Mining Engineering Commons^™

Haul Truck Tires Recycling, Jessica N. Lizarazu

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The disposal of large Off-the-Road (OTR) tires is an increasingly important concern. These tires can weigh up to 8,450 pounds with an overall diameter and width of approximately 140.7 inches and 45.1 inches respectively. OTR tires are used for mining vehicles such as haul trucks, wheel loaders, backhoes, graders, and trenchers. These new tires cost between $38,000 and $50,000 each, depending on multiple factors including oil prices and the cyclical nature of the industry. Haul trucks contain six tires per vehicle, and mines replace these tires around every 9-12 months. Statistics regarding discarded OTR tires are not provided by the …

Determine The Potential Drill Utilization Improvements And Rock Fragmentation Requirements Using Directional Drilling In A Coal Mining Overburden Highwall Application, Kevin Dill

Graduate Theses & Non-Theses

This project analyzed the efficiency of incorporating the use of directional drilling technology into coal overburden blasting. Directional drilling is currently in use in the petroleum industry and it is believed that it will be a valuable asset in the mining industry. This project has shown that directional drilling can be a viable technology for use in the coal overburden removal process resulting in increased drill utilization and potential for cost savings. Future work regarding blasting and geotechnical evaluation should be performed to solidify the concept.

Liberty's Last Post Office: A Story Of A Gold Mining Camp In Washington State, Wesley C. Engstrom

Works by Local Authors

There was once a large center of activity in the Swauk Basin of upper Kittitas County. The place is called Liberty. Liberty was once the most action packed place in Kittitas County. At least it was for a while after gold was discovered in Swauk Creek. Like many gold camps the place boomed and ebbed over the years. Unlike some other places it never quite went completely bust. It came close, and fortunately for some it didn’t. It still exists today as a living ghost town.

The Liberty story has been told before in various ways. This telling of the …

Scale Effect Of Premixed Methane-Air Combustion In Confined Space Using Les Model, Liang Wang, Sisi Que, Jerry C. Tien, Nassib Aouad

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Gas explosion is the most hazardous incident occurring in underground airways. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques are sophisticated in simulating explosions in confined spaces; specifically, when testing large-scale gaseous explosions, such as methane explosions in underground mines. The dimensions of a confined space where explosions could occur vary significantly. Thus, the scale effect on explosion parameters is worth investigating. In this paper, the impact of scaling on explosion overpressures is investigated by employing two scaling factors: The Gas-fill Length Scaling Factor (FLSF) and the Hydraulic Diameter Scaling Factor (HDSF). The combinations of eight FLSFs and five HDSFs will cover a …

Identifying The Presence Of Amd-Derived Soil Co₂ In Field Investigations Using Isotope Ratios, Kwame Awuah-Offei, Moagabo Mathiba, Fred J. Baldassare

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Recent incidents of hazardous accumulations of CO₂ in homes on or adjacent to reclaimed mine land have been shown to be linked to neutralization reactions between acidic mine drainage and carbonate material. An efficient and economic method is necessary to identify the presence of acid mine drainage- (AMD-) derived CO₂ on reclaimed mine land, prior to construction. One approach to identify the presence of AMD-derived CO₂ is to characterize stable carbon isotope ratios of soil CO₂. To do so, a viable method is necessary to acquire soil gas samples for isotope ratio analysis. This paper …

Pharmaceuticals, Endocrine Disruptors, Personal Care Products, Nanomaterials And Perfluorinated Pollutants: A Review, Jimoh O. Tijani, Ojo O. Fatoba, Omotola O. Babajide, Leslie F. Petrik

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The presence of emerging micropollutants such as pharmaceuticals, endocrine disruptors, personal care products, nanomaterials and perfluorinated substances in the environment remains a great threat to the health and safety of humans and aquatic species. These micropollutants enter the environment via anthropogenic activities and have been detected in surface water, groundwater and even drinking water at nanogram per liter to microgram per liter concentration. To date, limited information exists on the fate, behaviors, and pathways of these micropollutants in the environment. The potential ecotoxicological effects on the receptors due to exposure to individual or mixture of these chemicals still remain unknown. …

Pseudo Leadership And Safety Culture, Thomas W. Camm

Mining Engineering

Search Amazon.com using the keyword “leadership,” and you are rewarded with a list of over 144,000 titles. There is no shortage of books and articles, many of them well written, with excellent ideas. So why is there still a constant cry for effective leadership in organizations? Often, the person in charge has personal blinders that prevent them from seeing or understanding how to implement the newest leadership idea or method. Either deliberately or subliminally, there is a disconnect from learning about leadership, and actually modelling and implementing what has been learned. Some current research in leadership theory can provide insight …

Multi-Decadal Satellite Measurements Of Global Volcanic Degassing, S. A. Carn, L. Clarisse, A. J. Prata

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Satellite instruments have been providing measurements of global volcanic emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) since 1978, based on observations in the ultraviolet (UV), infrared (IR) and microwave spectral bands. We review recent advances in satellite remote sensing of volcanic gases, focusing on increased instrument sensitivity to tropospheric SO2 emissions and techniques to determine volcanic plume altitude. A synthesis of ~36 years of global UV, IR and microwave satellite measurements yields an updated assessment of the volcanic SO2 flux to the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) between 1978 and 2014 (~1-Tg/yr). The present availability of multiple UV and IR satellite …

Post-Eruption Deformation Processes Measured Using Alos-1 And Uavsar Insar At Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala, Lauren Schaefer, Zhong Lu, Thomas Oommen

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Pacaya volcano is a persistently active basaltic cone complex located in the Central American Volcanic Arc in Guatemala. In May of 2010, violent Volcanic Explosivity Index-3 (VEI-3) eruptions caused significant topographic changes to the edifice, including a linear collapse feature 600 m long originating from the summit, the dispersion of ~20 cm of tephra and ash on the cone, the emplacement of a 5.4 km long lava flow, and ~3 m of co-eruptive movement of the southwest flank. For this study, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) images (interferograms) processed from both spaceborne Advanced Land Observing Satellite-1 (ALOS-1) and aerial Uninhabited …

Adsorption Of Nickel(Ii) On Polyacrylonitrile Nanofiber Modified With 2-(2'-Pyridyl)Imidazole, Guillaume Ndayambaje, Katri Laatikainen, Markku Laatikainen, Edith Beukes, Olanrewaju Fatoba, Nico Van Der Walt, Leslie Petrik, Tuomo Sainio

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The surface of polyacrylonitrile nanofibers (PAN) was chemically modified with 2-(2'-pyridyl) imidazole ligand (pim) to generate PAN-pim nanofibers. The reaction proceeds via nucleophilic attack of the pim anion on the nitrile groups of the PAN nanofibers. A 36% conversion of the acrylonitrile repeating units to AN-pim groups was obtained after 60 min at 70 °C using 1.0 mol/L pim ligand. The product was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and morphological analyses. The adsorption equilibrium and rate of nickel were studied in batch experiments and the data were correlated using the Non-ideal Competitive Adsorption (NICA) isotherm …

Quantification Of Radicals Generated In A Sonicator, K. O. Badmus, J. O. Tijani, C. P. Eze, O. O. Fatoba, L. F. Petrik

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The hydroxyl radical (OH•) is a powerful oxidant produced as a consequence of cavitation in water. It can react nonspecifically in breaking down persistent organic pollutants in water into their mineral form. It can also recombine to form hydrogen peroxide which is very useful in water treatment. In this study, terephthalic acid (TA) and potassium iodide dosimetry were used to quantify and investigate the behavior of the generated OH radical in a laboratory scale sonicator. The 2-hydroxyl terephthalic acid (HTA) formed during terephthalic acid dosimetry was determined by optical fiber spectrometer. The production rate of HTA served as a means …

Pore Pressure Measurement Instrumentation Response To Blasting, Kylie M. Larson-Robl

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Coal mine impoundment failures have been well documented to occur due to an increase in excess pore pressure from sustained monotonic loads. Very few failures have ever occurred from dynamic loading events, such as earthquakes, and research has been done regarding the stability of these impoundment structures under such natural seismic loading events. To date no failures or damage have been reported from dynamic loading events caused by near-by production blasting, however little research has been done considering these conditions. Taking into account that current environmental restrictions oblige to increase the capacity of coal impoundments, thus increasing the hazard of …

Modern Rock Dust Development And Evaluation For Use In Underground Coal Mines, Robert Eades

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Following the promulgation of new permissible respirable dust standards by MSHA in 2014, new alternative rock dusts were created that combined the advantages of current industry applications while potentially reducing miner exposure to respirable dust. Research was performed to compare the explosion suppressing and ejection characteristics of three new types of rock dust to existing rock dust types. Explosion suppression tests were conducted in a 38-L chamber where pressures were recorded. Angle of ejection tests were conducted using a high explosive shock tube and high speed photography to determine angle of ejection and lift velocity. A comprehensive comparison of the …

Techno-Economic Potential Of Enhanced Coal Recovery Through Middlings Liberation And Re-Processing, Shivani

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

The typical preparation plant producing coal for the utility market targets a relative separation density in the plant of around 1.60 whereas plants generating metallurgical coal use relative cut point density values approaching 1.50. In some cases, achieving the specified coal quality requires operating at lower cut point values, which results in a significant loss of valuable coal. In these situations, a middlings stream can be produced using a secondary separator or a three-product unit, which would allow crushing of the middlings for liberation purposes and re-introduction into the plant feed. In this manner, higher quality coal can be produced …

Rock Dust Surface Chemistry Modifications For Eliminating Cake Formation And Improving Dispersion In Coal Dust Explosion Mitigation Applications, Qingqing Huang

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Rock dust has been historically applied to mitigate the coal dust explosion in either dry or wet form. Dry rock dust performs best in inerting the potential coal dust explosion due to the greatest dispersive properties. However, it undesirably exposes underground coal miners to respirable dust particles which imposes a severe health danger. Wet dust application is able to significantly reduce the floatable dust particles but another problem associated with caking is predominant. Caking phenomenon is usually used to describe the change of free-flowing bulk solids into agglomerated chunks. Unfortunately, the environmental conditions of an underground mine have the potential …

Utilization Of A Small Unmanned Aircraft System For Direct Sampling Of Nitrogen Oxides Produced By Full-Scale Surface Mine Blasting, Robert B. Mccray

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

Emerging health concern for gaseous nitrogen oxides (NO_x) emitted during surface mine blasting has prompted mining authorities in the United States to pursue new regulations. NO_x is comprised of various binary compounds of nitrogen and oxygen. Nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) are the most prominent. Modern explosive formulations are not designed to produce NO_x during properly-sustained detonations, and researchers have identified several causes through laboratory experiments; however, direct sampling of NO_x following full-scale surface mine blasting has not been accomplished.

The purpose of this thesis was to demonstrate a safe, innovative …

Optimal Roof Coverage And Identification Of Potential Roof Problems In Underground Coal Mines Using Led Lighting, James A. Samples

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

The popularity and implementation of light emitting diode (LED) lighting have increased drastically over recent years into both residential and industrial applications. However, due to MSHA permissibility requirements, LED lighting is not currently being fully utilized in underground coal mining. While previous research has focused on examining the benefits that LED lighting possesses over other common light sources, very few have been done to find the optimum configuration to illuminate underground excavations better for the safety of the miners. In this research, multiple experiments were conducted to evaluate the potential impacts LED lighting can have on underground mine safety. The …

Cable Shovel Dipper Stress And Fatigue Failure Modeling In Formation Excavation Engineering, Muhammad Azeem Raza

Doctoral Dissertations

"Large capacity shovels are used to achieve economic bulk production in surface mining operations. The suspended payload combined with dipper weight and formation resistive forces results in severe stress loading of the shovel front-end assembly. Material flaws, high stresses and harsh excavation conditions can initiate cracks in the dipper-teeth assembly. High stresses can cause these cracks to propagate to critical lengths resulting in fatigue failure, unscheduled downtimes, costly unplanned repairs, and downstream processing circuit problems. The literature reveals that dipper-related problems significantly reduce shovel up-time. This research is a pioneering effort towards developing a solid frame work for stress profiling, …

Mechanics Of Impulse Force Reduction For Mitigating Dump Truck Vibrations Under Hislo Conditions, Danish Ali

Masters Theses

"The deployment of large capacity shovels and dump trucks, for achieving economic bulk production capacities, has resulted in high impact shovel loading operations (HISLO). These large shovels generate high impact forces when loading dump trucks with over 100-ton passes under gravity. The impact forces also generate high frequency shock waves, which cause severe truck vibrations, and thus, expose dump truck operators to high levels of whole body vibrations (WBV). The dynamic impact force generates these vibrations, and thus, there is a need to develop efficient technologies to eliminate or reduce its impact. Existing literature and industry practice show that this …

Material Properties Affecting The Penetration Of Metal Targets By Copper Linear Shaped Charges, Kevin Lee Phelps

Masters Theses

"A linear shaped charge (LSC) is an explosive device used in demolition, aerospace, and in other applications that require the cutting of metal. Users of LSC's typically know the size of shaped charge needed to cut their target but commonly encounter previously untested materials. The motivation for this thesis is to provide an understanding as to what target material properties are good indicators of cutting performance so the selection of LSC can be more efficient. The author found that penetration theories for other types shaped charges were insufficient for the LSC, possibly because of the relatively slow projectile created by …