Shifting masses in a confined space in the company of other machines and devices, which limits the manoeuvring and transport area, poses a significant problem in every field of industry, especially with underground mining. The works involved in transporting and manoeuvring masses in underground workings are challenging and are most often performed using various auxiliary machines or manually. Hence the need arose to develop a device carrying out activities related to the shifting of masses with the assumed maximum value. The device was created as a result of cooperation between FAMA sp. z o.o. and the AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków, Poland. The mining modular transport and assembly unit (MZT-M) enables assembling and transporting various masses, especially the elements of the roadway support in the face. The primary function of this device is its movement in the excavation along with the transported mass and delivering it to a specific place. Therefore, an important issue is to ensure the module’s stability in different phases of its operation (lifting, transport, manoeuvring, feeding, lowering) due to the limited space in the excavation. That is why an analytical model and specialised software were created to determine the design parameters of the device as a function of its operating phases, especially the counterweight’s mass. As previously mentioned, an analytical model (physical, mathematical) with equations and applications written in Microsoft Visual Studio and Matlab was used for this purpose. It is beneficial at the design or construction changes stage. Calculation results are documented in the form of numerical summaries and graphs.
Feldspar is a basic requirement for glass, ceramics, and other industries. The presence of iron in feldspar is one of the challenging aspects of feldspar processing. To improve the quality of feldspar for use in various industries, dry magnetic separation is one of the best techniques for reducing iron in feldspar, especially in arid regions to overcome the common problem of lack of water resources as well as to reduce the operational cost of the enrichment process. Therefore, dry magnetic separation experiments were carried out to remove the iron content from feldspar ore in the Wadi Umm Harjal area in Egypt to meet the specifications required for different industries. The sample was analysed using XRD, XRF, and optical microscopy, which revealed that it is a mixture of potassium feldspar (microcline/orthoclase), albite, and quartz in the presence of hematite mineral serving as the main iron impurities in addition to the free silica content. The effect of parameters on the activity of the dry high magnetic separators was investigated in addition to cleaning the products. The iron oxide reduced from 0.69% in the head sample to 0.08% after dry high-intensity magnetic separation, and the whiteness increased from 82.01% in the head sample to 95.97% in the separated concentrate. The experimental results showed that there is a possibility to obtain feldspar concentrates with low content of Fe2O3 from the area where according to the results, approximately 88.4% of iron was removed from the head sample.
Successful mine planning is necessary for the sustainability of mining activities. Since this process depends on many criteria, it can be considered a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problem. In this study, an integrated MCDM method based on the combination of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the technique for order of preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) is proposed to select the optimum mine planning in open-pit mines. To prove the applicability of the proposed method, a case study was carried out. Firstly, a decision-making group was created, which consists of mining, geology, planning engineers, investors, and operators. As a result of studies performed by this group, four main criteria, thirteen sub-criteria, and nine mine planning alternatives were determined. Then, AHP was applied to determine the relative weights of evaluation criteria, and TOPSIS was performed to rank the mine planning alternatives. Among the alternatives evaluated, the alternative with the highest net present value was selected as the optimum mine planning alternative. It has been determined that the proposed integrated AHP-TOPSIS method can significantly assist decision-makers in the process of deciding which of the few mine planning alternatives should be implemented in open-pit mines.
Nowadays, geotechnical specialists are focused on reinforcing soil engineering parameters using innovative and environmentally friendly methods. Microbial-Induced Calcite Precipitation is a ground improvement method for modifying soil strength, permeability, and stiffness; therefore, it can be vital to study the effective factors on the technique’s efficiency and cost reduction. This study examined how biologically treated sands subjected to undrained triaxial loading responded to simultaneous changes in cementation solution molarity, optical density (OD600), and curing time. The triaxial experiments showed that the strength increased with the rise in the mentioned parameters. While the solution molarity and optical density had the highest and lowest effect on the soil improvement process, respectively, the optical density role was considerably low when the molarity was high. Increasing the molarity of the cementation solution resulted in a 45% increase in the peak stress ratio, while the optical density and curing time were constant. On the other hand, similar behaviour of dense sand and change in the response of cemented soil from strain-hardening to strain-softening were other notable observations of this study. In addition, the peak stress ratio at low strains increased with increasing the cementation level and then decreased to close to the amount of untreated sand with increasing strain.
In this research, graphene oxide was introduced as an efficient flotation reagent for the selective separation of molybdenite from chalcopyrite. The performance of graphene oxide and its adsorption mechanism on chalcopyrite were investigated by flotation tests, FTIR spectra, and XPS measurements. First, graphene oxide was synthesised, and then its performance was evaluated by SEM, XRD, and EDX. Flotation tests were carried out in a hallimond flotation cell with a volume of 300 ml. Optimum flotation values were achieved at pH = 9 by adding 250 g/t of PAX (Potassium Amyl Xanthate) as a collector and 50 g/t of A65 (Poly Propylene Glycol) as a frother. The results showed high recovery, around 80% for molybdenite, while chalcopyrite was depressed in high amounts by employing 11 kg/t of graphene oxide as a depressant. Compared to common chalcopyrite depressants such as NaHS, Na2S, and C2H3NaO2S, graphene oxide had a higher potency in depressing, which can be applied as a green-depressant in the separation of molybdenite from chalcopyrite by the flotation process. Also, the validity of the depressing effect on chalcopyrite was verified by XPS and FTIR spectra.
When mining coal from the working face, the main roof withstands the overlying strata. The main roof’s first weighting and periodic weighting may cause accidents, such as crushing the working face hydraulic supports. A mechanical model of the main roof was constructed, and the contributing factors of first and periodic weights on the main roof were examined in order to prevent such accidents. The thickness of the main roof was found as the most contributory factor to the main roof’s stability. Therefore, a new directional roof crack (DRC) technique is proposed, which produces directional cracks in the main roof through directional blasting and makes part of it collapse in advance so as to reduce the thickness and relieve the first and periodic weighting. To verify the effectiveness of DRC, the mechanism of DRC was analysed. A mechanical model of the hydraulic support was constructed, and the DRC techniques were tested on-site. Field experiments with a complete set of monitoring schemes showed that, with DRC technology, the roof periodic weighting interval decreased by 35.36%, and the hydraulic support pressure decreased by 17.56%. The theoretical analysis was consistent with the measured results. Therefore, the DRC technology is feasible and effective to ensure mining safety at the working face.
The rim of a post-exploitation basin is a particularly dangerous zone for buildings. This is due to the impact of mining on the nearby buildings, which persists even after exploitation activities are finished. The rim of the basin remains constantly deformed. This paper presents numerical analyses of buildings located in Marklowice (Silesian Voivodeship, Poland). They are located in an area that was exploited for mining, above the initial exploitation edge on the rim of the basin. The area of the analysed buildings was geodetically monitored during mining works. The results of the measurements allowed the observation of changes in terrain deformation indicators, together with the determination of the settlement’s final values after the operation was completed. Knowledge of the results enabled the preparation of numerical analyses of buildings with the use of the finite element method (FEM), the purpose of which was to determine the residual stresses in the structures after the end of the exploitation. The results are presented in the form of stress maps, which show changes in the internal forces in buildings left by mining operations. Specific examples are used. Two residential two-storey buildings were analysed; they were built using traditional brick methods, with a single-storey outbuilding. All of the analysed buildings are located in the mining commencement zone, in which the deformation of the surface has not faded away.
Silesian University of Technology, Department of Structural Engineering, Akademicka 5,44-100, Gliwice, Poland
Kielce University of Technology, Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Geomatics and Renewable Energy, 7 Tysiąclecia Państwa Polskiego Av., 25-314 Kielce, Poland
For the prevention and control of rockburst in underground coal mines, a detailed assessment of a rockburst hazard area is crucial. In this study, the dependence between stress and elastic wave velocity of axially-loaded coal and rock samples was tested in a laboratory. The results show that P-wave velocity in coal and rock is positively related to axial stress and can be expressed by a power function. The relationship showed that high stress and a potential rockburst area in coal mines can be determined by the elastic wave velocity anomaly assessment with passive seismic velocity tomography. The principle and implementation procedure of passive seismic velocity tomography for elastic wave velocity were introduced, and the assessment model of rockburst hazard using elastic wave velocity anomaly was built. A case study of a deep longwall panel affected by rockbursts was introduced to demonstrate the effectiveness of tomography. The rockburst prediction results by passive velocity tomography closely match the dynamic phenomenon in the field, which indicates the feasibility of elastic wave velocity anomaly for rockburst hazard prediction in coal mines.
Many open-pit mines are gradually converted to underground mining, the problem of roadway surrounding rock damage caused by expansive soft rock is becoming increasingly problematic. To study the seasonal evolution of expansive rock mass containing clay minerals, an underground mine transferred from an open-pit was selected as the experimental mine. The experimental results of SEM electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction confirmed that the surrounding rock of the main haulage roadway contains a large number of expansive clay minerals. The expansive grade of the main transport roadway’s surrounding rock could then be identified as the medium expansive rock mass, which has a large amount of exchangeable cation and strong water absorption capacity, based on the combined test results of dry saturated water absorption and free expansion deformation. The water swelling can cause the roadway to considerably deform, and then the surrounding rock will have strong rheological characteristics. From the research results in the text, the seasonal evolution law of the main haulage roadway in the experimental mine was obtained, and the deformation law of the expansive rock mass under different dry and wet conditions was revealed. The research results provide a reference for studying the stability evolution law of expansive soft rocks in underground mines.
This study aims at developing a machine learning based classification and regression-based models for slope stability analysis. 1140 different cases have been analysed using the Morgenstern price method in GeoSlope for non-homogeneous cohesive slopes as input for classification and regression-based models. Slope failures presents a serious challenge across many countries of the world. Understanding the various factors responsible for slope failure is very crucial in mitigating this problem. Therefore, different parameters which may be responsible for failure of slope are considered in this study. 9 different parameters (cohesion, specific gravity, slope angle, thickness of layers, internal angle of friction, saturation condition, wind and rain, blasting conditions and cloud burst conditions) have been identified for the purpose of this study including internal, external and factors representing the geometry of the slope has been included. Four different classification algorithms namely Random Forest, logistic regression, Support Vector Machine (SVM), and K Nearest Neighbor (KNN) has been modelled and their performances have been evaluated on several performance metrics. A similar comparison based on performance indices has been made among three different regression models Decision tree, random forest, and XGBoost regression.
Complex construction projects require appropriate planning that allows for time and cost optimization, maximization of the use of available resources and appropriate investment control. Scheduling is a complicated process, due to the uncertainties and risks associated with construction works, the paper describes the development of the scheduling method traditionally used in Poland, based on data from KNR catalogs, by using the RiskyProject Professional program. In the RiskyProject Professional program, the risk and uncertainty with reference to a specific construction project were modeled, and the calculation results were compared with the real time of the project implementation. The conclusions from the work carried out confirm that the SRA (Schedule Risk Analysis) analysis of the base schedule allows for a more faithful representation of the actual conditions of a construction project. The probability of investment realization generated on the basis of the SRA analysis may be assumed at the level of 75÷90%.
The effects of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) on the rheology and viscoelasticity of cement-limestone paste were evaluated, as was the mechanism of HPMC from the viewpoint of zeta potential and adsorption amount. The results revealed that the greater the content of HPMC or the viscosity of its aqueous solution, the lower the fluidity of the composite paste and therefore the higher the rheological parameters. The relation between torque and rotational velocity of cement-limestone paste is linear; nevertheless, the shear thickening degree of paste increased following the addition of HPMC, demonstrating typical viscoelastic properties. The addition of HPMC prolonged the induction duration and delayed the emergence of the exothermic peak of hydration, decreased zeta potential and conductivity, and increased the propensity of suspension particles to agglomerate. The adsorption amount of polycarboxylate superplasticizer (PCE) decreased with increasing aqueous solution viscosity and HPMC concentration due to the winding effect of HPMC’s high molecular chain structure and the competing adsorption of HPMC and PCE.
In June 2021, a tornado struck a large area in southern Moravia, causing extensive damage to property owned by individuals and legal entities. A need thus arose to speed up the process of estimating the amount of insurance indemnity. This process involved local inspections and subsequent assessment of quotations from construction companies for repairs, as the adjusters did not have the time and resources to estimate the amount of damage using the usual method, i.e. an itemised budget containing a list of works, supplies and services necessary to restore a structure to its original condition based on an on-site inspection. This article contains a retrospective analysis of the accepted quotations and evaluates differences in terms of scope and price compared to the standard procedure. Four apartment buildings were selected for assessment of the insulation and roof repairs. The results show that there are clear discrepancies between the price as determined by the itemised budget using the usual prices and the construction companies’ quotations. The analysis of the selected buildings has indicated that the quotations can by no means be accepted without first establishing the total damage and its actual scope. Major damage caused by a natural disaster will still have to be estimated on the basis of a personal inspection of the damaged property and preparation of an itemised budget created in line with the applicable pricing system.
The non-uniformity of temperature field distribution of long-span steel structure is proportional to the intensity of solar radiation. Based on the background of Guangzhou Baiyun Station large-span complex steel roof structure, this paper studies the non-uniformtemperature field distribution of large-span steel structure under the Summer Solstice daily radiation-thermal-fluid coupling action based on Star-ccm¸ finite element software, and uses Spa2000 software to analyze the stress and deformation of steel roof under temperature action. Combined with the on-site temperature monitoring, the maximum difference with the measured value is 2.5˚C compared with the numerical simulation results, which verifies the validity of the finite element simulation. The results show that: from 8:00, with the increase of solar altitude angle, the intensity of solar radiation increases, the temperature rises, and the temperature distribution of large-span steel structure becomes more and more non-uniform. From14:00 to18:00, the solar radiation weakens, and the temperature distribution tends to be uniform. Finally, reasonable construction suggestions and measures are proposed to reduce the adverse effects of temperature effects, which can provide theoretical references for the safe construction and normal operation of large-span steel structures located in the subtropics.
Labor productivity in building construction has long been a focused research topic due to the high contribution of labor cost in the building total costs. This study, among a few studies that used scaled data that were collected directly from measuring equipment and onsite activities, utilized neural networks to model the productivity of two main construction tasks and influencing factors. The neural networks show their ability to predict the behaviors of labor productivity of the formwork and rebar tasks in a test case of a high-rise building. A multilayer perceptron that had two layers and used sigmoid as its activation function provided the best effectiveness in predicting the relations among data. Among eleven independent factors, weather (e.g., temperature, precipitation, sun) generally played the most important role while crew factors were distributed in the mid of the ranking and the site factor (working floor height) played a mild role. This study confirms the robustness of neural networks in productivity research problems and the importance of working environments to labor productivity in building construction. Managerial implications, including careful environmental factors and crew structure deliberation, evolved from the study when labor productivity improvement is considered.
While constructing and documenting civil structures, large machines, and industrial facilities, one can encounter a situation where relevant control points are hardly accessible. The instruments with appropriate surveying equipment available on the market provide relatively standard measurements. The limitations mentioned above may transfer into an increased working time (or financial effort) that must be considered while performing the prescribed measuring works. One of the possible solutions (assuming financial capabilities) is utilizing a video-total station (a scan station) with additional supporting equipment. Another possibility would be employing a terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) or close-range photogrammetry. However, such technologies demonstrate significant limitations, especially in the industrial environment. Regarding that, the authors propose an original measuring set collaborating with a free electronic total station. The main working principle is a known surveying 3D-polar method that can determine XYZ coordinates. The solution presented in the paper facilitates the performance of inventory works, consisting of dimensioning civil structures and rooms with difficult access. Such situations can often be encountered in industrial plants or while documenting architectural or other engineering structures. The device can also be used for dimensioning ventilation ducts, elevator shafts, and other similar facilities. Depending on the configuration of the measuring equipment and the target shapes, the final accuracy may reach a sub-millimeter or millimeter level. Hence, the solution can successfully be applied in civil engineering, industrial surveying, and industrial metrology.
The subject of this article is the analysis of the relationship between G0/ MDMT and KD, where G0 is the small strain shear modulus, while MDMT and KD are respectively the constrained modulus and the horizontal stress index determined from DMT tests. This relationship allows to determine a profile with depth of G0 from standard DMT test results, useful when data from nonseismic DMT investigations are available. The analysis was based on a large amount of data for a wide range of soils of different origins in Poland. The dataset included OC and NC loams, silts, medium sands, silty sands and fine sands. The overconsolidation ratio (OCR) was estimated using data from CPTU and DMT tests. The obtained empirical G0/ MDMT vs. KD relationships were compared with the correlations established by Marchetti et al. [1] for different soil types. To account for the significant influence of overconsolidation, an original empirical relationship between G0/�� pand KD, where �� p is the preconsolidation stress, was defined based on data from all investigated fine-grained soils.
Closed form solutions for the flexural-torsional buckling of elastic beam-columns may only be obtained for simple end boundary conditions, and the case of uniform bending and compression. Moment gradient cases need approximate analytical or numerical methods to be used. Investigations presented in this paper deal with the analytical energy method applied for any asymmetric transverse loading case that produces a moment gradient. Part I of this paper is devoted entirely to the theoretical investigations into the energy based out-of-plane stability formulation and its general solution. For the convenience of calculations, the load and the resulting moment diagram are presented as a superposition of two components, namely the symmetric and antisymmetric ones. The basic form of a non-classical energy equation is developed. It appears to be a function dependent upon the products of the prebuckling displacements (knowfrom the prebuckling analysis) and the postbuckling deformation state components (unknowns enabling the formulation of the stability eigenproblem according to the linear buckling analysis). Firstly, the buckling state solution is sought by presenting the basic form of the non-classical energy equation in several variants being dependent upon the approximation of the major axis stress resultant M�� and the buckling minor axis stress resultant Mz. The following are considered: the classical energy equation leading to the linear eigenproblem analysis (LEA), its variant leading to the quadratic eigenproblem analysis (QEA) and the other non-classical energy equation forms leading to nonlinear eigenproblem analyses (NEA). The novel forms are those for which the stability equation becomes dependent only upon the twist rotation and its derivatives. Such a refinement is allowed for by using the second order out-of-plane bending differential equation through which the minor axis curvature shape is directly related to the twist rotation shape. Secondly, the effect of coupling of the in-plane and out-of-plane buckling forms is taken into consideration by introducing approximate second order bending relationships. The accuracy of the classical energy method of solving FTB problems is expected to be improved for both H- and I-section beam-columns. The outcomes of research presented in this part are utilized in Part II.
To explore the application of cold-formed thin-walled steel-paper straw board(CTSPSB) composite wall in practical engineering and further meet people’s living requirements, it was proposed to open holes in the composite wall to simulate the doors and windows in practical applications. Two composite wall specimens were tested to study the shear performance of the CTSPSB composite wall. Through the analysis of specimens’ damage forms and experimental data, the characteristic values of bearing capacity and lateral stiffness were obtained. And then, the model of the composite wall was built by ANSYS, and finite element analysis (FEA) results were consistent with the experimental results, which could verify the feasibility of the finite element model. Moreover, the model needed to open holes and extensive parameter analysis was carried out. The FEA results indicate the most reasonable distance between screws around the opening is 150 mm; the most suitable spacing between the small studs is 400 mm; the position of the opening has the least influence on the shear performance, and the difference between the results of the five groups of models is within 5%; while the width of the opening has the greatest impact on the shear performance. Compared with the wall without opening, the bearing capacity of the wall with an opening width of 600 mm, 1200 mm and 1800 mm decreases by 38%, 46% and 52% respectively. Besides, the calculation formula of shear capacity of CTSPSB composite wall with openings was improved, which could be used as experience for practical engineering.
Prestressed anchor cables are active reinforcement to improve slope stability. However, the anchoring is not a permanent guarantee of stability, and the slope retains a potential risk of instability. From the perspective of the internal force of anchor cables, a new early warning method for the safety of the slope is provided, and a slope analysis model is established. With the increase in the strength reduction factor, the internal force increment curves of anchor cables under different prestresses are obtained. The point corresponding to strength reduction factors λ1 and λ2 represents a warning point. Key conclusions are drawn as follows: (1) The internal force of an anchor cable can be used to judge the stability of the slope strengthened by a prestressed anchor cable. (2) A warning index based on the internal force increment ratio of anchor cables is established. (3) The internal force increment ratio of anchor cables eliminates the influence of the initial prestress and is convenient for engineering applications.
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