Prediction of rock fragmentation in a fiery seam of an open-pit coal mine in India

Spontaneous combustion of coal increases the temperature in adjoining overburden strata of coal seams and poses a challenge when loading blastholes.This condition,known as hot-hole blasting,is dangerous due to the increased possibility of premature explosions in loaded blastholes.Thus,it is crucial to load the blastholes with an appropriate amount of explosives within a short period to avoid premature detonation caused by high temperatures of blastholes.Additionally,it will help achieve the desired fragment size.This study tried to ascertain the most influencial variables of mean fragment size and their optimum values adopted for blasting in a fiery seam.Data on blast design,rock mass,and fragmentation of 100 blasts in fiery seams of a coal mine were collected and used to develop mean fragmentation prediction models using soft computational techniques.The coefficient of determination(R^(2)),root mean square error(RMSE),mean absolute error(MAE),mean square error(MSE),variance account for(VAF)and coefficient of efficiency in percentage(CE)were calculated to validate the results.It indicates that the random forest algorithm(RFA)outperforms the artificial neural network(ANN),response surface method(RSM),and decision tree(DT).The values of R^(2),RMSE,MAE,MSE,VAF,and CE for RFA are 0.94,0.034,0.027,0.001,93.58,and 93.01,respectively.Multiple parametric sensitivity analyses(MPSAs)of the input variables showed that the Schmidt hammer rebound number and spacing-to-burden ratio are the most influencial variables for the blast fragment size.The analysis was finally used to define the best blast design variables to achieve optimum fragment size from blasting.The optimum factor values for RFA of S/B,ld/B and ls/ld are 1.03,1.85 and 0.7,respectively.

Parametric analysis on buffeting performance of a long-span high-speed railway suspension bridge

The buffeting performance of kilometer-level high-speed railway suspension bridges has a great impact on the smooth operation of high-speed trains.To investigate the buffeting performance of the structure significantly different from traditional suspension bridges,the first long-span high-speed railway suspension bridge,Wufengshan Yangtze River Bridge(WYRB),is taken as a numerical example to demonstrate the effects of structural parameters and wind field parameters on the buffeting responses.Based on the design information,the spatial finite element model(FEM)of WYRB is established before testing its accuracy.The fluctuating wind fields are simulated via both classical and stochastic wave based spectral representation method(SRM).Finite element method is further taken to analyze the parametric sensitivity on wind induced buffeting responses in time domain.The results show that the vertical displacement is more sensitive to the changing dead load than the lateral and torsional ones.The larger stiffness of the main girder and the lower sag-to-span ratio are both helpful to reduce the buffeting responses.Wind spectrum and coherence function are key influencing factors to the responses so setting proper wind field parameters are essential in the wind-resistant design stage.The analytical results can provide references for wind resistance analysis and selection of structural and fluctuating wind field parameters for similar long-span high-speed railway suspension bridges.

Theoretical analysis on the deformation characteristics of coal wall in a longwall top coal caving face

Against the background of analyzing coal wall stability in 14101 fully mechanized longwall top coal caving face in Majialiang coal mine,based on the torque equilibrium of the coal wall,shield support and the roof strata,an elastic mechanics model was established to calculate the stress applied on the coal wall.The displacement method was used to obtain the stress and deformation distributions of the coal wall.This study also researched the influence of support resistance,protective pressure to the coal wall,fracture position of the main roof and mining height on the coal wall deformation.The following conclusions are drawn:(1) The shorter the distance from the longwall face,the greater the vertical compressive stress and horizontal tensile stress borne by the coal wall.The coal wall is prone to failure in the form of compressive-shear and tension;(2) With increasing support resistance,the revolution angle of the main roof decreases linearly.As the support resistance and protective force supplied by the face guard increases,the maximum deformation of the coal wall decreases linearly;(3) As the face approaches the fracture position of the main roof,coal wall horizontal deformation increases significantly,and the coal wall is prone to instability;and(4) The best mining height of 14101 longwall face is 3.0 m.

Dynamic Analysis for Structures Isolated with Dampers

In this paper, mathematical models and dynamic analyses for both SDOF and MDOF structures isolated with dampers are established and performed, and a comprehensive computation method is provided. The shock absorbing effect is illustrated through an example of a two DOF damper-isolated system excited by sinusoidal waves and actual ground acceleration input recorded in earthquakes. It is shown that most of the responses of the structure with dampers reduce greatly near the resonant zone, but acceleration is enlarged in the lower or higher frequency zone; among various parameters, the influence of frictional coefficient n is the most significant, that of damping ratio of the dampers , is the second, and that of stiffness coefficient of the dampers k, is the slightest.

Shear performance analysis of a heavy-duty universal hinged cast steel support

This paper presents the shear performance analysis of a heavy-duty universal hinged cast steel support with the largest bearing capacity. The effect of 9 parameters ( 52 specimens) ,i. e. height of the upper support,depth of the ring of the upper support,depth of the top plate of the bottom support,height of the ribs of the bottom support,depth of the ribs of the bottom support,bolt hole diameter,number of the ribs of the bowl,depth of the ribs of the bowl,and yield strength of the material,were analyzed with a 3-dimensional elastic-plastic finite element model in which the nonlinearities of geometry,material and contact were all considered. Analysis shows that height of the upper support,depth of the ring of the upper support and yield strength of the material have a great effect on the mechanical performance of the support. Height of the upper support has the largest effect on performance price ratio of the support,and the maximum effect can be up to 160% . Depth of the top plate of the bottom support,height of the ribs of the bottom support and depth of the ribs of the bottom support have a medium effect on performance price ratio of the support,and the effect is within the limit of 15% 19% .

Parametric Analysis of Tensile Properties of Bimodal Al Alloys by Finite Element Method

An axisymmetrical unit cell model was used to represent a bimodal Al alloy that was composed of both nano-grained （NG） and coarse-grained （CG） aluminum. Effects of microstructural and materials parameters on tensile properties of bimodal AI alloy were investigated by finite element method （FEM）. The parameters analyzed included aspect ratios of CG Al and the unit cell, volume fraction of CG Al （VFCG）, and yield strength and strain hardening exponent of CG Al. Aspect ratios of CG Al and the unit cell have no significant influence on tensile stress-strain response of the bimodal Al alloy. This phenomenon derives from the similarity in elastic modulus and coefficient of thermal expansion between CG AI and NG Al. Conversely, tensile properties of bimodal Al alloy are extremely sensitive to VFCG, yield strength and strain hardening exponent of CG Al. Specifically, as VFCG increases, both yield strength and ultimate tensile strength （UTS） of the bimodal Al alloy decreases, while uniform strain of bimodal AI alloy increases. In addition, an increase in yield strength of CG Al results in an increase in both yield stress and UTS of bimodal AI alloy and a decrease in uniform strain of bimodal Al alloy. The lower capability in lowering the increase of stress concentration in NG Al due to a higher yield strength of CG Al causes the lower uniform strain of the bimodal AI alloy. When strain hardening exponent of CG Al increases, 0.2% yield stress, UTS, and uniform strain of the bimodal Al alloy increases. This can be attributed to the increased work-hardening ability of CG Al with a higher strain hardening exponent.

Parametric Analysis and Experimental Study on Local Flexibility of TY-Type Tubular Joints

Loal flexibility of tubular joints has important effect on the static and dynamic behaviour of offshore platforms, therefore, the determination of it becomes an important research subject in the field of offshore engineering. In this paper, the local flexibility of TY-type tubular joints, which are widely used in offshore platforms, is calculated by using semi- analytical method. Based on the calculated results, parametric formulae for evaluating element in the local joint flexibility matrix of TY- type tubular joints are derived by regression. A test on PVC models of TY-type tubular joints to measure the local joint flexibility is also reported. A comparison of the results calculated from the parametric formulae presented in this paper with those measured from the model test shows that the parametric formulae are reliable. It is recommended that these formulae be used in the global structural analysis of offshore platforms.

Parametric analysis of wheel wear in high-speed vehicles

In order to reduce the wheel profile wear of highspeed trains and extend the service life of wheels, a dynamic model for a high-speed vehicle was set up, in which the wheelset was regarded as flexible body, and the actual measured track irregularities and line conditions were considered. The wear depth of the wheel profile was calculated by the well-known Archard wear law. Through this model, the influence of the wheel profile, primary suspension stiffness, track gage, and rail cant on the wear of wheel profile were studied through multiple iterafive calculations. Numerical simulation results show that the type XP55 wheel profile has the smallest cumulative wear depth, and the type LM wheel profile has the largest wear depth. To reduce the wear of the wheel profile, the equivalent conicity of the wheel should not be too large or too small. On the other hand, a small primary vertical stiffness, a track gage around 1,435-1,438 mm, and a rail cant around 1：35-1：40 are beneficial for dynamic performance improvement and wheel wear alleviation.

INFLUENCE OF SHOT AND STEP RESPONSE ON PARAMETRIC SENSITIVITY UNDER THE STIMULUS-RESPONSE OF ANALYSIS

Shot and step response measurements were carried out with inert bed and adsorption bed both under iso-thermal conditions.Parameter values were determined from a time domain analysis of the measured inputand response signal.Sensitivity test in the parameter values showed that shot response measurements maygive more reliable parameter values than step measurements.Since Kubin[1]and Kucera[2]proposed a parameter estimation technique based on a moment methodfor adsorption system,attention has been focused on dynamic input-output measurements with variouspacked bed systems for the parameter estimation.The object of this work is to compare shot and step re-sponse measurements and see which measurement gives more reliable parameter values.

Modelling, Transient Simulation and Economic Analysis of Solar Thermal Based Air Conditioning System in Gujarat

Commercial building sector accounts for 8% of the total electricity consumption in India. Cooling activities (HVAC) in commercial buildings consume 55% of the total energy utilized. Consequently, CO2 emissions from conventional buildings in India were estimated to be 98 metric tonnes of CO2 per million ft2 in 2014. Solar thermal air conditioning can be the solution to these demands and can contribute to about 15% to 20% of India’s total oil consumption thereby reducing the dependence on fossil fuels. Hence, the main objective of the work is to model and simulate a solar absorption cooling system for GERMI office building located in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India, using the transient simulation software ‘TRNSYS’. Cooling load estimation and comfort conditions required for the building were determined based on ASHRAE standards. Evacuated tube collectors were selected because of its market availability, ease of manufacturing and proven technology. Single effect absorption chiller was used because of its commercial availability. The effects of storage tank volume, collector area and collector slope were also investigated for parametric optimization. The results of the simulation and parametric analysis are analyzed and presented in the paper.

Theoretical Analysis of Cold Storage Devices in a CO2 Transcritical/Subcritical Supermarket Refrigeration Plant

This paper proposes a theoretical study of a cold storage system in a CO2 （carbon dioxide） MT （medium temperature） plant for supermarkets application. The aim of this plant strategy is that in the daily hours the storage can export heat form the refrigerant outcoming the gas cooler/condenser whereas during the nightly hours it can be maintained cooled by this latter before its incoming into the evaporator. Besides, the storage can be used for reducing the energy peak consumption, permitting to size the plant on a lower energy target, and it can influence the choice of the optimisation logic of the plant controller, in this work a model for a MT CO2 transcritical/subcritical cycle, able to manage the transient due to the changes of loads and external conditions, is proposed to take into account the evolution with time in a fixed time step. A parametrical analysis has been conduced for understanding the optimal design of the plant. A seasonal analysis is considered too, for understanding the cold storage benefits in different periods of year.

Plus Energy Buildings:A Numerical Case Study

The feasibility of Plus Energy Building for a sample relevant case is investigated.After a literature review aimed to identify key aspects of this type of buildings,a preliminary evaluation of the thermal performance of a building constructed using conventional material is presented together with a parametric analysis of the impact of typical influential parameters.Solar domestic hot water(SDHW)and photovoltaic systems(PV)are considered in the study.Numerical simulations indicate that for the examined sample case(Beirut in Lebanon)the total annual energy need of conventional building is 87.1 kWh/y.m^(2).About 49%of energy savings can be achieved by improving the building envelope and installing energy efficient technologies.Moreover,about 90%of energy savings in domestic hot water production can be achieved by installing a SDHW system composed of two solar collectors connected in series.Finally,the addition of a grid connected PV array system can significantly mitigate the energy needs of the building leading to an annual excess of energy.

Microwave-Assisted Transition Metal Nanostructure Synthesis: Power-Law Signature Verification

A power-law (y = cxn) signature between process energy budget (kJ) and process energy density (kJ·ml-1) of microwave-assisted synthesis of silver and gold nanostructures has been recently described [Law and Denis. AJAC, 14(4), 149-174, (2023)]. This study explores this relation further for palladium, platinum, and zinc oxide nanostructures. Parametric cluster analysis and statistical analysis is used to test the power-law signature of over four orders of magnitude as a function of six microwave applicator-types metal precursor, non-Green Chemistry synthesis and claimed Green Chemistry. It is found that for the claimed Green Chemistry, process energy budget ranges from 0.291 to 900 kJ, with a residual error ranging between −33 to +25.9 kJ·ml-1. The non-Green Chemistry synthesis has a higher process energy budget range from 3.2 kJ to 3.3 MJ, with a residual error of −33.3 to +245.3 kJ·ml-1. It is also found that the energy profile over time produced by software controlled digestion applicators is poorly reported which leads to residual error problematic outliers that produce possible phase-transition in the power-law signature. The original Au and Ag database and new Pd, Pt and ZnO database (with and without problematic outliers) yield a global microwave-assisted synthesis power-law signature constants of c = 0.7172 ± 0.3214 kJ·ml-1 at x-axes = 0.001 kJ, and the exponent, n = 0.791 ± 0.055. The information in this study is aimed to understand variations in historical microwave-assisted synthesis processes, and develop new scale-out synthesis through process intensification.

Mechanical behaviors of steel reinforced ECC / concrete composite columns under combined vertical and horizontal loading

In order to improve the load capacity, seismic performance and performance-cost ratio of the columns, the concrete at the base of reinforced concrete （RC） columns is substituted with engineered cementitious composites （ECC） to form ECC/RC composite columns. Based on the existing material properties, the mechanical behaviors of the ECC columns, ECC/RC composite columns and RC columns were numerically studied under combined vertical and horizontal loading with the software of ATENA. Then, the failure mechanism of ECC columns and ECC/RC composite columns were comprehensively studied and compared with that of the RC columns. Then, the effects of the height of the ECC, the axial compression ratio, and the transverse reinforcement ratio on the mechanical behaviors of the composite or the ECC column are studied. The calculation results show that the ultimate load capacity, ductility and crack resistance of the ECC or ECC/RC composite columns are superior to those of the RC columns. The ECC/RC composite column with a height of the ECC layer of 1.2h （ h is the height of the cross section） can achieve similar mechanical properties of a full ECC column. With high shear strength, ECC can undertake the shear force and significantly reduce the amount of stirrups, avoiding construction issues and promoting its engineering application.

Noise Reduction of an Axial Piston Pump by Valve Plate Optimization

Current researches mainly focus on the investigations of the valve plate utilizing pressure relief grooves. However,air?release and cavitation can occur near the grooves. The valve plate utilizing damping holes show excellent perfor?mance in avoiding air?release and cavitation. This study aims to reduce the noise emitted from an axial piston pump using a novel valve plate utilizing damping holes. A dynamic pump model is developed,in which the fluid properties are carefully modeled to capture the phenomena of air release and cavitation. The causes of di erent noise sources are investigated using the model. A comprehensive parametric analysis is conducted to enhance the understanding of the e ects of the valve plate parameters on the noise sources. A multi?objective genetic algorithm optimization method is proposed to optimize the parameters of valve plate. The amplitudes of the swash plate moment and flow rates in the inlet and outlet ports are defined as the objective functions. The pressure overshoot and undershoot in the piston chamber are limited by properly constraining the highest and lowest pressure values. A comparison of the various noise sources between the original and optimized designs over a wide range of pressure levels shows that the noise sources are reduced at high pressures. The results of the sound pressure level measurements show that the optimized valve plate reduces the noise level by 1.6 d B(A) at the rated working condition. The proposed method is e ective in reducing the noise of axial piston pumps and contributes to the development of quieter axial piston machines.

Dynamic characteristics of a novel damped outrigger system

This paper presents exact analytical solutions for a novel damped outrigger system, in which viscous dampers are vertically installed between perimeter columns and the core of a high-rise building. An improved analytical model is developed by modeling the effect of the damped outrigger as a general rotational spring acting on a Bernoulli-Euler beam. The equivalent rotational spring stiffness incorporating the combined effects of dampers and axial stiffness of perimeter columns is derived. The dynamic stiffness method(DSM) is applied to formulate the governing equation of the damped outrigger system. The accuracy and effi ciency are verifi ed in comparison with those obtained from compatibility equations and boundary equations. Parametric analysis of three non-dimensional factors is conducted to evaluate the infl uences of various factors, such as the stiffness ratio of the core to the beam, position of the damped outrigger, and the installed damping coeffi cient. Results show that the modal damping ratio is signifi cantly infl uenced by the stiffness ratio of the core to the column, and is more sensitive to damping than the position of the damped outrigger. The proposed analytical model in combination with DSM can be extended to the study of structures with more outriggers.

Mechanism of electro-hydraulic exciter for new tamping device

A new tamping device which is driven by an electrohydraulic exciter was proposed to overcome the limitations of mechanically driven devices.The double-rod oscillation cylinder drives the tamping arm to realize vibration.A new spin valve was designed in order to fulfill dynamic state requirements of the oscillation cylinder.Parametric analysis was carried out by establishing mathematic model.Then,the relationships among the structure of valve port and the frequency,amplitude,output shock force of the cylinder were researched.An experimental device of the electrohydraulic exciter was established to validate the theoretical results.The signals were acquired by AVANT dynamic signal analyser of vibration.The results show that new tamping device can satisfy all kinds of complex working conditions with the flexible adjustment of frequency and amplitude.

Seismic behaviors of steel reinforced ECC/RC composite columns under low-cyclic loading

To improve the seismic performance of columns, engineered cementitious composite （ECC） is introduced to partially substitute concrete at the base of the columns to form ECC,/reinforced concrete （ RC） composite columns. The mechanical behaviors of the ECC/RC composite columns are numerically studied under low-cyclic loading with the finite element analysis softwareof MSC. MARC. It is found that the ECC/RC composite columns can significantly enhance the load capacity, the ductility ad energy dissipation of columns. Then, the effects of the height of the ECC, the axial compression ratio and the longitudinal reinforcement ratio on the seismic behaviors of the composite columns are parametrically studied. The results show that the ECC/RC composite column with a height of the ECC layer of 0. Sh（h is the height to the cross-section） can achieve similar seismic performance of a full ECC column. The peak load of the composite column increases significantly while the ductility decreases with the increase of the axial compression ratio. Increasing the longitudinal reinforcement ratio within a certain range can improve the ductility and energy dissipation capacity and almost has no effect on load capacity. The aalysis results ae instructive and valuable for reference in designing ECC structures.

Stress redistribution of simply supported reinforced concrete beams under fire conditions

This study presents experimental and numerical investigations of simply supported steel reinforced concrete(RC)beams under fire.The temperature field of cross sections,the vertical deflection at mid-span,and specifically the axial expansion displacement at beam-ends were measured during the fire tests.A novel finite element(FE)model of a RC beam under fire was developed,in which the water loss in the heat transfer analysis and the concrete transient strain in the mechanical analysis were considered.Based on the validated FE model proposed in this study,parametric studies were conducted to investigate the effects of the beam type,the protective layer thickness,and the load ratio on the thermal and mechanical behavior of simply supported RC beams.It was found that greater fire resistance and fire performance of girder beams in comparison to secondary beams contributed to the non-structural reinforcements,which effectively compensated for the reduced tensile capacities of structural reinforcements because of the degradation of the material properties.In addition,the history of normal stress distributions of concrete under fire can be divided into three phases:expansion,stress redistribution and plateau phases.

Near-source topographic effect on seismic responses of a multi-span continuous railway bridge crossing a symmetrical V-shaped canyon

Past earthquakes have revealed that topographic features have significant impacts on the characteristics of ground motions,which may cause the amplification and de-amplification of input seismic waves.The topographic effect with the assumption of plane seismic waves on the seismic responses of bridges has been investigated in the existing literature;however,the influence of near-source topographic effects has not been thoroughly understood.The objective of this study is to numerically explore the near-source topographic effects on the seismic behaviors of an existing railway bridge crossing a symmetrical V-shaped canyon.The influence of the source of incident waves is estimated.Numerical results demonstrate that the topographic effects can noticeably amplify the seismic responses of the bridge.Compared to the bridge without crossing a canyon,the peak displacements of the girder,pier,and bearing in the case of the canyon crossing bridge increase by 15.2%,2.9%−14.5%,and 24.2%−229.6%,respectively.The piers at the illuminated side of the canyon experience larger seismic responses compared to the piers at the shaded side of the canyon due to the unequal motion amplitudes at each support.As the source-to-canyon distance increases,the seismic responses of the piers show an increasing trend.