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Date submitted2023-07-25
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Date accepted2024-05-02
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Date published2024-08-26
Finite element analysis of slope failure in Ouenza open-pit iron mine, NE Algeria: causes and lessons for stability control
Slope failures in mining engineering pose significant risks to slope stability control, necessitating a thorough investigation into their root causes. This paper focuses on a back analysis of a slope failure in the Zerga section of the Ouenza – Algeria open-pit iron mine. The primary objectives are to identify the causes of slope failure, propose preventive measures, and suggest techniques to enhance stability, thereby providing crucial insights for monitoring slope stability during mining operations. The study commenced with a reconstruction of the slopes in the affected zones, followed by a numerical analysis utilizing the Shear strength reduction method within the Finite element method (SSR-FE). This approach enables the examination of slope stability under both static and dynamic loads. The dynamic load assessment incorporated an evaluation of the vibrations induced by the blasting process during excavation, introducing seismic loading into the finite element analysis. The findings reveal that the primary triggering factor for the landslide was the vibration generated by the blasting process. Furthermore, the slope stability was found to be critically compromised under static loads, highlighting a failure to adhere to exploitation operation norms. The challenging geology, particularly the presence of marl layers where maximum shear strain occurs, contributed to the formation of the landslide surface. The study not only identifies the causes of slope failure but also provides valuable lessons for effective slope stability management in mining operations.
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Date submitted2023-04-10
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Date accepted2024-12-27
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Date published2024-04-25
Optimization of specific energy consumption for rock crushing by explosion at deposits with complex geological structure
The selection of efficient drilling and blasting technology to achieve the required particle size distribution of blasted rock mass and reduce ore dilution is directly related to the accurate definition of rock mass properties. The zoning of the rock massif by its hardness, drillability and blastability does not consider the variability of the geological structure of the block for blasting, resulting in an overestimated specific consumption of explosives. The decision of this task is particularly urgent for enterprises developing deposits with a high degree of variability of geological structure, for example, at alluvial deposits. Explosives overconsumption causes non-optimal granulometric composition of the blasted rock mass for the given conditions and mining technology. It is required to define physical and mechanical properties of rocks at deposits with complex geological structure at each block prepared for blasting. The correlation between the physical and mechanical properties of these rocks and drilling parameters should be used for calculation. The relation determined by the developed method was verified in industrial conditions, and the granulometric composition of the blasted rock mass was measured by an indirect method based on excavator productivity. The results demonstrated an increase in excavation productivity, thus indicating the accuracy of given approach to the task of identifying the rocks of the blasted block.
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Date submitted2021-07-05
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Date accepted2022-07-21
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Date published2022-11-10
Fragmentation analysis using digital image processing and empirical model (KuzRam): a comparative study
The rock fragmentation reflects the degree of control of blasting. Despite the accuracy of screening analysis to determine the size distribution of blasted rocks, this technique remains complex and long because of the large volume of blasted rocks. The digital image processing method can overcome these constraints of accuracy and speed. Our method uses the empirical model of KuzRam and numerical method (Digital image processing) through two image processing software’s (WipFrag and Split-Desktop) to analyze the particle size distribution of rocks fragmented by explosives in Jebel Medjounes limestone quarry. The digital image processing is based on the photography of the pile of blasted rock analyzed using image processing techniques. The objective of this work is to evaluate and compare the results obtained for each blast from the two methods and to discuss the similarities and differences among them. Three different blasts with the same design were analyzed through the two methods. The result of the KuzRam model gave idealistic results due to the heterogeneity of the structure of the rocks; although, this model can be used for an initial evaluation of blast design. For better efficiency of the explosion, we proposed a new fragmentation indicator factor in order to compare the fragment produced to the estimated ideal size obtained from the KuzRam model by incorporating the blast design parameters and the rock factor. Both image processing gives close results with more accuracy for the Split-Desktop software. Our method can improve the efficiency and reduce crushing costs of the studied career.
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Date submitted2021-01-25
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Date accepted2021-02-22
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Date published2021-04-26
Conducting industrial explosions near gas pipelines
The problem to ensure the safety of objects which are in the area of blasting operations, ensuring the destruction of hard rocks, remains relevant. The article presents the results of a large-scale experiment to determine the safe conditions for conducting drilling and blasting operations near the active gas pipeline. The simplest and most reliable way to ensure the safety of the protected object from seismic impact is to reduce the intensity of the seismic wave, which is achieved by changing the parameters of drilling and blasting operations. This requires research to determine the impact of blasting operations on the parameters of seismic waves and the development of methods for measuring these parameters. The paper presents a detailed analysis of the seismic blast wave impact on the displacement of the ground and the model gas pipeline. The features of seismic monitoring during blasting operations near the active gas pipeline are shown. The seismic coefficients and attenuation coefficient of seismic waves are determined. It is proved that the readings of the seismic receivers on the surface and in the depth of the massive differ by two or more times.
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Date submitted2020-06-16
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Date accepted2020-07-13
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Date published2020-11-24
Study of Aluminum Influence on the Adhesion of Stainless Steel in Flame Spraying
This paper is dedicated to a study of aluminum influence on the improvement of surface adhesion strength. The main purpose of this work is to investigate the strength of adhesion to the substrate by mixing flame spray powder with aluminum, which not only possesses high corrosion resistance and conductivity, but also provides additional strength, as it combines and reacts with other components of the powder. Research results of sandblasting dependence on surface roughness parameter Ra are demonstrated. The paper describes authors’ original device for a measuring instrument “Profilometer”, which was also used for measuring roughness parameter in order to obtain comparative results. Authors present results of adhesion measurements given obtained values of surface roughness by mixing nominal chemical composition of PR-30X13 powder, used as a testing material, with aluminum, which reacts with oxides on the surface of steel substrates, imparts strength to the bonding between the coating and the substrate, protects the base metal due to a combination of chemical components of the powder and creates a layer of dense surface coating. These dependencies are analyzed and parameters, exerting the greatest influence on their values, are identified. Taking into account the results obtained through numerical modeling, authors propose a mathematical model of a dependency between adhesion strength and certain values of surface roughness for different chemical compositions of flame spray powder. These studies will help in the development of certain material types for spraying and hardening of steel parts and products in order to improve their durability.
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Date submitted2018-12-25
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Date accepted2019-03-22
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Date published2019-06-25
Technology of blasting of strong valuable ores with ring borehole pattern
- Authors:
- I. V. Sokolov
- A. A. Smirnov
- A. A. Rozhkov
The ores of non-ferrous and precious metals, represented by hard rocks, has a peculiar feature, that is the effect of segregation, that is the tendency of ore minerals to break down into small size classes, which in the underground mining method accumulate in significant quantities on uneven surface of bottom layers and subsequently are lost. When mining valuable non-metallic materials, there is an acute problem of overgrinding, when fines do not meet the requirements for the quality of the final product. It is well known that the granulometric composition of the ore depends mainly on the technology and parameters of drilling and blasting operations. In underground mining of ore deposits, the main method of drilling and blasting is the borehole blasting with continuous construction charges with the ring pattern. The main drawbacks of the method are: uneven distribution of the explosive along the plane of the broken layer and the expenditure of a significant part of the blast energy of the charges of the continuous structure on the blasting effect, necessarily associated with over-grinding the ore. To solve these problems, the authors proposed a blasting technology, the essence of which lies in the fact that the uniform distribution of the energy concentration of explosives in the broken layer is ensured by the dispersion of charges by air gaps and a certain order of their placement in the ring plane. For the practical implementation of the technology, a method has been developed to form dispersed charges in deep boreholes that do not require a significant increase in labor costs and additional special means. A special technique has been created that allows defining the dispersion parameters, ensuring the sustained specific consumption of explosives over the entire plane of the broken layer. Experimental studies of the proposed technology in the natural conditions of an underground mine for the extraction of valuable granulated quartz were carried out. As a result, the possibility of a significant reduction in the specific consumption of explosives (by 42 %) has been established. At the same time, the yield of the commercial product increased by 10.7 % in total, and the yield of the fraction most favorable for further processing increased by 33.7 %.