Mining Engineering Commons^™

Optimization Model For Maintenance Planning Of Loading Equipment In Open Pit Mines, Farshid Javadnejad, Mohammad Reza Sharifi, Mohammad Hossein Basiri, Bakhtiar Ostadi

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Maintenance plays a significant role in operating costs in the mining industry. Improving this matter controls maintenance costs and enhances productivity and production effectively. Shovels are one of the most widely used loading machines in non-continuous activities. Thus, evaluating and optimizing their availability is one of the essential solutions to achieving high productivity and cost reduction. This paper presents a mathematical programming model to maximize availability and minimize the total expected costs. We programmed the proposed nonlinear planning model using the Symbiotic Organisms Search (SOS) meta-heuristic algorithm in Matlab software. It determines the optimal maintenance intervals for different parts of …

Development Of Univariate And Multivariate Forecasting Models For Methane Gas Emissions In Underground Coal Mines, Juan Diaz

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Methane gas management continues to be a challenge concerning underground coal mine safety and productivity worldwide despite the extraordinary effort of the mining industry, governmental agencies, and academia to develop new technologies to monitor and control methane gas emissions more efficiently. The risk of hazardous methane gas concentrations in underground environments cannot be underestimated. Statistical data for the last 100 years indicate that around 80% of the accidents and 90% of the fatalities in the underground coal mining industry in the US were related to methane gas explosions.

Modern underground mine operations monitor and evaluate atmospheric parameters such as barometric …

Parametric Numerical Analysis Of Inclined Coal Pillars, Robin Flattery

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Pillars are used as the primary support structures for underground mining to maintain stability by supporting the over laying strata. In the case of horizontal seams, the pillars are typically subjected to axial loading due to the weight of the overburden and/or abutment stresses, while in the case of inclined seams they are subjected to oblique loading due to both the vertical and horizontal in-situ stress. Over the years numerous studies have been completed on square and rectangular pillars in horizontal seams that have resulted in several pillar stability equations and criteria. However very few studies are available with respect …

Investigation Into, & Analysis Of Temperature & Strain Data For Coal Mine Seal Material During Curing, Stephanus Jaco Van Den Berg

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

On Monday, January 2, 2006, an underground explosion occurred at the Sago Mine WV, resulting in the death of 12 miners and seriously injury to one miner. On Saturday, May 20, 2006, an underground explosion occurred at the Darby Mine No.1 KY, resulting in five miner’s deaths and one miner’s injury.

The explosion of methane gas and coal dust result in many fatalities in the coal mining industry.

The coal mining industry uses mine seals to optimize the ventilation network. Those structures are designed not only to direct the air appropriately, but also, they should be capable of withstanding some …

Development Of Univariate And Multivariate Forecasting Models For Methane Gas Emissions In Underground Coal Mines, Juan Diaz

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Methane gas management continues to be a challenge concerning underground coal mine safety and productivity worldwide despite the extraordinary effort of the mining industry, governmental agencies, and academia to develop new technologies to monitor and control methane gas emissions more efficiently. The risk of hazardous methane gas concentrations in underground environments cannot be underestimated. Statistical data for the last 100 years indicate that around 80% of the accidents and 90% of the fatalities in the underground coal mining industry in the US were related to methane gas explosions.

Modern underground mine operations monitor and evaluate atmospheric parameters such as barometric …

Development Of An Entry-Scale Modeling Methodology To Provide Ground Reaction Curves For Longwall Gateroad Support Evaluation, Haochen Zhao

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Longwall gateroad entries are generally subjected to severe mining-induced stress changes and deformations; they are prone to large roof falls, floor heaves, and rib sloughing. The standing support system in underground mines needs to be carefully designed to compensate for the mining-induced deformation of the surrounding rock mass and consecutively protect the integrity of gateroad entries. Local geology, together with mining-induced stress redistribution, influences the ground response and plays a major role in the performance of a standing support design. In the US, Support Technology Optimization Program (STOP) and its Ground Reaction Curve (GRC) design criteria have been applied to …

Integrated Large Discontinuity Factor, Lamodel And Stability Mapping Approach For Stone Mine Pillar Stability, Mustafa Baris Ates

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The objective of this research is to develop a software tool that integrates the large discontinuity factor (LDF) and the Boundary Element Method software (BEM), LaModel, to allow stone mine operators to assess the impact of the large discontinuities on local pillar stability. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) published design guidelines for underground stone mines to guide the industry in designing pillar and roof support. These guidelines emphasize the impact of large, angular discontinuities on pillar strength. Esterhuizen et al. (2011) derived the large discontinuity factor (LDF) to account for the impact of discontinuities on pillar stability …

Investigation Of Geomechanical Behavior Of Laminated Rock Mass Through Experimental And Numerical Approach, Qingwen Shi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Roof failure in the Appalachian underground coal fields occurs often in laminated shale. Laminated shale roof in coal mines fails in unique ways, such as cutter failure or delamination failure. Extensive studies have investigated the influential factors that cause laminated roof failure, which include in-situ stress, entry layout, roof span, and roof support. However, cutter failure continues to occur frequently and erratically. This is due to the lack of in-depth understanding of the inherent properties of the laminations, such as bedding plane strength, matrix strength, and bedding plane spacing, which in turn influence the geomechanical behavior of the laminated rock. …

Noise Exposure Trends Among Violating Coal Mines, 2000 To 2021, Hanna Grace Davis

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Noise-induced hearing loss has continued to be a significant issue within the mining industry, even after the passing of the MSHA’s improved noise standard in 2000. NIOSH has recognized that the noise standard enacted by both MSHA and OSHA does not properly protect workers with the 5 dBA exchange rate (i.e., the increase in noise level leading to a doubling of energy) and the lack of emphasizing the use of engineering controls over administrative controls and overreliance on hearing protection device usage. The primary objective of this study is to investigate statistical sound relationships between MSHA noise-related violations and samples …

Calcite Depression In Bastnaesite-Calcite Flotation System Using Organic Acids, Emmy Muhoza

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Bastnaesite is the primary source of light REEs, namely cerium (Ce), lanthanum (La), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), to name a few. Bastnaesite is typically concentrated using the froth flotation beneficiation method. Flotation of bastnaesite suffers from high reagent consumption due to the similar surface characteristics of bastnaesite and associated gangue minerals, including calcite. Additionally, complex stages of high-temperature conditioning are often required to suppress the detrimental impact of dissolved calcium ions on the flotation of bastnaesite. This research seeks to investigate the capabilities of organic acids in the bastnaesite-calcite flotation systems to selectively depress calcite minerals and effectively chelate calcium …

Experimental And Theoretical Investigation On The Initiation Mechanism Of Low-Rank Coal's Self-Heating Process, Yinan Zhang

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Coal spontaneous combustion remains a safety concern during coal mining, transportation, and storage and requires further investigation to develop effective prevention and control strategies. While various intrinsic and extrinsic conditions may influence coal self-heating, low-rank coals are more prone to spontaneous combustion, especially in humid climates. Therefore, quantifying the effect of extrinsic moisture on the self-heating of low-rank coals is critical for understanding the high propensity of low-rank coals for spontaneous combustion. Many studies have qualitatively evaluated the role of extrinsic moisture on the coal self-heating. Despite this, few studies have quantified the contribution of extrinsic moisture on wetting and …

Static Liquefaction In Tailing Dams, Jose Raul Zela Concha

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Fundao tailing dam in Brazil failed on November 5, 2015 causing loss in life, property and severe damage to the environment. The waste flow traveled at 11m/s and approximately 32 million m³ tailings was released into the downstream area. Investigations by regulators concluded that a series of poor designs and construction of the tailing were the causes of the failure. Further investigations also showed that surface failure occurred in the mid height of the slope with a safety factor of 0.52. Both investigations concluded that static liquefaction induced the failure of tailings dam. However, geology variation in the …

Size Effect And Anisotropy On The Strength Of Shale Under Compressive Stress Conditions, Yun Zhao

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The underground coal mines in the Appalachian region report the highest rate of roof falls in the United States. The immediate roof of these mines is mostly composed of shale. The in-situ strength of shale is necessary for designing roof support to prevent roof falls. Estimating the in-situ strength of shale requires the knowledge of both size effect and anisotropy. This research used literature review, theoretical analysis, numerical modeling, and laboratory experiment to systematically investigate the size effect and anisotropy of shale strength under compressive strength conditions.

Literature review involved a comprehensive summary of previous research on the size effect …

Simulation Study On Co2 Enhanced Oil Recovery For Offshore Area In Thailand, Pariwat Wongsriraksa

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Fossil fuels are widely used all over the world. It generates carbon dioxide (CO2) which is one of the main causes for climate change and global warming. One practical technology to reduce CO2 emission is carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) which includes the use of CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (CO2EOR) and storage in the geological reservoir. In Thailand, there are some potential geological reservoirs for CO2EOR due to crude properties, depth of the reservoir and oil saturation, especially in the Gulf of Thailand. However, the high temperatures gradient in the Gulf of Thailand can lead to higher minimum …

Effect Of Salinity Contrast Between Formation Water And Injected Low Salinity Water On Low Salinity Waterflooding In Shaly-Sandstone Formation, Sarun Phuenghansaporn

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Low salinity waterflooding is an improving oil recovery technique that is highly mentioned nowadays as it is cost-efficient and environmentally friendly. The technique involves injecting water with lower salinity compared to formation salinity to shift the surface equilibrium toward the liberation of oil from the rock surface. Nevertheless, successful of this technique depends on many parameters especially the presence of clays. Several types of clays can be found in oil reservoirs, and they may react to different cations in inject low salinity in different ways, resulting in different magnitudes of oil recovery. Moreover, the contrast of salinity between formation water …

Application Of Uniform Test Design In Optimizing The Flotation Reagents Of Iron Anionic Reverse Flotation Circuit, Ying Hou, Ahmed Sobhy

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Most iron reserves are low in grade with quartz as the main gangue mineral, and anionic reverse flotation has become the most crucial separation method in the processing plants of iron ore. Thus, a flotation feed sample that is a mixture of low-intensity and high-gradient magnetic separators concentrates was acquired from a processing plant. The sample characterizations with X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), laser particle size analyzer, and mineral liberation analysis (MLA) confirmed that the sample consists of iron oxide as a valuable mineral and quartz as a gangue mineral with adequate liberation degree. In the anionic reverse flotation, …

Applying Cfd Model Studies To Determine Zones At Risk Of Methane Explosion And Spontaneous Combustion Of Coal In Goaves, Magdalena Tutak, Jarosław Brodny, Greg Galecki

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Underground mining operations are subject to a number of natural hazards. Events resulting from these hazards are difficult to predict, and if they occur, they disrupt the entire mining process and pose a great danger to the crew. Some of the most dangerous include ventilation hazards involving methane explosions and fires caused by the spontaneous combustion of coal. The complex state of the underground environment means that these hazards oftentimes occur simultaneously, making mining conditions even worse. The following paper addresses this issue by developing the methodology for determining areas endangered by methane explosions and spontaneous coal combustion in goaves. …

Comparison Of Mechanical And Column Flotation Performances On Recovery Of Phosphate Slimes In Presence Of Nano-Microbubbles, Fatemeh Taghavi, Mohammad Noaparast, Ziaeddin Pourkarimi, Fardis Nakhaei

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Fine particle flotation has been one of the main problems in many mineral processing plants. The bubble-particle collision rate is very low for fine particles, which reduces flotation efficiency. Also, the existence of slimes is, generally, detrimental to the flotation process, affecting the selectivity and the quality of the concentrates. Besides, it causes an increase in reagents consumption. Hence, in most of processing plants, some of these particles are transmitted to the tailing ponds to reduce the effects of these problems and increase the selectivity of the process. Esfordi phosphate plant in Iran loses more than 30% of its capacity …

Depression Of Pyrite In Polymetallic Sulfide Flotation Using Chitosan-Grafted-Polyacrylamide Polymers, Keitumetse Cathrine Monyake

Doctoral Dissertations

“In this work, Chitosan-grafted-Polyacrylamides (Chi-g-PAMs) were studied, for the first time, as selective depressants of pyrite in the flotation of base metal sulfides. Fundamental studies of the adsorption behavior of Chi-g-PAM on model sulfide minerals indicated that Chi-g-PAM was more selective to pyrite’s surfaces as compared to base metal sulfides. Results suggested that the adsorption of Chi-g-PAM at pyrite-water interface was a chemisorption in nature which involved the amine, amide, and hydroxyl groups of Chi-g-PAM. Batch flotation studies of complex sulfide ore of Mississippi Valley Type (MVT) showed that Chi-g-PAM outperformed other pyrite’s depressants at producing less pyrite-diluted concentrates. Statistical …

Optimization Of Blast Design For Better Fragmentation & Reduction Of Ground Vibration At Khao Mai Nuan Pyrophyllite Mine, Saraburi Province, Thailand, Arif Khan

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Control blasting with better fragmentation is very important to decrease the environmental impacts of blasting and the cost of downstream mining operations such as loading, transportation, crushing, and milling. Proper blasting designs with optimized parameters such as burden, spacing, stemming, sub-drilling, and amount of explosive ensure the required fragmentation with ground vibration within the standards set by different monitoring agencies. This study dealt with the blasting design parameters, fragmentation, and ground vibration at the Khao Mai Nuan Pyrophyllite quarry Saraburi province, Thailand. First, grab samples were collected from the quarry's active benches and tested in a lab for strength, compositions …