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By W. R. Reed

A computer model named the "Dynamic Component Program" (DCP) was specifically designed for predicting the dispersion off dust from haul trucks at surface mines. Validation of the DCP was completed by comparing its results with the results of the 1SC3 model and with actual dust measurements taken front two operating mine sires. Comparisons of the field measurements, predictions of the ISC3 model and the predictions of the DCP demonstrate that the results from the DCP represent, on average, an 85% improvement truer the ISC3 dust dispersion model results.

Jan 1, 2008

By Sean Gallagher

Study Design. A split-plot experimental design was used to evaluate the influence of posture, trunk angle, and rotational velocity on peak torque output and myoelectric activity during maximal trunk extension maneuvers. Objectives. To determine whether the kneeling posture alters extension torque capabilities in isometric and isokinetic exercises as compared with standing. Also, to ascertain whether recruitment of trunk muscles is modified by such a postural change. Summary of Background Data. Factors such as workplace geometry may force workers to adopt awkward or unusual postures in the performance of manual tasks. An understanding of the limitations placed on strength in unconventional working postures is crucial to the proper design of jobs. Methods. Twenty-one healthy male subjects (mean age = 36 years 7 SD) performed 12 trunk extension exertions in standing and kneeling postures. Isometric tests were performed at 22.5°. 45°, and 67.5° of trunk flexion. isokinetic tests were done at three velocities: 30°/sec, 60°/sec, and 90°/sec. Electromyographic data were collected from eight trunk muscles to assess muscle recruitment under each condition. A prior; orthogonal contrasts were specified for analysis of both torque and electromyographic data. Results. The kneeling posture was associated with a 15% decrease in peak torque output when contrasted with standing; however, no concomitant change in trunk muscle activity was evident. Trunk hyperflexion (isometric tests) and increasing rotational velocity (isokinetic tests) were associated with reduced torque in both postures. Trunk muscle activity was primarily affected by changes in trunk angle and velocity of contraction. Conclusions. A reduced extensor capability exists in the kneeling posture, despite equivalent trunk muscle activity. The similar activation patterns in both postures suggest that the strength deficit does not result from alterations in trunk muscle function. Rather, it may be the consequence of a reduced capability to rotate the pelvis in the kneeling posture, due to a disruption of the biornechanical linkage of the leg structures. [Key words: electromyography, isokinetic, isometric, low back pain, posture. strength1 Spine 1997;22:1864-1872

By R. F. Abernethy

A small-scale method was developed for determining the free-swelling index of coal samples of limited quantity, especially the macerals. Results of a series of tests using a 0.3-gram sample correlated well with those by the standard method using a 1-gram sample. The standard and small-scale methods are modified to give unrestricted swelling for those coals having swelling index numbers above 7.

Jan 1, 1971

By P. C. Good

The work reported here was undertaken by the Federal Bureau of Mines to investigate new methods of preparing high-purity metal. Tungsten hexachloride was prepared by direct chlorination of scrap tungsten metal and by treating tungstic oxide with carbon and chlorine. The resulting tungsten hexachloride was purified by distillation and reduced win: sodium, magnesium, or hydrogen. The metal prepared by these techniques was at very high purity after arc melting but of variable quality prior to arc meIting. Metal recovery ranged from about 40 to 90 percent of theoretical values, It was found possible to deposit a smooth, dense coating of high-purity tungsten on the inside of a heated tube by vapor-phase reduction of tungsten hexachloride at reduced pressure.

Jan 1, 1961

By Paul M. Tyler

Graphite is chemically identical with diamond, both being crystallized allotropic forms of carbon. Graphite obviously differs greatly from diamond in physical properties and is easily recognized by its blackness, its softness (1 to 2 on Mohs' scale), and its slick feel when rubbed between the fingers. Strictly speaking, all graphite is crystalline, but grades in which the individual grains cannot be distinguished with the naked eye are commercially classed as amorphous. Natural mixtures of the two varieties occur in all proportions, and the classification of a given sample as "amorphous" or "crystalline" graphite is based largely upon trade practice. Until recently different varieties of vegetable or animal charcoal, lamp black, soot, gas carbon, and coal ware considered strictly amorphous, but modern examination by X-ray methods indicates that even these materials possess the same internal crystalline structure as graphite, differences in physical properties being perhaps explained by porosity or presence of combined hydrogen or other impurities.

Jan 1, 1941

By H. R. Babitzke

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the potential of columbium-hafnium alloys as structural materials for use at elevated temperatures. The work described in this report was conducted to determine the properties of columbium-hafnium alloys and to select the more promising ones for further improvement. Properties determined in this report were machinability, hardness, workability, tensile strength, and oxidation resistance. Ten ingots, ranging from 100 percent columbium to 70 atomic-percent hafnium, were prepared and subjected to tests. The test results showed that the alloys with 33 and 50 atomic-percent hafnium were superior in workability, strength, and oxidation resistance. For the alloy series tested, the strength and hardness values increased with the increasing hafnium content. Maximum values were reached with 50 atomic-percent hafnium. The oxidation resistance was poorest at the 1 atomic-percent hafnium level but improved with increasing hafnium content through 70 atomic-percent. Eight of the ten ingots were fabricable at room temperature. The two remaining ingots, those with 5 and 10 atomic-percent hafnium, required hot-working.

Jan 1, 1962

By R. V. Ramani, R. Bhaskar

"The spatial distribution of airborne dusts, deposition of dust in the airway, as well as the effect of airflow velocity and particle density on dust behavior in mine airways were studied in a set of experiments performed in a mine airway under controlled conditions. Considerable deposition of dust near the source was indicated. Pronounced effects due to velocity were observed in ambient dust concentration and deposition along the mine airway, both in the respirable and the total size ranges. Cross-sectional concentration measurements indicate an increase in concentration from the roof to the floor. The average cross-sectional concentration is about 75% of the concentration in the center of the airway.IntroductionA number of studies have been performed since the early 1950s on the behavior of dust in mine air (Bradshaw and Godbert, 1954; Dawes and Slack, 1954; Bradshaw et al., 1954; Hall, 1955-56; Reinhardt, 1971; Ford, 1971; Courtney et al., 1982). While the experimental data available from these studies are indeed useful in understanding dust cloud behavior in a specific situation, no generalized conclusions can be drawn because of the lack of data on parameters such as flow velocity, size distribution of the source dust, and particle density. These change from mine to mine or even within the same mine. The present study is aimed at providing a better understanding of the temporal and spatial behavior of dust particles in underground mine airways (National Academy ofSciences, 1980). The characteristics studied encompassed airborne concentrations and floor depositions over the entire size range as well as the respirable size range. The experimental results in this paper are intended to complement a mathematical model developed to predict ambient concentration and deposition of airborne dust in mine airways (Bhaskar and Ramani, 1986)."

Mar 1, 1989

By J. B. Janus

This report, the 25th in a series, lists analytical data of coal samples collected by the Bureau of Mines in connection with the purchase of several million tons of coal for various Government agencies during fiscal year 1975. Tipple samples were collected by Bureau of Mines engineers at tipples as coal was being loaded into railroad cars or trucks. Ultimate analyses are given for these coalbeds only. The delivered coal was sampled at destination in accordance with instructions furnished by the Bureau of Mines, and all samples were analyzed in the Bureau laboratory at Pittsburgh.

Jan 1, 1976

By John J. Gordon, Neil K. Cooperrider

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard ISO 2631 [1,2] provides three methods for evaluation of human exposure to vibrations that contain occasional shocks or impacts. Part 1 of the standard specifies the running r.m.s. or maximum transient vibration method (MTVV) and the fourth power vibration dose value (VDV). Part 5 of the standard provides a method of computing the stress in the lumbar spine for humans exposed to multiple shocks. Alem et al [3] have reported application of these methods to data for tactical ground vehicles. This paper reports and compares VDV and spinal stress evaluations of more than 90 hours of vibration and shock measurements on North American locomotives engaged in through freight operations. The measurements evaluated in this paper were obtained for full crew shifts on 19 freight locomotive runs on mainline track in locations from New York to California. The shifts ranged in duration from 187 minutes to 497 minutes. The average speeds for the shifts were from 21.0 mph to 54.6 mph. All measurements were made on locomotives hauling freight trains in regular revenue service. Data Acquisition and Processing The results reported here were computed using test data acquired from a tri-axial seat pad, accelerometer at a sample rate of 400Hz with an anti-aliasing filter corner frequency of 100Hz. The VDVs and the lateral and longitudinal spinal stress values were computed directly from the acquired test data according to the procedures specified and described in [1] and [2]. The vertical spinal stress values were computed by converting the as-acquired test data to a sample rate of 160Hz for input to the vertical spine model, as required in [2]. The conversion of the test data from the as-acquired sample rate of 400Hz to the required sample rate of 160Hz involved up sampling or interpolating the test data to an equivalent sample rate of 800Hz, band limiting the resultant data with a low-pass filter corner frequency of 60Hz and finally down sampling or decimating the 800Hz data to a sample frequency of 160Hz. Discussion The vertical VDVs computed according to [2] for the 19 shifts ranged from 2.68 to 9.33 m/s1.75. In all but one case, the vertical values were greater than the values for the lateral or longitudinal directions. Note that the health guidance in [1] puts the lower boundary of the health guidance caution zone at a VDV value of 8.5 and the upper boundary at 17 m/s1.75. The daily equivalent static compression dose computed following [2] ranged from 0.123 to 0.434 MPa. Health guidance provided in [2] states that there is a low probability of an adverse health effect if the daily dose is less than 0.5 MPa.

Jan 6, 2006

By David K. Ingram

The development of large open surface fractures over mined-out coal longwall panels is the focus of this U.S. Bureau of Mines report. The research concentrates on defining the fractures characteristics and their controlling variables. The investigation was conducted at two mines in south-central West Virginia. All but one of the fractures are subparallel to the trend of the underlying longwall panel. One fracture is perpendicular to the trend of a longwall panel. Overall length of the fractures ranges from 60 to 900 ft. In cross section they are V-shaped, ranging from a couple of inches to 25 ft in width at the surface, but narrowing as they increase in depth. Fracture depth varies from a few inches to over 50 ft into bedrock. A vertical fracture or joint plane was observed in the bedrock at several open zones along the fractures. All of the fractures vary in elevation and do not parallel surface contours. The fractures are aligned with local joint trends, they correlate with longwall development, and they are situated in an increased tensional area over the mined out longwall panels. These observations indicate that the fractures are tensional openings along preexisting joint planes possibly triggered by longwall mining.

Jan 1, 1989

A significant amount of information regarding the crushed stone and sand and gravel industries in each State is available from State agencies and State trade associations. These organizations continuously monitor the State mineral industries and are therefore an important source of detailed information at the local level. This third edition of the directory was prepared to provide a listing of government agencies and trade associations that can assist the users interested in obtaining detailed listings of crushed stone and sand and gravel producers, in addition to the information published by the U.S. Bureau of Mines.

Jan 1, 1994

By L. H. Johnson

"INTRODUCTION The Pennsylvania anthracite industry produced 53 million net tons of anthracite during 1945. Fifty-one million tons was prepared for the commercial market (3), 3/ and 2 million tons (consisting of fine sizes) was used for colliery power consumption. Of the number of tons prepared for market, 17 million tons (33 1/3 percent) was prepared by the use of acid mine water treated with lime.Mine water from underground workings is pumped, drained, and stored in huge quantities. The mine-drainage systems in the anthracite region handle over 200 billion gallons of water annually, of which 150 billion gallons is pumped to the surface. More than 69 billion gallons of water is impounded in underground pools (1). Much of this water is employed for breaker use, dust-control installations; hydraulic backfilling, combatting mine fires; and aiding in the transportation of anthracite in gently dipping places where sheet iron is used Roos(4) estimates that 1,100 gallons of mine water is utilized in the preparation of anthracite mined."

Nov 1, 1946

By H. E. Blake

An evaluation was made to determine the economics of utilizing waste fluosilicic acid for production of (1) calcium fluoride, and (2) anhydrous hydro-gen fluoride. Two versions of each process were considered and compared. The evaluation showed that both products could be produced and marketed competitively. Lowest estimated product sales prices required to yield a 25-percent return on investment before taxes (discounted cash flow basis) was $339.34 per ton of hydrogen fluoride and $48.64 per ton of calcium fluoride.

Jan 1, 1971

By J. E. Zeilinger

The technical feasibility of using energy from explosive ignitions of coal dust to pump water was .demonstrated in an exploratory investigation. Ignition of small amounts of pulverized coal that were dispersed in air over columns of water pumped up to 5.3 gallons of water per cycle when operated against a head of 30.75 feet. Water displacement was accomplished by either manual or automatic operation through a single cycle, and by automatic operation through a continuous series of cycles of I-minute duration. Operating through single cycles, slurries containing up to 3 pounds of coal and 4.6 gallons of water were also pumped. Possible uses of an efficient coal-fired pump would include pumping water for irrigation purposes, removing water from mines, transporting coal from mines in the form of a slurry, and pumping water to elevated reservoirs at electric powerplants so that it could be used to generate electricity during peak periods of demand.

Jan 1, 1966

By R. K. Clifford

Chalcopyrite (CuFeSz) concentrates produced on the Lead Belt of Missouri typically contain 28 pct Cu and from 0.5 to 1.5 pct each of nickel and cobalt. Most of the nickel and cobalt are present as the mineral siegenite, (Ni,Co)3S4, almost none of which is recovered presently. The Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior, has been conducting research on the chalcopyrite to produce a marketable fraction enriched in cobalt and nickel. Ferric chloride leaching of various chalcopyrite (copper) concentrates has yielded residues containing from 10.2 to 16.2 pct Ni and 8.3 to 11.4 pct Co with recoveries of approximately 79 pct. In another approach, laboratory froth-flotation tests have been conducted to investigate the effects of regrinding, roasting, baking, and steaming prior to flotation, with a variety of reagents. The best laboratory results were obtained after regrinding the copper concentrate to 94 pct minus 400 mesh and floating the chalcopyrite at natural pH (6.5) with 0.48 pound of sodium diethyldithiophosphate and 0.01 pound of sodium cyanide per ton of concentrate. This procedure yielded a tailings assaying 20.4 pct Cu, 5.2 pct Ni, and 3.45 pct Co. The tailings contained 67.2 pct of the nickel and cobalt and 15.9 pct of the copper originally in the copper concentrate; the remainder of the values reported to the flotation concentrate, which analyzed 29.6 pct Cu. To verify the laboratory flotation results, a 60 kg/hr process demonstration unit (PDU) was constructed in the Cominco American Magmont mill, Bixby, Mo.

Jan 1, 1978

By Je M. Oh

The Bureau of Mines is conducting research to determine the high temperature oxidation resistance of substitute stainless steels (SS) containing two less strategic elements, Al and Si, instead of Cr. Chromium is considered to be a critical and strategic metal. Although the Cr content was reduced to 8 wt pct, the alloys showed better oxidation resistance than did 304 SS containing 18 wt pct Cr. Specifically, the alloys that contained Fe-8Cr-16Ni with combinations of Al and Si showed excellent oxidation resistance even at temperatures up to 1,000° C. In this study, the effects of the alloying elements on oxidation kinetics and morphology of oxides were investigated using a Cahn Rg electrobalance, scanning electron microscopy, an energy-dispersive X-ray analyzer, X-ray diffraction, and an electron microprobe. Aluminum and silicon additions in combinatin were more effective in providing oxidation resistance than either element was alone.

Jan 1, 1986

By Stephen C. Brown

THE expansion of the world economy which has been in process since 1958 continued in 1963 and both production and consumption of minerals rose. Gross national product (GNP) rose sharply in the United Kingdom and Japan, continued to expand in the United States and Canada, and maintained a high though slightly declining rate of growth in the European Economic Community (EEC) despite the appearance of excess capacity in certain lines and inflationary pressures in Italy and France. The steel and motor vehicle industries both increased output in North America, Western Europe, and Japan. The less developed areas benefited substantially from an improvement in their terms of trade, and their export earnings increased some 8 percent in 1963; although estimates of GNP for the majority of them are 110t yet available, it is probable that this increase was partly reflected in a substantial rise of GNP.2 In the United States the expansion was steady and extended through all sectors of the economy producing no distortions likely to disturb its continuing growth; at yearend with unemployment still at about 5.5 percent of the labor force and operating rates of industry estimated at about 87 percent of capacity, there was a substantial margin for further expansion. Though the balance of payments was still in heavy deficit for the year, in the last half it was moving rapidly toward equalibrium as net exports rose and capital outflows declined; prices were relatively stable, inventories increased only slightly and the activity of mineral-consuming industries remained high, steel output rising by 11 percent to highest level since 1957 and the auto industry output equalling the 1955 record.3

Jan 1, 1964

By Edward A. Mihok

This paper presents plant design and cost estimates for limestone treatment of acid mine water covering a wide range of quality and quantity conditions. The treatment process consists of limestone neutralization, aeration, solids settling, and concentration. The design criteria for the various operation functions are based on pilot plant performance, laboratory data, and established mine water treatment standards. Unit costs have been assumed and are related to general market prices and conditions. These estimates serve as preliminary indicators of what it would cost to construct and operate a mine water treatment plant.

Jan 1, 1970

By R. R. Sayers

Carbon monoxide poisoning is one of the most widely distributed and most frequent causes of industrial accidents . Carbon monoxide gas is a product of incomplete combustion , and since it is without color , odor , or taste , its presence is frequently unsuspected in many places where it exists . It is an ever present danger about blast and coke furnaces , smelters , and foundries . It may be found in buildings having a leaky furnace or chimney , and in buildings where a gas stove is used without a proper flue connection , such as is often found in tenements , tailor shops , and boarding houses . Hospitals receive annually a great number of victims of poisoning , either by accident or in an attempt at suicide , from artificial illuminating gas . People may be affected by leaks wherever water gas is formed or used . The exhaust gases from gasoline motors under average running conditions usually contain 5 to 7 per cent carbon monoxide , and sometimes as much as 13 per cent ; deaths from running an automobile engine in a closed garage are not infrequent . A similar danger may arise in operating gasoline engines in launches without sufficient ventilation . The gas is formed also in stoker rooms , in gun turrets on battleships , in petroleum refineries , and by the Lablanc soda process in cement and brick plants . In underground mines carbon monoxide may appear as the result of shot firing , mine explosions , or mine fires , and in tunnels where automobiles , coal or oil - burning locomotives are operated . In spite of the common occurrence of carbon monoxide poisoning there appears to be no uniformly recognized treatment for a person overcome by carbon monoxide . In the rescue work of the United States Bureau of Mines , however , a method has been developed which has been supported by laboratory investigation , and has proved successful in practical experience , over a period of years . As outlined in this article , the method is useful in the hands of first -aid men as well as physicians .

Dec 1, 1921

By Martin Hertzberg

The Bureau of Mines 8-liter flammability system was used to study the effectiveness of a variety of powdered inhibitors in preventing the propagation of explosions of coal dust or methane in air. Over 35 different chemical additives were evaluated against Pittsburgh seam pulverized coal. The least effective inhibitors were the carbonates, which required mass additions in the range of two to three parts inhibitor to one part of coal dust in order to prevent propagation. The most effective inhibitors were the derivatives of ammonium phosphate, which were effective quenching agents at additions of only one part inhibitor to four parts of coal dust. Alkali halide powders were of intermediate effectiveness. These laboratory-scale results are in good agreement with full-scale mine experiments in all cases where detailed comparisons have been made. Data were also obtained for the effectiveness of several of the same powdered inhibitors against methane-air explosions. Their relative order of effectiveness and the concentration ranges required for quenching the gas explosion are comparable to those measured for coal dust explosions. Data are also presented for the effectiveness of N2 and CF3Br addition. Some preliminary data are also presented for powder addition to methane burner flames. Those data are compared with other burner data and evaluated in terms of their relevance to explosion tests.

Jan 1, 1982