Mining Engineering Commons^™

Synthesis And Characterization Of Carbon Doped Tio2 Photocatalysts Supported On Stainless Steel Mesh By Sol-Gel Method, J. O. Tijani, O. O. Fatoba, T. C. Totito, W. D. Roos, L. F. Petrik

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study synthesized pure anatase carbon doped TiO₂ photocatalysts supported on a stainless-steel mesh using a sol-gel solution of 8% polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/dimethylformamide (DMF)/TiCl4. The influence of the pyrolysis temperature and holding time on the morphological characteristics, particle sizes and surface area of the prepared catalyst was investigated. The prepared catalysts were characterized by several analytical methods: high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The XRD patterns showed that the supported TiO2 nanocrystals are typically anatase, polycrystalline and body-centered tetragonal in structure. The EDS and XPS results …

Performance Evaluation Of Integrated Co2 Huff-N-Puff And Wag In Low-Pressure Heterogeneous Reservoir, Hutthapong Yoosook

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The integrated CO2 Huff-n-Puff and WAG is a novel technique to combine CO2 Huff-n-Puff technique that conducted at early state and followed by WAG technique until the end of operating time. This technique is effectiveness in term of increased oil recovery and reduced CO2 utilization. However, the integrated CO2 Huff-n-Puff and WAG process contains numerous adjustable operating parameters. Hence, numerical simulation study and sensitivity analysis become essential to investigate the effects of main operational parameters and evaluate the performance of the integrated CO2 Huff-n-Puff and WAG process in low-pressure heterogeneous reservoir to achieve the maximum benefits. According to simulation results, …

Estimating The Effects Of Blasting Vibrations On The High-Wall Stability, Abhinav Sharma

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

The stability of the high-walls is one of the major concerns for open pit mines. Among the various factors affecting the stability of high-walls, blast vibrations can be an important one. In general, worldwide the established respective government regulations and industry standards are used as guidance to determine the maximum recommended levels of the peak particle velocity and frequency from the blast to avoid any effects on the structures around the mining project. However, most of the regulations are meant for buildings or houses and do not concern high-walls.

This thesis investigates the response of high-walls under the effects of …

Assessment Of Potential Impacts To Subsurface Bodies Of Water Due To Underground Coal Mining, Gabriel Bode-Jimenez

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Underground coal mining operations induce ground movements, which may impact overlying hydrogeologic systems. Potential impacts mainly include changes in the hydraulic conductivity of overlying strata, decreasing of the hydraulic head and changes in water flow. The present research quantifies potential hydrogeologic impacts caused by underground mining through modeling of pre- and post-mining hydrogeologic systems.

Three-dimensional conceptual hydrogeologic models were constructed with the Processing Modflow for Windows software package (PMWiN). The models are based on an actual case study, but were simplified in terms of geometry and material properties. Water flow was simulated under changing hydrogeologic properties. A number of scenarios …

Surface Chemisty Study Of Monazite Flotation In Coal Refuse Systems, Wencai Zhang

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Rare earth mineral recovery from alternative resources such as coal and coal byproducts is increasingly important to provide an opportunity for economic recovery from U.S. sources. Currently, China produces the majority of the 149,000 tons of rare earth elements used annually worldwide of which the U.S. imports 11% or around 16,000 tons. There are no significant mining operations producing rare earth elements in the U.S. However, there are many U.S. sources containing rare earth minerals such as monazite including heavy mineral sand and phosphate operations. Monazite mineral particles of a few microns have also been detected in Fire Clay seam …

Calculation Of The Edge Effect Offset For High Extraction Coal Panels, Joshua Hescock

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

The Surface Deformation Prediction System (SDPS) program has been developed as an engineering tool for the prediction of subsidence deformation indices through the implementation of an influence function. SDPS provides reliable predictions of mining induced surface displacements, strains, and tilt for varying surface topography. One of the key aspects in obtaining reliable ground deformation prediction is the determination of the edge effect offset. The value assigned to the edge effect corresponds to a virtual offsetting of boundary lines delineating the extracted panel to allow for roof cantilevering over the mined out area.

The objective of this thesis is to describe …

Fundamental Improvement In The Tribocharging Separation Process For Upgrading Coal, Jinxiang Chen

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Triboelectrostatic separation is a physical separation technique that is based on surface electronic property differences among minerals to achieve a separation. Minerals have different surface conductivities and electron affinities. They are charged differently in quantity and/or polarity after a tribocharging process. Particles with different surface charges move discretely under external electric field produce a separation. Electrostatic separation is a dry mineral processing method that does not require any water or chemical reagents. It can greatly simplify the processing circuit and reduce operating cost. Additionally, problems caused by water in conventional wet mineral processing such as water freezing, dewatering, water pollution …

Electromagnetic Signal Feedback Control For Proximity Detection Systems, Adam K. Smith

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Coal is the most abundant fossil fuel in the United States and remains an essential source of energy. While more than half of coal production comes from surface mining, nearly twice as many workers are employed by underground operations.

One of the key pieces of equipment used in underground coal mining is the continuous mining machine. These large and powerful machines are operated in confined spaces by remote control. Since 1984, 40 mine workers in the U. S. have been killed when struck or pinned by a continuous mining machine. It is estimated that a majority of these accidents could …

Designing Efficient Petroleum Fiscal System For Mozambique, Nelson Victor

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Nowadays, tax regime is designed to attract investment and provide the contractor with fair return on investment, at the same time, provide the host government with adequate resources for rent, thereby resulting in win-win situation. This study analyses the existing petroleum fiscal regime in the Republic of Mozambique and proposes a more efficient and flexible regime. The analysis shows that the government take currently remains at around 39% while the contactors' net present value (NPV) increases as field sizes and oil prices increase. The current system is considered a regressive system which is inefficient in distributing wealth from oil profit. …

Controlling Properties Of Agglomerates For Chemical Processes, Joseph A. Halt

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Iron ore pellets are hard spheres made from powdered ore and binders. Pellets are used to make iron, mainly in blast furnaces. Around the time that the pelletizing process was developed, starch was proposed as a binder because it’s viscous, adheres well to iron oxides, does not contaminate pellets and is relatively cheap. In practice, however, starch leads to weak pellets with rough surfaces – these increase the amount of dust generated within process equipment and during pellet shipping and handling. Thus, even though the usual binder (bentonite clay) contaminates pellets, pelletizers prefer it to starch or other organics.

This …

Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors For Mainstream Industrial Processes, Gary Allwood, Graham Wild, Steven Hinkley

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This paper reviews fiber Bragg grating sensing technology with respect to its use in mainstream industrial process applications. A review of the various types of sensors that have been developed for industries such as power generation, water treatment and services, mining, and the oil and gas sector has been performed. A market overview is reported as well as a discussion of some of the factors limiting their penetration into these markets. Furthermore, the author’s make recommendations for future work that would potentially provide significant opportunity for the advancement of fiber Bragg grating sensor networks in these mainstream industries.

Coal Combustion Products Utilization For Soil Amendment, Tran Thi Anh Tuyet

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Nowadays, coal has a crucial role in generating energy all over the world. As a result, the consumption of coal creates a huge amount of coal combustion products, including bottom ash and fly ash. The coal ash has the potential characteristics to become a resource material in agriculture such as its texture, water holding capacity, bulk density, pH etc., and contains almost all the essential plant nutrients. However, most of the coal ash created is dumped into the landfill, which is a contributing factor in the environmental degradation. This study wants to use coal ash in agriculture as a way …

Time Series Pattern Discovery Techniques For Well-To-Well Log Correlation, Chanchai Apiwatsakulchai

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Well log data is one of the most abundant data sources for subsurface characterization since almost all drilled wells are logged. Subsurface characterization requires correlated well log information. Processes to help perform well-to-well log correlation have been developed in this study based on the two approaches: pattern matching and pattern discovery. Pattern matching focuses on finding a known pattern of interest in uncorrelated wells. The use of Euclidean, Hamming, and Levenshtein distances in similarity measurement, Piecewise Aggregate Approximation (PAA), and Symbolic Aggregate approXimation (SAX) data representation helps create reduced-resolution while maintains the main characteristics of the signals. Multi-resolution analysis provides …

Thermomechanical Fatigue Life Investigation Of An Ultra-Large Mining Dump Truck Tire, Wedam Nyaaba

Doctoral Dissertations

The cost benefits associated with the use of heavy mining machinery in the surface mining industry has led to a surge in the production of ultra-large radial tires with rim diameters in excess of 35 in. These tires experience fatigue failures in operation. The use of reinforcing fillers and processing aids in tire compounds results in the formation of microstructural inhomogeneity in the compounds and may serve as sources of crack initiation in the tire. Abrasive material cutting is another source of cracks in tires used in mining applications. It suffices, then, to assume that every material plane in the …

Modeling Dynamic Community Acceptance Of Mining Using Agent-Based Modeling, Mark Kofi Boateng

Doctoral Dissertations

"This research attempts to provide fundamental understanding into the relationship between perceived sustainability of mineral projects and community acceptance. The main objective is to apply agent-based modeling (ABM) and discrete choice modeling to understand changes in community acceptance over time due to changes in community demographics and perceptions. This objective focuses on: 1) formulating agent utility functions for ABM, based on discrete choice theory; 2) applying ABM to account for the effect of information diffusion on community acceptance; and 3) explaining the relationship between initial conditions, topology, and rate of interactions, on one hand, and community acceptance on the other …

Pillar Design For St. Peter Sandstone Formation, Francis Anohomah Arthur

Doctoral Dissertations

"Silica sands produced primarily from St. Peter Sandstone are used for hydraulic fracturing in the petroleum industry, glassmaking, chemicals, ceramics, filtration and the foundry industry in the US. The recent high demand for silica sands for hydraulic fracturing has triggered increased production and commissioning of new silica sand mines to support natural gas production from shale and tight gas deposits in the US. Most mines use surface mining methods to extract St. Peter Sandstone. The room and pillar mining method has been successfully used for St. Peter Sandstone mining in a few US locations, however, no one has proposed a …

Characterization And Numerical Simulation Of The Microstructural And Micromechanical Viscoelastic Behavior Of Oil Sands Using The Discrete Element Method, Eric Kofi Gbadam

Doctoral Dissertations

"Oil sands are naturally geologic formations of predominantly quartz sand grains whose void spaces are filled with bitumen, water, and dissolved gases. The electric rope shovel is the primary equipment used for excavating the Athabasca oil sand formations. The equipment's static and dynamic loads are transferred to the formation during excavation and propel. These loads cause ground instability leading to sinkage or rutting, crawler wear, and fracture failures. These problems result in unplanned downtimes, production losses, and high maintenance costs. In order to address these problems, there is a need to develop valid models that capture the behavior and performance …

Real-Time Diesel Particulate Matter Monitoring In Underground Mine Atmospheres, Association With The Standard Method And Related Challenges, Muhammad Usman Khan

Doctoral Dissertations

"Diesel-powered equipment is a significant component of underground mining operations. Miners' exposure to diesel exhaust is harmful. The standard Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM) monitoring method (NIOSH 5040 method) has limitations that preclude rapid DPM estimation and detailed understanding of DPM variations over time. However, real-time DPM monitors do not inherit these limitations. Biodiesel is often used as a substitute for regular petroleum-diesel because of its ability to emit less DPM. However, accuracy of available real-time DPM monitors has not been determined in mines using 70% to 99% (high-percent) biodiesel. The present research addresses this need by rigorous testing of a …

Lhd Vibrations Analysis And Numerical Modeling During Operations, Kgosietsile Kolobe

Doctoral Dissertations

"Load-haul-dump vehicles (LHDs) are extensively used as primary loaders in mining operations. LHDs have proven to be vigorous, extremely productive and reliable in mining applications. They have a wide range of tramming capacities that have enabled them to become an essential component in the hard rock mining industry.

Increased mining economic challenges and global competition means the mining industry has to maximize productivity by cutting down operating and capital costs. Also, improvements in safety standards have led to the demand for safer and efficient machines.

LHD operators are at a high risk of whole-body vibrations (WBVs) exposure leading to musculoskeletal …

The Influence Of Caprock On Blast Fragmentation Distribution, Matthew Kurtis Coy

Doctoral Dissertations

"This dissertation describes the development of a small-scale model of a caprock-laden quarry blast and discusses the results from that testing. The purpose of this testing was to provide insight into the reasons for poor caprock breakage during blasting.

Small-scale test blocks were poured using a weak mortar mix to represent a limestone formation at a small scale. A cold joint was created in the upper portion of the test specimens to represent the bedding plane that separates caprock and substrate layers in a caprock-laden limestone bench. The scale-model test blocks were blasted using detonating cord. The primary configuration for …