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Date submitted2023-12-15
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Date accepted2024-06-13
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Date published2025-02-25
Development of equipment and improvement of technology for inertial thickening of backfill hydraulic mixtures at the final stages of transportation
The results of the study of the functioning of the developed thickening equipment as part of the stowing complex for the formation of a flow of high-concentration hydromixture are presented. To explain the operation of the hydrotransport system of the stowing complex, equipped with a thickener of the developed design, its basic diagram is presented. A mathematical model has been created that describes the mechanism of inertial sedimentation of a solid component of a hydraulic mixture in a working chamber equipped with hydrodynamic profiles. Interaction with the profile leads to flow stratification due to a change in the trajectory of movement and a decrease in speed. The interval of rational velocity of primary pulp entering the input of the working chamber of the inertial thickener is substantiated. The synthesis of solutions of the thickening process model is performed in the COMSOL Multiphysics and Ansys Fluent programs. This made it possible to eliminate physical contradictions in the operation of the equipment and justify the overall dimensions of its main elements, ensuring the implementation of the mechanism of inertial sedimentation of the slurry. It was found that the concentration of the thickened flow at the outlet branch pipe of the thickener working chamber is determined by the level of the primary hydraulic fluid velocity, the characteristic length of the section of interaction with the deflecting profile, and the ratio of the flow and attack angles. A nomogram of the dynamics of the change in the hydraulic fluid concentration in the section of the outlet branch pipe depending on the ratios of the overall dimensions of the deflecting profile of the working chamber was compiled. The results of the study allowed formulating recommendations for selecting the dimensions of the thickener's deflecting hydrodynamic profile to form a flow of hydraulic mixture with a concentration of about 50 % by weight. The developed equipment can be used in a stowage complex and will increase the range of supply of the stowage mixture. This is due to the fact that a flow of primary slurry with a low concentration, due to lower pressure losses, can be moved in a pipeline system over a greater distance than a flow with a high filler content. The use of a thickener at the final stage of transportation is intended to increase the concentration of the hydraulic mixture immediately before production.
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Date submitted2022-05-20
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Date accepted2023-04-03
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Date published2024-02-29
Impact of carbon dioxide on the main geotechnical quality criteria and preparation cost of cemented paste backfill
There is a global upsurge in the use of cemented paste backfill (CPB) for various mining functions. However, the cost of the Portland cement binder is prohibitive, thus warranting strategies to reduce cement usage without overly diminishing the CPB quality. Since carbon dioxide is used for patented sand moulding processes, this study is premised on that physicochemical ability of CO2 to enhance the curing of consolidated inorganic materials. It evaluated the impact of carbon dioxide on the uniaxial compressive strength UCS and preparation cost of CPB standard samples (ASTM C109). The preparation cost was delimited to the purchase cost of the Portland cement. The backfill material was silica sand tailings with 4.5 wt.% Portland cement binder and a water-cement ratio of 7.6. Distilled water of pH 5.4 was used for the control samples while variable amounts of carbon dioxide were dissolved in distilled water to generate carbonated mixing water with pH values of 3.8; 4 and 4.2. The lower the carbonated water pH, the higher is the CO2 concentration. UCS tests were conducted on the samples after curing for 3, 7, 28, and 90 days. There was an observable increase in the UCSs and reduction in curing time with increasing carbon dioxide. Samples prepared with carbonated water of pH 3.8 had almost double the strength of those prepared with pure distilled water of pH 5.4, implying that more dissolved CO2 corresponds to higher CPB strength. This is supported by the trendline equations for the graphical simulation of strength on curing time. Thus, CPB with much less binder can be expected to attain the requisite UCS if carbon dioxide is incorporated. The average reduction in Portland cement consumption was 0.61 %, which translates to a cost saving of the same percentage points. If calculated over the operational life of a mine, this is a massive saving of millions of dollars.
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Date submitted2022-10-24
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Date accepted2023-03-03
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Date published2023-04-25
Use of clay-containing waste as pozzolanic additives
Growing productivity of mining and processing enterprises entails an increase in the volumes of liquid tailings impoundments and upstream impoundments of ore processing waste. Enterprises face the challenge of minimizing the environmental impact of waste and guaranteeing the sanitary and epidemiological safety of population. The article presents a possibility of recycling one type of such waste (clay-containing concentration tailings of apatite-nepheline and sylvinite ores, coal beneficiation tailings) by using them after preliminary thermochemical treatment as pozzolanic additives to cements and concretes, including concrete mixtures used for soil stabilization, development of territories, reclamation of mine workings, as a component of the insulating layer of landfills for the disposal of municipal solid waste. An analysis of the phase changes of kaolinite, one of the main minerals that make up clay-containing waste, in the temperature range of 200-1,000 °С showed that a change in its mineral form during heat treatment is the main factor in changing its pozzolanic activity. The effect of heat treatment of clay minerals at temperature of 700-800 °C on their pozzolanic activity, estimated by the ability to absorb calcium hydroxide (0.7 g Ca(OH) 2 per 1 g of modified kaolinite), is considered. It is shown that the addition of heat-treated samples (20 % by weight) improves the quality of cement increasing its activity by 15 %, in comparison with the use of unmodified clay minerals. It was proved experimentally that partial replacement of Portland cement with thermally modified kaolinite increases the strength of consolidating stowing mixture by up to 15 %. This approach to processing of ores containing layered silicates, which provides for thermochemical modification of run-of-mine ore, intensifies the processes of tailings thickening and filtering.
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Date submitted2021-12-15
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Date accepted2022-09-12
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Date published2023-08-28
Substantiation and selection of the design parameters of the hydroficated equipment complex for obtaining backfill mixtures from current enrichment tailings
The issue of the influence of the concentration of the solid phase on the reduction of energy costs and specific energy consumption during pulp transportation is considered. The procedure for preparing slurry from the current enrichment tailings is shown. A scheme is given and the operation of a hydroficated unit for thickening and hydraulic transport of backfill mixtures is described. A diagram of the movement of solid particles in one of the units of the complex – a lamellar thickener is shown. The summary table shows the main design parameters and characteristics of the lamellar thickener. A general view of the laboratory setup used for experimental studies with slurry at various concentrations is given. An example of calculating productivity, density and specific load is presented. The dependence of the shear stress on the velocity gradient was determined for various pulp concentrations. Experimental studies of the process of thickening the production of slurry from the current enrichment tailings have been carried out. It was found that the geometric dimensions of the thickener depend on the concentration of the solid phase in the transported mixture. It is concluded that the flow rate of the slurry and the head loss are functions of the rheological characteristics of the viscoplastic slurry and can be calculated from the derived calculated dependencies.
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Date submitted2022-10-17
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Date accepted2023-02-13
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Date published2023-04-25
Environmental geotechnology for low-grade ore mining with the creation of conditions for the concurrent disposal of mining waste
Due to the constantly deteriorating environmental situation in the regions with mining enterprises, the article considers the topical issue of disposing the maximum possible volume of waste from the mining and processing of low-grade ferrous ores through the creation of an effective underground environmental geotechnology. Traditional procedure with descending mining of reserves with a caving system does not allow waste to be disposed of in a gob. The idea is to use geotechnology based on the ascending order of mining the ore body, room excavation, leaving truncated pillars, and staggered arrangement of adjacent rooms in height, which makes it possible to form containers for waste disposal in the form of a cementless backfill. The main characteristics of the proposed procedure are investigated and compared with the traditional procedure of low-grade iron ores mining. It was established that from the point of view of the complete extraction of reserves and the unit costs for the preparatory-development operations, the processes are comparable, while in terms of the mining quality, the proposed option is much more efficient. Evaluation of environmental geotechnology by the criterion of waste disposal, performed according to the proposed methodology, showed that the combination of these technical solutions ensures the placement in the formed gob from 80 to 140% of all waste generated during the mining and beneficiation of low-grade iron ores.
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Date submitted2020-12-24
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Date accepted2021-10-18
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Date published2021-12-16
Natural gas methane number and its influence on the gas engine working process efficiency
The natural gas usage as a vehicle fuel in the mining industry is one of the priority tasks of the state. The article pays special attention to the component composition of natural gas from the point of view of its thermal efficiency during combustion in the combustion chamber of a power plant on a heavy-duty vehicle in difficult quarry conditions. For this, domestic and foreign methods for determining the main indicator characterizing the knock resistance of fuel in the combustion process – the methane number – are considered. Improvement of technical and economic indicators will be carried out by changing the composition of the gas mixture based on methane to fit the design features of the gas power plant, the methane number will be the determining indicator. A theoretical analysis of the influence of the methane number on such engine parameters as the compression ratio and the maximum speed of the flame front propagation in the second phase of combustion in the engine cylinder, expressed through the angle of rotation of the crankshaft, is presented. Based on the results of theoretical and experimental studies, the dependences of the influence of the methane number on the efficiency of the working process of the engine and its external speed characteristic were obtained.
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Date submitted2010-07-21
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Date accepted2010-09-08
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Date published2011-03-21
Calculation methodology of physical parameters of the artificial pillar barrier
- Authors:
- M. N. Adreev
The article is devoted to the calculation methodology of physical parameters of the artificial barrier pillar needed when developing underquarry deposits of kimberlitic pipes in difficult hydrogeological conditions.
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Date submitted2010-07-15
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Date accepted2010-09-26
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Date published2011-03-21
Development of the stowing material and testing of its mechanical properties
- Authors:
- M. N. Andreev
- E. I. Boguslavskiy
Article is in touch with analysis of backfill materials applied on diamond mines, description of research of its mechanical properties to create the optimal compound in conditions of Yakutian kimberlitic tubes.
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Date submitted2009-07-08
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Date accepted2009-09-19
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Date published2010-04-22
Geomechanical and hydrogeological problems оf the Yakovlevsky deposit development
- Authors:
- V. L. Trushko
- A. G. Protosenya
- R. E. Dashko
The article deals with geomechanical and hydrogeological problems under the Yakovlevsky ore deposit development including variations in strength properties. The estimation of feasible underground water inrush inside the mining excavation is done. In situ results of ore strata deformation around excavation are discussed. Numerical modeling of stress and strain in the waterproofing ore pillar due to partially backfilling of excavation is carried out.