Engineering Commons^™

Economic Analysis Of Coalbed Methane Drainage Systems For Room-And-Pillar Operations, Yanbei Wang, Jan M. Mutmansky

U.S. Mine Ventilation Symposium

The analysis of the economics of methane drainage operations in traditional room-and-pillar coal mining operations is the primary emphasis of this presentation. The paper analyzes the economic effects of ventilation costs versus drainage costs as a means of handling the methane in a hypothetical room-and-pillar operation. However, the effects of downtime savings due to methane reduction in the air stream and the impacts of marketing the methane are also studied. Comparisons are then made with the economics of drainage in longwall mining.

Design Of Methane Drainage Systems To Reduce Mine Ventilation Requirements, Michael D. Zuber, Charles M. Boyer Ii, Denise L. Delozier

U.S. Mine Ventilation Symposium

There are numerous proven methods to drain methane from coal seams in coal mines. These systems include vertical wells drilled ahead of mining, horizontal boreholes, gob wells, and others. However, these drainage systems are not typically applied properly to optimize gas recovery and minimize the cost of ventilation to the mine. This lack of optimization generally occurs due to the large up-front costs associated with the drainage systems and the lack of knowledge regarding the drainage technology. This results in the mine having a "reactive" response to methane drainage issues as opposed to a "pro-active" plan for handling methane drainage. …

Methane Ignitions On Roof Bolters In Underground Coal Mines, John E. Urosek, William J. Francart

U.S. Mine Ventilation Symposium

Although not as frequent in nature as ignitions on continuous miner or longwall faces, ignitions of methane on roof bolters have caused serious injuries to underground coal miners. After reviewing the accident reports for all roof bolter ignitions from 1981 to 1998, a summary of the forty-one accidents has been developed. Of interest in the database is the ignition source, method of face ventilation, local velocity, methane liberation, size of the methane body ignited, and the duration of the flame. Three example ignitions are included.

Evaluation Of A Continuous Miner Half-Curtain Dust Control System In A South African Underground Coal Mine, Bharath K. Belle, J. J. L. Du Plessis

U.S. Mine Ventilation Symposium

The issues of public health and safety in the mining industry have been dealt with around the world through the intervention of governments. In 1997 the South African Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) sent out a directive to reduce the dust concentration level to /m³ at the operator's position for the sampling period. The reasons for the difficulty with compliance are: long headings up to 35m, inherently high dust generation rates of coal, and the increased use of highly mechanized equipment. A project was formulated under SIMRAC auspices with the title of "Underground Mechanical Miner Environmental Control" to …

Effectiveness Of Cabs For Dust And Silica Control On Mobile Mining Equipment, Joseph J. Garcia, Ronald E. Gresh, Mary Beth Gareis, Robert A. Haney

U.S. Mine Ventilation Symposium

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has conducted a study to evaluate the effectiveness of cabs for controlling silica dust exposure during operation of mobile mining equipment. This study focused on bulldozers, front -end loaders and haul trucks, was conducted at surface coal mining operations and underground metal and nonmetal mining operations. Each piece of equipment tested was equipped with a cab. The vehicles sampled were from a range of manufacturers having different types of filter media and air intake configurations. The purpose of this study was to determine the reduction of dust and silica exposure that could be …

Niosh/Nci Study Of Exposure To Diesel Exhaust In Underground Mines — An Industry Perspective, Christopher J. Pritchard

U.S. Mine Ventilation Symposium

In 1992, the National Institute For Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) initiated a study, funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), to evaluate the health effects, if any, involving underground miners exposure to diesel exhaust. An industry organization, the Methane Awareness Research Group (MARG) already in place to respond to gassy mine related issues, was redirected to work with diesel concerns. In 1995, NIOSH released a draft protocol and feasibility assessment, indicating its intent to initiate s study at 14 underground mines, some of which were operated by MARG members. After considerable debate on the study protocol, in-mine industrial hygiene …

A Mathematical Model Of Heat Transfer In Partially Insulated Airways In Deep, Frozen Ground Placer Mines, Sukumar Bandopadhyay, Hanguang Wu, Michael G. Nelson

U.S. Mine Ventilation Symposium

Large seasonal variations in the temperature of the ventilating air in mines in the arctic cause changes in the original thermal field through heat and mass exchanges between the air and the surrounding medium. These thermal interactions have major influence on climatic quality as well as on the stability of the mine openings. Thawing of walls and roof in mine airways can be reduced by various types of thermal-insulation. Application of thermal-insulation prevents deep thawing of the rockmass surrounding an airway. In this case, the mechanism of heat transfer around a frozen, underground airway would be much different. A model …

Table Of Contents, Multiple Authors

U.S. Mine Ventilation Symposium

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Offshore Mining Of Beach Quality Sediments On Nearshore Wave Climate, Frank R. Lonza

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Coastal communities rely on the beaches to attract tourism, but these sources of revenue require maintenance, such as beach nourishment. In an effort to maintain these beaches without causing any detrimental results, research is conducted to determine what effects, if any, exist when mining for sand in offshore areas.

The U.S. Government is permitting the search for beach quality sands offshore but is also ensuring that such mining will not have adverse results to the nearshore wave climate. This study was conducted using a coarse grid bathymetric map to calibrate a numerical model developed by the Danish Hydraulic Institute (DHI). …

Comparison Of Toms And Avhrr Volcanic Ash Retrievals From The August 1992 Eruption Of Mt. Spurr, N. A. Krotkov, O. Torres, C. Seftor, A. J. Krueger, A. Kostinski, William I. Rose, Gregg J. Bluth, D. Schneider, S. J. Schaefer

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences Publications

On August 19, 1992, the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) onboard NOAA-12 and NASA's Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) onboard the Nimbus-7 satellite simultaneously detected and mapped the ash cloud from the eruption of Mt. Spurr, Alaska. The spatial extent and geometry of the cloud derived from the two datasets are in good agreement and both AVHRR split window IR (11–12µm brightness temperature difference) and the TOMS UV Aerosol Index (0.34–0.38µm ultraviolet backscattering and absorption) methods give the same range of total cloud ash mass. Redundant methods for determination of ash masses in drifting volcanic clouds offer many advantages …

Early Evolution Of A Stratospheric Volcanic Eruption Cloud As Observed With Toms And Avhrr, David J. Schneider, William I. Rose, Larry R. Coke, Gregg J. Bluth, Ian E. Sprod, Arlin J. Krueger

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences Publications

This paper is a detailed study of remote sensing data from the total ozone mapping spectrometer (TOMS) and the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) satellite detectors, of the 1982 eruption of El Chichón, Mexico. The volcanic cloud/atmosphere interactions in the first four days of this eruption were investigated by combining ultraviolet retrievals to estimate the mass of sulfur dioxide in the volcanic cloud [Krueger et al., 1995] with thermal infrared retrievals of the size, optical depth, and mass of fine-grained (1–10 μm radius) volcanic ash [Wen and Rose, 1994]. Our study provides the first direct evidence of gravitational separation …

Experimental Testing And Modeling Of Automotive Automatic Belt Tensioners, Jiaxin Zhao, Clark R. Barker, Larry Oliver, William Breig, Joey Edson

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Automatic belt tensioners are used in serpentine belt drive systems in many automotive front end accessory drive (FEAD) applications. The dynamic characteristics of the tensioner must be well defined in order to accurately model the entire belt drive system for system simulation studies. In order to determine required tensioner performance parameters, six different configurations of a production unit were tested over a wide range of frequencies at two different amplitudes of the arm travel. Data was recorded to define the total torque generated by the tensioner as a result of the known input motion to which the arm was subjected. …

Stratospheric Loading Of Sulfur From Explosive Volcanic Eruptions, Gregg J. Bluth, William I. Rose, Ian E. Sprod, Arlin J. Krueger

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences Publications

This paper is an attempt to measure our understanding of volcano/atmosphere interactions by comparing a box model of potential volcanogenic aerosol production and removal in the stratosphere with the stratospheric aerosol optical depth over the period of 1979 to 1994. Model results and observed data are in good agreement both in magnitude and removal rates for the two largest eruptions, El Chicho´n and Pinatubo. However, the peak of stratospheric optical depth occurs about nine months after the eruptions, four times longer than the model prediction, which is driven by actual SO2 measurements. For smaller eruptions, the observed stratospheric perturbation is …

Detection Of Volcanic Ash Clouds From Nimbus 7/Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer, C. J. Seftor, N. C. Hsu, J. R. Herman, P. K. Bhartia, O. Torres, William I. Rose, David J. Schneider, N. Krotkov

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences Publications

Measured radiances from the Version 7 reprocessing of the Nimbus 7/total ozone mapping spectrometer (TOMS) 340- and 380-nm channels are used to detect absorbing particulates injected into the atmosphere after the El Chichon eruption on April 4, 1982. It is shown that while the single-channel reflectivity determined from the 380-nm channel is able to detect clouds and haze composed of nonabsorbing aerosols, the spectral contrast between the 340- and 380-nm channels is sensitive to absorbing particulates such as volcanic ash, desert dust, or smoke from biomass burning. In this paper the spectral contrast between these two channels is used to …

Fractal Relationships And Spatial Distribution Of Ore Body Modelling, D. J. Kentwell

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The nature of spatial distributions of geological variables such as ore grades is of primary concern when modelling ore bodies and mineral resources. The aim of any mineral resource evaluation process is to determine the location, extent, volume and average grade of that resource by a trade off between maximum confidence in the results and minimum sampling effort. The principal aim of almost every geostatistical modelling process is to predict the spatial variation of one or more geological variables in order to estimate values of those variables at locations that have not been sampled. From the spatial analysis of these …

Constrained Moments Simulation Of Healthcare Capital Acquisitions, A. Narsing, Samuel Frimpong, J. Whiting

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Summary form only as given. Two analytical techniques which evaluate capital acquisitions in healthcare are the method of generating system moments and Monte Carlo simulation. Generating system moments enables the user to determine an estimate of the expected cost from a user-supplied function. Furthermore, the user can determine, from a variance component analysis, the sensitivity of the user-supplied function to marginal changes in the random variables by expanding the function about its mean using the Taylor series expansion to the second order. Calculating the magnitude of partial derivatives of each random variable with respect to the user-supplied function indicates the …

Stemming Technique For Loading Angled Holes Charged With Anfo, Michael David Wilkins

Masters Theses

"Little research has been published on stemming blast holes, particularly what happens during the process. Previous work has concentrated on the performance of the inert material to find the best way to seal the hole and retain the explosive energy, at the exclusion of determining what happens during the loading and stemming process. Such studies were carried out by Konya and Worsey.

The major problem with stemming studies is that rock is an opaque material, and the actual mechanisms involved during the stemming process cannot be viewed. For this reason, tests were performed using clear tubes to simulate a blast …

Remote Sensing Of Volcanic Ash Clouds Using Special Sensor Microwave Imager Data, David J. Delene, William I. Rose, Norman C. Grody

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences Publications

Measurements from the satellite-based special sensor microwave imager (SSM/I) were used to collect passive microwave radiation (19–85 GHz) for the August 19, 1992 (UT date), Crater Peak/Spurr volcanic cloud. This eruption was also imaged by a ground-based C-band radar system at Kenai, Alaska, 80 km away, and by the thermal infrared channels of the polar-orbiting advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR). The SSM/I sensor detects scattering of Earth-emitted radiation by millimeter size volcanic ash particles. The size of ash particles in a volcanic ash cloud can be estimated by comparing the scattering at different microwave frequencies. The mass of particles …

Measurements Of The Complex Dielectric Constant Of Volcanic Ash From 4 To 19 Ghz, R. J. Adams, Warren F. Perger, William I. Rose, A. Kostinski

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences Publications

Dielectric data in volcanic ash at weather radar wavelengths (centimeter range) are extremely sparse and are crucial for radar sensing of ash clouds and for imaging of volcanic terrains. This study extends previous data to include a wavelength range of 1.5–7.5 cm and volcanic ash compositions of 50–75% silica. The real part of the complex permittivity, ε′, of volcanic ash is 6 ± 0.5 (1σ) for all wavelengths. The imaginary part, ε″, ranges from 0.08 to 0.27. Both ε′ and ε″ show higher values at lower SiO2 concentration. It is safe to assume in any weather radar applications that the …

Method And Apparatus For Applying Herbicides, Marian Mazurkiewicz

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A method of applying herbicide to plants involves delivering a liquid herbicide solution to the plant foliage in a high pressure jet of sufficient energy to physically disrupt the surface of the foliage. The high pressure jet can be either a coherent jet or it can be a stream of droplets. The coherent stream can have sufficient energy to cut the foliage, creating new surfaces that are more wettable by the herbicide solution, and more susceptible to penetration by the herbicide in the solution. The droplets in the droplet stream can be made to be of sufficient size and energy …

An Analysis Of The Use Of Programmable Controllers To Control An In Situ Leach Mine Wellfield, Jimmy W. Stokey

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In situ mining is a relatively new method that has the potential of recovering a variety of minerals. This process is quickly becoming an alternative to conventional mining techniques that are environmentally unsound. Two problems associated with in situ mining are, the amount of waste water generated by the process (bleed) and the uncontrolled migration of lixiviant outside the production zone (an excursion).

The purpose of this study was to determine if in situ mining processes could be monitored and controlled with a Sequential Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. Using programmable logic controllers, a cost-effective SCADA system was designed …

Retrieval Of Sizes And Total Masses Of Particles In Volcanic Clouds Using Avhrr Bands 4 And 5, Shiming Wen, William I. Rose

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences Publications

The advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) sensor on polar orbiting NOAA satellites can discriminate between volcanic clouds and meteorological clouds using two-band data in the thermal infrared. This paper is aimed at developing a retrieval of the particle sizes, optical depth, and total masses of particles from AVHRR two-band data of volcanic clouds. Radiative transfer calculations are used with a semi-transparent cloud model that is based on assumptions of spherical particle shape, a homogeneous underlying surface, and a simple thin cloud parallel to the surface. The model is applied to observed AVHRR data from a 13-hour old drifting cloud …

Longwall Electrical Control Issues: A Hazardous Waste Containment Application, D. Martinelli, R. S. Nutter Jr., R. Larry Grayson

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Uv Curable Urethane Encapsulant For Ceramic Chip Carriers, John W. Wilson

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A new acrylated methane encapsulant has been formulated for use on ceramic chip carriers. This encapsulant has been implemented on pin grid array (PGA) ceramic carriers and on peripheral leaded surface mount (SMT) ceramic carriers for IBM''s C4 chips. The encapsulant is a UV curable material and is used to cover the thin-film circuitry on the ceramic carrier. The encapsulant offers a low-cost alternative to the metal caps that were used on the pin grid array ceramic carriers or to the ceramic cap that was used on the peripheral leaded surface mount carrier. UV curing was chosen as the preferred …

Method Of Stemming A Blast Hole, Paul Nicholas Worsey

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A method of stemming a blast hole loaded with an explosive charge. The blast hole has side walls, an outwardly opening mouth and a central axis extending longitudinally of the blast hole. The method comprises inserting a conduit having a discharge end inwardly through the mouth of the blast hole and positioning the discharge end of the conduit within the blast hole generally adjacent the explosive charge. Particulate stemming material is forced under pressure through the conduit for exit from its discharge end into the blast hole toward the explosive charge thereby to pack stemming material in the blast hole …

Surface Subsidence Over A Room-And-Pillar Mine In The Western United States, United States Department Of The Interior, Bureau Of Mines

Mines and Mineral Resources

This report summarizes the results from the subsidence research study completed by the U.S. Bureau of Mines at the Roadside Mine, Powderhorn Coal Co., Palisade, CO. This research was conducted from February 1981 to August 1985, with additional data obtained during July 1991, to evaluate residual subsidence. The Bureau studied subsidence at three distinct room-and-pillar sections at separate locations over the mine and determined the maximum subsidence values and surface subsidence profiles for each mining section. Maximum subsidence of 3.0 ft. occurred over the room-and-pillar sections, with over-burden depths ranging from 50 to 600 ft. Surface tension cracks had occurred, …

Blast Plug And Stemming Construction For Blast Holes, Paul Nicholas Worsey

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A plug for use in stemming a blast hole having an explosive charge therein. The plug comprises a wedge member and a stabilizing structure on the wedge member. The wedge member tapers in an outward direction from a relatively wide base to a relatively narrow end and has a central axis extending endwise with respect to the wedge member. The stabilizing structure extends generally axially with respect to the wedge member from adjacent the base of the wedge member. The plug is to be positioned in the blast hole with the base of the wedge member facing inwardly toward the …

Dual Purpose Fuze, Paul Nicholas Worsey

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A dual purpose fuze for a projectile which can activate a quantity of material selected from a group including high explosive, low explosive, propellant and pyrotechnic compounds. The fuze includes a charge holder having a socket therein facing the quantity of material to be activated. A fuze charge located in the socket has a depression in it so formed as to cause the fuze charge to explode in a jet directed outwardly from the socket of sufficiently high energy to activate a high explosive in a high explosive projectile, the fuze charge being sufficiently small to prevent rupture of containment …

High Pressure Lubricooling Machining Of Metals, Marian Mazurkiewicz

Mining Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A method of machining metals, by effecting relative movement between a work piece and a tool having a cutting edge to cut the work piece and produce a chip, including injecting a high pressure jet of cooling liquid into the cutting zone during machining, the jet being at a pressure of at least about 5,000 p.s.i. The jet is preferably injected between the chip and the rake face of the cutting tool, and the trajectory of the jet is offset from the rake face of the cutting tool by a small amount and the jet is aimed at the cutting …

Simplified Cost Models For Prefeasibility Mineral Evaluations. U.S. Bureau Of Mines Information Circular 9298, 35, Thomas W. Camm

Mining Engineering

In this U.S. Bureau of Mines report, mine and mill cost models are presented to make quick estimates of the cost to develop mineral deposits in the desert region of the Southwest United States. Regression analysis was used to generate capital and operating cost equations for each model in the form Y = AXB, where Y is the cost estimated and X is the assumed daily capacity in short tons. A and B are constants determined by the regression analysis. Each is broken down into 11 subcategories to facilitate escalation of costs for inflation and to increase their versatility in …