Orica has performed to investigate and test biometric systems to address the question of "by whom". The goal of this research is to incorporate the most suitable biometric system onto the 'blaster' unit of an electronic initiation system. This approach will ensure that only authorized personnel can initiate a blast involving electronic detonators. Requirements analysis: we initially explored many different biometric technologies to evaluate them against the requirements, including security, usability, ruggedness, size, form factor, privacy, and operational temperature range, This analysis identified chip based fingerprint sensors as the best candidate. Development of prototype units: in order to test the identified sensors, we modified standard, commercially-available, electronic blast initiation units ("blaster") to incorporate a fingerprint reader. Testing and evaluation: Biometric We conducted a biometric scenario evaluation in order to determine: 1) security level (measured by false accept rate (FAR)); 2) usability (measured by failure to enroll (FTE) and false reject rates (FRR)), and to 3) discover environment specific issues and challenges (such as temperature, humidity, dirt, or those related to the usage patterns of the user group). Tests were conducted at quarry sites in eastern Ontario, Canada. Results show rates of: FAR= 0%, FTE= 1.67%, FRR= 28.81%. Overall, these results suggest that this fingerprint biometric technology has a good level of usability in this application of electronic blast initiation control.

Jan 1, 2007

By Greg Plutko

Laboratory testing has shown that the Marsh Funnel test can be significantly impacted by long-chain polymer entanglement. In general, shorter hydration time leads to more chain entanglement which in-turn, leads to higher marsh funnel values that values seen for longer mixing. This trend makes it very difficult to predict funnel-viscosity on successive days. Data is presented which helps to explain this chain interaction effect on Marsh Funnel data and how it differs from traditional Fann viscosity. The data suggest that this long-chain polymer entanglement occurs more in samples with less hydration time and decreases as hydration time increases. There is also suggestion that higher polymer concentrations have a greater drop-off in marsh funnel viscosity for a given aging length than do lower solids slurries. Fann rheology was shown to be much less impacted by the hydration time of the PHPA polymers than was Marsh Funnel viscosity. This suggests that the Marsh Funnel viscosity is impacted by some aspect of the slurry that does not affect Fann rheology as strongly. It is known from literature that longer-chained polymers have more potential to entangle and our data support the theory that the Marsh funnel viscosity is greatly impacted by this polymer-chain ‘roping’ entanglement.

By Mayara Gallego Cucchiara

Neste trabalho, blendas de ABS (acrilonitrila-butadieno-estireno) e HIPS (poliestireno de alto impacto) provenientes de carcaças de equipamentos eletro eletrônicos (EEE) foram estudadas. O material foi moído em duas granulometrias diferentes (uma fina e outra grossa). Os corpos de prova para ensaios de tração e impacto de blendas ABS/HIPS na proporção 50/50 (% em massa) foram obtidas diretamente por injeção variando-se a velocidade de dosagem (50, 150 e 300 mm/s) e a granulometria do material moído (fina e grossa). Os corpos de prova obtidos foram caracterizados quanto às suas propriedades mecânicas (resistência à tração e resistência ao impacto). As diferenças obtidas nas propriedades mecânicas foram avaliadas através da análise de variância (Anova-fator duplo com repetição). Observou-se que a velocidade de dosagem e a granulometria do material não afetaram significativamente os valores de módulo de elasticidade aparente e deformação na ruptura das blendas obtidas. Já a granulometria mais fina resultou em blendas com uma maior resistência à tração e maior resistência ao impacto, não importando o valor da velocidade de dosagem utilizada durante o processo de injeção.

Aug 8, 2018

By Aperam South America

Balanço Energético Global e Utilidades - 2013

Jul 31, 2018

By Gisele R. Passalacqua, Aly Mohammad, Joanna Smith

The $13 billion John F. Kennedy (JFK) airport construction redevelopment program includes new terminals and buildings that are supported on piles to meet the airport expansion demand due to increased travel. This paper presents a case history for JFK airport with main focus on construction activities and lessons learned. Challenges include limited head room, presence of underground utilities, and hard driving. Video inspection of pile proved very beneficial. In general, soil conditions at JFK Airport consists of sandy fill followed by a 5-foot thick organic soft layer. Below the organic layer, glacial sands occasionally mixed with gravel were encountered for great depth with increases in density with depth. The tapertube pile is an ideal choice for foundations with high capacity achieved through skin friction along the taper section. The piles are easy to splice to accommodate low head room. Pile Driving Analyzers (PDA), and Static Compression Load Tests were performed. The results of these tests are presented in this paper to illustrate the high pile capacity achieved. More detailed discussion and analysis of the test results will be presented in another paper related to the same project. Lessons learned from this project are shared to help the engineering community with future design and construction of similar projects.

By Gerdau Ouro Branco

É apresentado o Balanço Energético Global da Gerdau Ouro Branco 2013, com os principais indicadores de consumo energético das áreas produtoras. Além dos indicadores energéticos globais, o balanço apresenta os consumos físicos específicos de cada insumo nas diversas áreas, permitindo a análise de cada setor da usina isoladamente. Destaca-se em 2013: -Início de operação da Laminação de Tiras a Quente. -Menor participação do Lingotamento Convencional. -Menor produção de aço bruto da usina em relação a 2012.

Jul 31, 2018

By Robert H. Peters

Are the safety rules in your work place effective? Do supervisors enforce them as they should? Do supervisors abide by these rules? Safety rules are an important aspect of many company safety programs, particularly if employees must work in an intrinsically hazardous environment such as a coal mine. However, for various reasons, supervisors sometimes fail to enforce safety rules (Arvey & Jones, 1985; Hartshorn, 1998). This paper presents some findings obtained from interviews with coal miners about why supervisors sometimes fail to enforce an important mine safety rule. It also contains a few suggestions addressing what could be done to help supervisors perform this job function more effectively.

By Marcello Rodrigues Cruz

O presente estudo objetivou avaliar as diferenças no processo de flotação entre as frações -0,150 +0,038 mm e -0,038 mm, bem como a redução de custo no processo de flotação. Verificou-se que as frações apresentam resultados bem distintos em recuperação mássica, recuperação metalúrgica, seletividade, razão de enriquecimento e teor de sílica no concentrado, condições ideais de adição de reagentes e qualidade final de concentrado e rejeito entre as frações e também se comparada a ao experimento controle, composto com a mesma amostra sem ser fracionada. Através dos testes executados segundo o planejamento fatorial, foram estabelecidos os pares de variáveis ótimas para a flotação para cada fração distinta e as possíveis otimizações utilizando-se a ferramenta estatística. Os resultados obtidos dos testes de bancada apontaram que a amostra composta e as frações separadas apresentam comportamentos distintos quanto às variações dos fatores dosagem de amina, dosagem de amido e pH de flotação e que os resultados do processo melhoram significativamente em relação ao processo sem o tratamento fracionado.

Aug 1, 2018

By Waddah Akili

This paper describes the steps taken in planning, developing, and executing a case study/ case history course in geotechnical/ foundation engineering at an international university. The paper sheds light on: how a “workable” format for the course was arrived at; the organization of the course; and the results of evaluating the effectiveness of this approach versus traditional lecturing. Problems and challenges that could arise when offering the course for the first time are also addressed. Embedded in this experience and its related protocols are: the emphases on engineering design and the practice, teamwork and leadership development, organizational management, and oral and written communication skills. The paper concludes by confirming that discussions, through an open forum, are judged to be superior to traditional lectures in improving critical thinking, cultivating desirable personal attributes, and acquiring problem-solving skills.

By S. J. Schatzel, P. W. Jeran, W. P. Diamond, F. E. McCall, F. Garcia, J. C. LaScola, T. P. Mucho

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Office for Mine Safety and Health Research, is investigating the geologic and mining factors influencing the migration of longwall gob gas. One goal of these studies is to optimize methane drainage strategies to reduce the volume of gob gas that reaches the underground workplace. As part of this research effort, longwall gob gas flow paths in a mine operating in the Pittsburgh Coalbed, PA, were investigated using SF6 tracer gas. Tracer gas released into the ventilation airflow underground generally stayed in the bleeder system and was vented at the associated bleeder fan shafts. Tracer gas injected into an inactive (intaking) gob gas venthole migrated to the two inby producing ventholes on the study panel, indicating that all three ventholes were in communication. The tracer gas that was injected into the gob generally stayed in the gob and only migrated to the ventilation system in response to the venthole on the study panel closest to the injection hole going off production. Tracer gas flow velocities in the longwall gob reservoir and factors influencing the production performance of gob gas ventholes in the study area are also discussed.

By Oliver Bowles

"A New Mica Company in China A report has been received from the American Consulate at Chungking, China, to the affect that a new company has been organized to operate a mica mine north of Ta-chien-lu, in the province of Ssu-Chuan. The company, which is entirely under Chinese management and control, has a working capital of $10,000. While comparatively new, the mine has been worked before, and apparently with some success. The mica is said to be of good quality. It is claimed that the deposit will supply a limited amount of mica that will cut in pieces a foot square or over, and larger quantities of smaller sizes. The chief difficulty is transportation, for it is reported that a ten days' journey, part of it over mountain trails, will be necessary to transport the mica from the mine to Yachow, the nearest practical waterway. It is probable, therefore, that the output of the mine will be limited.Necessity for Careful Trimming and Grading of MicaA recent report to the Department of Trade and Commerce, Ottawa, Canada, by Acting Trade Commissioner C. G. Venus, London, England, contains information which is of vital interest to mica producers in the United States. It is pointed out that mica exports from Canada to England show a gradual decline dur¬ing recent years, the figures being as follows: 1913- 1,383 cwt: 1914 - 1,225 cwt: 1915 - 1,864 cwt: 1S16 - 879 cwt: 1917 444 cwt: 1918 - 480 cwt. Shipments from India to England, on the other hand, show a steady increase from 40,178 cwt. in 1913 to 66,401 cwt, in 1918."

Jan 1, 1920

By Kelvin Lo, Erwin Oh, Darren Newel

The use of interface elements is widespread in most numerical methods to separate the structural elements from soil elements. It allows slipping and gapping or overlapping between the two media in contact with highly distinct deformability characteristics, such as piles and retaining walls. However, many existing analytical methods still assume no pile-soil slipping before failure in axially loaded piles. This paper attempts to compare the slipping and non-slipping analytical models by introducing an interface with a virtual thickness. Results show that both have different load-displacement characteristics when comparing to the measured data. The non-slipping model would result in a stiffer load-displacement curve if the same input stiffness parameters applied to both models. Different procedures to calibration the input stiffness parameters in slipping and non-slipping models are recommended.

By Ihab Allam PE, Meeok Kim. PE. Ph. D

The wet weather equalization basin (EB) planned for Pacifica, CA is a 45 feet deep rectangular shaped underground water tank containing over 2.1 million gallons of water, and located only 500 feet away from the Pacific Ocean. The location and size of the water tank, and the geotechnical characteristics of the selected site presented many engineering and construction challenges. The engineering had to consider a structural system which can fit into the limited area of the site and yet need to meet the storage volume requirement. In addition, the system construction should meet the city’s tight budget and schedule.

By Gabriel Burlandy Mota de Melo

Nanopartículas de ferrita de manganês (MnFe2O4) foram dispersas em parafina e as propriedades físicas do compósito resultante foram investigadas por ressonância ferromagnética (RFM). Os resultados mostraram que a dispersão em quantidades moderadas de parafina aumenta significativamente a anisotropia magnética das nanopartículas de ferrita, um resultado que pode ser de interesse para aplicações práticas do compósito.

Oct 30, 2017

By H. Wallin, I. G. Wallace, J. Akhavan, E. Nilsson

Over the past three years the UK together with Sweden, Norway, Finland, Italy have been taking part in a EU funded Leonardo da Vinci programme. More recently EFEE have participated in the project known as the EU15/10/200715/10/2007Excert project which is aimed at addressing the perceived loss of explosives expertise in several EU nations. This could have implications for explosives safety and industrial competitiveness. The paper outlines the work that has so far been done in phase 1 and describes the work planned for the second phase of the project. The paper will describe work in the UK to develop competencies for all explosives workers in both the civil and defence sectors. These competencies in the form of National Occupational Standards have now been approved in the UK and are accompanied by a range of 24 new National Vocational Qualifications launched in May 2006. The paper will show how the standards define knowledge and skills and how these form the basis for vocational qualifications as well as higher education awards and professional qualifications. This UK initiative is now being considered in other EU countries and the project has now been extended to also include Germany, France, Portugal, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Estonia. To support the occupational standards and qualifications work is also being carried out to improve learning provision in the explosives area. In addition to formal educational and conventional training courses a series of workplace learning initiatives are being pursued as well as internet learning packages. Examples of these initiatives will be given.

Jan 1, 2008

By James Stuart

A man died when the primed charge he was holding against his chest exploded. He was doing legitimate explosive work, and he was following all the safety procedures he had been taught. He and his colleagues had done this, thousands of times previously, with no ill effects.

Jan 1, 2007

By Artur Camposo Pereira

Este trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar a microestrutura de cerâmica de argila incorporada com um lixo na forma de lodo gerado durante o tratamento de efluentes de uma indústria de fabricação de papel. A microestrutura de cerâmica incorporada com 0 e 10% em peso de lixo, e depois disparada a 600°C, foi avaliada por microscopia óptica, microscopia eletrônica de varredura e difração de raios X. Os resultados mostraram que o desperdício altera a microestrutura da cerâmica argilosa aumentando a porosidade, bem como formando novas fases cristalinas, principalmente com compostos de cálcio.

Oct 30, 2017

By A. Felipe Uribe-Henao, Camilo Ballesteros, Luis G. Arboleda-Monsalve, David G. Zapata-Medina

Conventional excavation analysis based on total or effective stress methods can result in inaccurate estimation of ground movements when impervious soil conditions or rapid excavation sequences are not found in the excavation (i.e., assumption of undrained response is not valid). The influence of excavation rate, hydraulic conductivity, and excavation geometry on the fully coupled solid-fluid behavior of a braced excavation in cohesive soils are studied parametrically using PLAXIS2D. The coupled excavation analysis is performed using the Hypoplasticity clay model to reproduce the constitutive behavior of soil and the poro-elasticity Biot’s theory to account for changes in pore water pressure due to deformations in the soil skeleton. Results obtained from the parametric studies indicate that excavation rates to hydraulic conductivity ratios, ER/k, smaller than 0.1 and larger than 104 can be used as limits for drained and undrained analyses, respectively. In practical applications, undrained and partially drained excavation analysis with ER/k larger than 102 resulted in a similar ground deformation. However, smaller ER/k ratios demand fully coupled solid-fluid analysis. An analytical method aimed at predicting excess pore water pressures and determining the required type of analysis associated with soil and excavation conditions, e.g., drained, partially drained, and undrained analysis, is proposed herein to accurately estimate the ground movements induced by the excavation.

By Ivan Rodrigues

A eficiência operacional é um fator essencial para garantir a competitividade das empresas. O desafio é estudar os processos de forma a aumentar a sua produtividade sem necessidade de investimento, gerando valor as empresas. O equipamento estudado, a Linha de Inspeção é o gargalo na produção limitando a geração de produtos em volume ou qualidade. As etapas eleitas para estudo foram os setup’s das atividades de inicio (encaixe) e final (desencaixe) do processo, atividades não automatizadas, com maior intervenção humana que sofrem interferência direta dos tempos e métodos praticados pelos operadores. Utilizando o método dedutivo, tendo como ferramenta de apoio, a pesquisa bibliográfica para fundamentação teórica e realizadas observações de campo, determinou-se os melhores tempos para realização das atividades visando a sua otimização. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo modificar o método operacional nesta Linha de Inspeção visando o aumento da eficiência produtiva, aumentando a geração dos laminados à frio. O trabalho comprovou que a mudança do modo operacional proporciona um incremento de 8% na produção (1.800t/mes).

Aug 17, 2017

By Junho Lee, Leopoldo Bello, Mohammad Khan

Multiline ring anchor (MRA) was developed as a cost-effective solution for securing floating offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) to the seabed. Since FOWTs are placed in arrays compared to conventional oilgas platforms, the availability of multiple mooring lines attached to a single anchor can make FOWTs economically competitive. Additionally, the MRA can provide a small and light-weight anchor with high resistance to mooring line loads due to its deep embedment depth. The combined benefits of fewer and smaller anchors allow substantial reductions in anchor material, transport, and installation costs. Such cost reductions are critical to reducing foundation costs for the wind turbine, which can comprise well over 25% of the capital costs for offshore wind power development. Since it substantially reduces the required number of anchor footprints, the multiline anchor concept also permits significant reductions in seabed site characterization costs. This study evaluates how potential advantages of the MRA can reduce the capital costs and provide a reliable cost analysis of the foundation component for offshore wind farms.