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.

Review of preventive and constructive measures for coal mine explosions:An Indian perspective

Firedamp and coal dust explosion constitute a lion’s share in mine accidents in a global mining scenario.This paper reports a list of mine explosion disasters since last two decades,a critical review of the different prevention and constructive measures,and its recent development to avoid firedamp and coal dust explosion.Preventive legislation in core coal-producing countries,viz.China,USA,Australia,South Africa,and India related to firedamp and coal dust explosion are critically analysed.Accidents occurred due to explosion after Nationalisation of Coal Mines(1973)in India are listed.Prevention and constructive measures adopted in India are critically analysed with respect to the global mining scenario.Measures like methane credit concept,classification of mines/seams with respect to explosion risk zone,deflagration index;installation of automatic fire warning devices,canopy air curtain technology,explosion-prevention measures,such as fire-retardant materials,inhibitors,extinguishing agent,dust suppressor,and active explosion barrier are discussed in detail to avoid explosion and thereby adhering to zero accident policy due to coal mine explosion.

Mechanical behaviors of deep pillar sandwiched between strong and weak layers

A variety of coal room and pillar mining methods have been efficiently practiced at depths of up to 500 m with least strata mechanics issues.However,for the first time,this method was trialled at depths of 850 e900 m in CSM mine of Czech Republic.The rhomboid-shaped coal pillars with acute corners of 70,surrounded with 5.2 m wide and 3.5e4.5 m high mine roadways,were used.Pillars were developed in a staggered manner with their size variation in the Panel II from 83 m×25 m to 24 m×20 m(corner to corner)and Panel V from 35 m×30 m to 26 m×16 m.Coal seam inclined at 12was affected by the unusual slippery slickenside roof bands and sometimes in the floor levels with high vertical stress below strong and massive sandstone roof.In order to ensure safety,pillars in both the panels were continuously monitored using various geotechnical instruments measuring the induced stresses,side spalling and roof sagging.Both panels suffered high amounts of mining induced stress and pillar failure with side-spalling up to 5 m from all sides.Heavy fracturing of coal pillar sides was controlled by fully encapsulated steel bolts.Mining induced stress kept increasing with the progress of development of pillars and galleries.Instruments installed in the pillar failed to monitor actual induced stress due to fracturing of coal mass around it which created an apprehension of pillar failure up to its core due to high vertical mining induced stress.This risk was reduced by carrying out scientific studies including the three-dimensional numerical models calibrated with data from the instrumented pillar.An attempt has been made to study the behavior of coal pillars and their yielding characteristics at deeper cover based on field and simulation results.

Field and numerical modelling on the stability of underground strata in longwall workings

The longwall method is one of the feasible and efficient underground mining methods for greater depth of workings.Recently,Singareni Collieries Company Limited(SCCL),the largest coal-producing government company in the Southern part of India,has deployed a high capacity(2×1152T capacity)power support system in its Adriyala Longwall Project(ALP)at a depth of 375 m.There was a concern about the stability of the longwall workings and the protective pillars.Thus,research work was carried out with the geotechnical instruments and numerical modelling tools to analyze the stability while retreating the longwall panels.The outcomes revealed that the convergence in the gate roads increased with the longwall face advancement and the area of exposure.The pressure of the powered support legs on the dip side was less than the rise side legs,which implies a stable roof condition over the longwall face.An abutment zone was identified ahead of the line of extraction up to 10e25 m and presumed from the Factor of Safety(FoS)criterion that within this zone,the longwall pillar possibly will be of better stability at every stage of extraction.The results obtained from this study would be helpful for the mining engineers to understand the behaviour of underground strata in longwall workings.

Co-gasification of coal and biomass an emerging clean energy technology: Status and prospects of development in Indian context

Co-gasification of coal and biomass is emerging as potential clean fuel technology to achieve high thermodynamic efficiency with relatively low CO2 emission. The coal and biomass have been exclusively gasified more than a century to obtain gas–liquid fuels and the production of chemicals. Co-gasification has higher efficiency than the solitary coal gasification because the cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin content of biomass help to ignite and enhance the rate of gasification. It is suggested that the extensive research on carbon reactivity pattern, heat release, reaction kinetics, etc. may support to reduce the uncertainties in the co-gasification performance of coal and biomass blends, particularly in India. The prospects of co-gasification technology in Indian context have been discussed considering the abundance of varieties of coal and biomass. The suitability of existing gasifier procedures and their limitations with operating parameters like temperature, residence time, density optimisation, feed rate, agglomeration intensity, the tar formation and techno-economics involved are described. Also, this paper reviews the research highlights of the history of co-gasification and the advancement in upcoming challenges like a design of gasifier, access and preparation of biomass, disposal of residue, environmental concerns and reassurance to the operators for execution of large and small-scale projects.

Rock fragmentation control in opencast blasting

The blasting operation plays a pivotal role in the overall economics of opencast mines.The blasting subsystem affects all the other associated sub-systems,i.e.loading,transport,crushing and milling operations.Fragmentation control through effective blast design and its effect on productivity are the challenging tasks for practicing blasting engineer due to inadequate knowledge of actual explosive energy released in the borehole,varying initiation practice in blast design and its effect on explosive energy release characteristic.This paper describes the result of a systematic study on the impact of blast design parameters on rock fragmentation at three mines in India.The mines use draglines and shoveledumper combination for removal of overburden.Despite its pivotal role in controlling the overall economics of a mining operation,the expected blasting performance is often judged almost exclusively on the basis of poorly defined parameters such as powder factor and is often qualitative which results in very subjective assessment of blasting performance.Such an approach is very poor substitutes for accurate assessment of explosive and blasting performance.Ninety one blasts were conducted with varying blast designs and charging patterns,and their impacts on the rock fragmentation were documented.A high-speed camera was deployed to record the detonation sequences of the blasts.The efficiency of the loading machines was also correlated with the mean fragment size obtained from the fragmentation analyses.

CFD modeling to study the effect of particle size on dispersion in 20l explosion chamber: An overview

Mine disasters occur predominantly due to methane or coal dust explosion or a combination of both.Among the top ten worst coal mine disasters in India, nine are due to coal dust explosion. The current paper describes a general overview of the parameters causing dispersion leading to coal dust explosion,and computational fluid dynamics(CFD) simulation study to observe the effects of particle size on dispersion in Indian coal mines. Turbulent kinetic energy(TKE) and velocity vector path of dust-air mixture and dust-free air were simulated to understand their effects on coal dust dispersion. The TKE contours and velocity vector paths for dust-free air were uniform and symmetrical due to resistance-free path available. The TKE contours and velocity vector paths for dust-air mixture shows the asymmetrical distribution of contours, due to entrainment of air with dust particles. Vortices were observed in velocity vector paths which gradually diminish on increment of time sequence. These vortices are dead centres where velocity and coal dust particles concentration are both zero.

Extraction of locked-up coal by strengthening of rib pillars with FRP--A comparative study through numerical modelling

In some of the coalfields in India, coal seams are only developed but no extraction of pillars is possible due to the presence of surface or sub-surface structures and also non-availability of stowing materials which leads to huge amounts of coal being locked-up underground. Spontaneous heating and fire, accumulation of poisonous gases, severe stability issues leading to unsafe workings and environmental hazards are the major problems associated with the developed coal pillars. So, there is a pressing need for a technology for the mining industry to extract the huge amount of coal locked-up under different constraints. In this study, the locked-up coal is proposed to be extracted by artificially strengthening the rib pillars. The detailed comparative study is carried out to know the increase of extraction percentage of locked-up coal by strengthening the rib pillars with FRP. Extraction methodology is designed and studied through numerical modelling for its stability analysis to evaluate its suitability of application in underground.

Prediction of coal ash fusion temperatures using computational intelligence based models

In the coal-based combustion and gasification processes, the mineral matter contained in the coal (predominantly oxides), is left as an incombustible residue, termed ash. Commonly, ash deposits are formed on the heat absorbing surfaces of the exposed equipment of the combustion/gasification processes. These deposits lead to the occurrence of slagging or fouling and. consequently, reduced process efficiency. The ash fusion temperatures (AFTs) signify the temperature range over which the ash deposits are formed on the heat absorbing surfaces of the process equipment. Thus, for designing and operating the coal-based processes, it is important to have mathematical models predicting accurately the four types of AFTs namely initial deformation temperature, softening temperature, hemispherical temperature, and flow temperature. Several linear/nonlinear models with varying prediction accuracies and complexities are available for the AFT prediction. Their principal drawback is their applicability to the coals originating from a limited number of geographical regions. Accordingly, this study presents computational intelligenee (CI) based nonlinear models to predict the four AFTs using the oxide composition of the coal ash as the model input. The CI methods used in the modeling are genetic programming (GP), artificial neural networks, and support vector regression. The no table features of this study are that the models with a better AFT prediction and generalization performanee, a wider application potential, and reduced complexity, have been developed. Among the Ci-based models, GP and MLP based models have yielded overall improved performanee in predicting all four AFTs.

Nitration of Jharia basin coals,India:a study of structural modifications by XRD and FTIR techniques

Four coal samples from Jharia basin,India are treated with nitric acid in glacial acetic acid and aqueous media to find out the chemical,petrographic and spatial structure of the organic mass by X-ray diffraction(XRD)and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy(FTIR)techniques.X-ray parameters of coal like interlayer spacing(d_(002)),crystallite size(L_(c)),aroamticity(f_(a)),average number of aromatic layers(N_(c)),and coal rank(I_(26)/I_(20))have been determined using profilefitting software.Considerable variation is observed in treated coals in comparison to the demineralized coals.The d_(002)values of treated coals have increased in both the media showing increase in disordering of organic moieties.A linear relationship has been observed between d_(002)values with the volatile matter of the coals.Similarly,the d_(002)values show linear relationship with C_(dmf) contents for demineralized as well as for the treated coals in both the media.The L_(c) and N_(c) values have decreased in treated coals corresponding to demineralized coals.The present study shows that nitration in both the media is capable of removing the aliphatic side chains from the coals and aromaticity(f_(a))increases with increase in rank and shows a linear relationship with the vitrinite reflectance.The corresponding I_(26)/I_(20)values are least for treated coals in glacial acetic acid medium followed by raw and then to treated coals in aqueous medium.FTIR studies show that coal arenes of the raw coals are converted into nitro-arenes in structurally modified coals(SMCs)in both the media,the corresponding bands at 1550-1490 and 1355-1315 cm^(-1) respectively.FTIR study confirms that nitration is the predominant phenomenon,though,oxidation and nitration phenomena takes place simultaneously during treatment with nitric acid to form SMCs.In comparison to raw coals,the SMCs show higher aromaticity and may be easily converted to coal derived products like activated carbon and specialty carbon materials.

TGA/DSC study to characterise and classify coal seams conforming to susceptibility towards spontaneous combustion

Thermogravimetric analysis/differential scanning calorimeter(TGA/DSC)technique along with basic coal characteristics study is carried out for eighty coal samples of Indian coalfields,to determine spontaneous combustion propensity behaviour of coal.TGA study of coal samples indicates that there is an increase in the mass of coal samples in the temperature range 150-350℃,which may be due to oxygen adsorption and absorption.The correlation and principal component analysis states that the component of proximate analysis(M_(ad),VM_(d),FR,and VR)have an acceptable correlation with the TGA experiments results i.e.,Tgsh and Tgign.Multiple fixed nonlinear regression analysis shows that thermogravimetry(TG)experiment results Tgign may be the best index to categorise/classify the coal as per their susceptibility towards spontaneous combustion.The authors proposed four groups of classification as per their propensity towards spontaneous combustion depending upon the moisture(M_(ad)),volatile matter(VM_(d)),and TG ignition temperature from differential thermogravimetric(DTG)curve(Tgign)using hierarchal clustering analysis.The coal samples of different seams from Indian coalfield may be classified into four different clusters,viz.very highly/extremely susceptible(Tgign<260℃),highly susceptible(260℃≤Tgign<290℃),moderately susceptible(290℃≤Tgign≤320℃),and poorly susceptible(Tgign>320℃).The field observations and TGA/DSC experiment results with the following statistical analysis substantiate a similar assessment.

Rib stability: A way forward for safe coal extraction in India

Ensuring rib stability during pillar extraction is of prime importance in bord and pillar(B&P) method of underground coal mining with caving. Rib stability has been assessed here by way of assessing factor of safety(FOS), a ratio of the strength of rib to stress on it. Earlier formulations for rib stability when applied to case studies gave very low FOS value suggesting significant ground control problems, which were contrary to the field observations. This has necessitated the need to revisit the concept of rib stability. The stress coming on the rib is estimated with the use of numerical modeling technique using the FLAC^(3D) software. The methodology of assessing rib-stability with the help of suggested rib-strength formulation has been validated at eight Indian coal mines. The outcome of this study finds relevance and importance in ensuring underground coal liquidation with improved safety and conservation.

Evaluation of load transfer mechanism under axial loads in a novel coupler of dual height rock bolts

The effective reinforcement of two or more overlying layers of mine openings in a single installation is usually done by coupling of two standard rock bolts mainly during the extraction of medium-thick coal seams.However,field observations show that the couplers of multiple bolts often degrade or break mostly at their connections.These types of failures can be avoided by strengthening the couplers of such multi-bolts assemblies.To achieve this,a novel threaded coupler system with an expansion shell was suggested in this paper.The newly designed coupler consists of a threaded tapered-plug-cumconnector with an expansion shell for connecting and tightening two standard rock bolts.An analytical model for evaluating the load distribution along the coupler subject to axial load was derived.Numerical analysis was performed to analyse the load transfer,deformation,and strains across the coupler including the factor of safety for the bolt-coupler-resin and bolt-coupler-expansion shell.The results validated the analytical model of the proposed coupler design,which provides better anchorage near the interface of the host rock mass.Thus,the developed coupler design would reduce the failures of the proposed coupler and stabilize laminated roof strata above the medium-thick coal seams in underground mines.

Organo-petrographic and geochemical characteristics of Gurha lignite deposits,Rajasthan,India:Insights into the palaeovegetation,palaeoenvironment and hydrocarbon source rock potential

The sedimentary sequence containing lignite deposits in Gurha quarry of the Bikaner-Nagaur Basin(Rajasthan)has been investigated.The samples from lignite and allied shale horizons were evaluated for petrographical,palynological,palynofacies and organic geochemical inferences,to depict the source flora and to reconstruct the palaeodepositional conditions prevailed during the sedimentation.An assessment for the hydrocarbon generation potential of these deposits has also been made.The results revealed the dominance of huminite macerals and phytoclasts organic matter(OM) indicating the existence of forested vegetation in the vicinity of the depositional site.A relatively high terrigenous/aquatic ratio(TAR) and the carbon preference index(CPI) are also suggesting the contribution of higher plants in the peat formation.However,the n-alkane distributions,maximizing at n-C17 and n-C29,showed inputs from the algal communities along with the higher plant derived organic matters.Recovered palynomorphs of the families Onagraceae,Meliaceae,Arecaceae,Rhizophoraceae,Rubiaceae,Ctenolophonaceae, etc.together with oleanene and ursane types of triterpenoids suggest the contribution from angiosperms source vegetation.Interestingly,the presence of Araucareaceae and Podocarpaceae pollen grains shows the existence of gymnosperms vegetation.Further,the presence of tetracyclic diterpanes;demethylated entbeyerane,sandaracopimarane,pimarane,and Kaurane type of compounds confirms the contribution of conifers.The variation in the values of the coefficient of non-equality(H:0.68%-7.56%),the standard deviation(8:0.04%-0.16%) and the coefficient of variability(V:16.10%-46.47%),also shows the heterogeneity in the source organic matter.The various petrographical indices,palynological entities,and geochemical parameters indicate that the peatforming vegetation was accumulated under a mixed environment and fluctuating hydrological settings.The interpretation of palynofacies data on APP(Amorphous organic matter-Phytoclast-Palynomorphs) diagram suggests that the accumulation of organic matter occurred in a dysoxic-suboxic condition in a proximal(to land)setting with the shift to an anoxic condition in distal setting towards the termination of sedimentation.The huminite(ulminite) reflectance(R_r) values(av.0.28%) showed a good relationship with average T_(max) value(414℃),suggesting the immaturity.The TOC content ranges of 13-59 wt.%,and HI values vary between 101 and 546 mg HC/g TOC in the studied samples.Collectively,the studied lignite and shale samples have the admixed kerogens(Type Ⅲ-Ⅱ) and exhibit the ability to generate the gaseous to oil hydrocarbons upon maturation.

Impact of geomorphometric parameters on the occurrence and distribution of landslides in Yamuna River Basin,North-Western Himalaya,India

The majority of landslides in the Indian Himalayas are triggered by rainfall and earthquake.The geology and geomorphology also play an important role and constitute the major predisposing factor controlling landslides.Additionally,active tectonics modify the landscape,impacting the occurrence and distribution of landslides.The objective of this study is to investigate the role of some of the major predisposing factors to assess landslide patterns in the Yamuna River Basin as it is prone to recurrent landslide hazards.The approach mainly deals with the application of geographical information system-based statistical analysis and quantifying frequency-area distribution of rainfalltriggered landslides for the years 2015 to 2017.The analysis shows that the frequency of landslides is highest in the slope range 40°-70°and the mean landslide size is higher in the slope range 0°-20°and 30°-40°,remaining constant on further increase in slope angle.The study shows that some critical slope range controls both the frequency and size of landslides.Landslides were mostly restricted to south facing slopes.About 91%of the landslide occur in the drainage density range of 1.2 to 2.1 km/km^(2) while landslides show very low occurrence in either lower(<1.2)or higher(>2.1)drainage density.Frequencysize distribution analysis of landslides depicts a distinct cutoff point but an indistinct rollover point.Under-sampling of small landslides can be a reasonable cause for this.Like other studies,the present data fits very well for medium and large landslides following an inverse power law with a scaling exponent of-2.16.Around 80% of landslides are smaller than the cutoff size and 20% larger than this value.The geology and tectonics of Lesser Himalayas and Sivaliks offer favorable conditions for frequent landslides.Areas such as Dehradun,Uttarkashi,Sirmaur,Shimla,and Solan are very prone to landslide activity owing to the presence of poorly consolidated sandstone,conglomerate,quartzites,phyllites,etc.Moreover,the majority of larger landslides are in the Dehradun district where precipitation,drainage density,and lithology are highly favorable to trigger large events.The present study has identified the critical range of predisposing factors responsible for landslides and presents the frequency-size distribution of landslides in the Yamuna River Basin.These are the key inputs in landslide susceptibility mapping and risk assessment.Therefore,the findings from the present analysis can be very helpful in landslide risk reduction and landslide hazard zonation and probably plan critical locations for installation of early warning signals.

Impact of geo technical factors on strata behavior in longwall panels of Godavari Valley coal field-a case study

Understanding the cantilevers formed by thick, massive beds in the near-seam overburden above longwall panels and the associated loads and strata fracturing effects developed during caving(main and periodic weightings) are key elements for the successful implementation of longwalls. Such caving mechanisms rely on the geotechnical conditions within the panel. In India, the majority of longwall downtime and/or roof failures were caused by a lack of knowledge on overburden caveability, in particular when the main and periodic weightings will impact the face and longwall support selection to effectively mitigate such weightings. Godavari Valley Coal Fields is no exception as longwall faces were adversely affected due to the presence of thick, massive beds in the near-seam overburden at both Godavarikhani(GDK) 7 and 9 Incline mines. In contrast, overburden weightings were negotiated successfully in GDK10 A and Adriyala Longwall Project(ALP) mines by detailed geotechnical studies, the use of adequate longwall support capacities, and effective operational practices. Thirteen longwall panels with varying face width, at different depths have been extracted under massive sandstone beds of 18 m to28 m thickness at GDK 10 A and ALP mines. This study elucidates that the main roof weighting interval decreases with an increase in face width and attains a constant value with further increases in face width under the same geo-mining conditions. In addition, this study also concludes that with increases in face width, the periodic roof weighting interval decreases and shield loads increase. Similarly with increasing panel width to depth ratio, the main and periodic roof weighting intervals decrease but shield loads again increase. Lastly, the strata behaviour of the longwall face retreated along up-dip direction is demonstrated. The results of this paper improves the mechanistic understanding of the impact of face width,depth and main roof thickness on periodic weighting and associated roof control problems on the longwall face.

Organo-Petrographic and Pore Facets of Permian Shale Beds of Jharia Basin with Implications to Shale Gas Reservoir

The shale deposits of Damodar Valley have received great attention since preliminary studies indicate their potential for shale gas. However, fundamental information allied to shale gas re- servoir characteristics are still rare in India, as exploration is in the primary stage. In this study, Ba- rakar shale beds of eastern part of Jharia Basin are evaluated for gas reservoir characteristics. It is evident that Barakar shales are carbonaceous, silty, contains sub-angular flecks of quartz and mica, irregular hair-line fractures and showing lithological variations along the bedding planes, signifying terrestrial-fluviatile deposits under reducing environment. The values of TOC varies from 1.21 wt.% to 17.32 wt.%, indicating good source rock potentiality. The vitrinite, liptinite, inertinite and mineral matter ranging from 0.28 vol.% to 12.98 vol.%, 0.17 vol.% to 3.23 vol.%, 0.23 vol.% to 9.05 vol.%, and 74.74 vol.% to 99.10 vol.%, respectively. The ternary facies plot of maceral composition substan- tiated that Barakar shales are vitrinite rich and placed in the thermal-dry gas prone region. The low values of the surface area determined following different methods point towards low methane storage capacity, this is because of diagenesis and alterations of potash feldspar responsible for pore blocking effect. The pore size distribution signifying the micro to mesoporous nature, while Type II sorption curve with the H2 type of hysteresis pattern, specifies the heterogeneity in pore structure mainly combined-slit and bottle neck pores.

Impact of Particle Crush-Size and Weight on Rock-Eval S2,S4,and Kinetics of Shales

The Rock-Eval technique in the last few decades has found extensive application for source rock analysis.The impact of shale particle crush-size and sample weight on key Rock-Eval measurements,viz.the S;curve(heavier hydrocarbons released during the non-isothermal pyrolysis-stage)and the S;curve(CO_(2)released from oxidation of organic matter during the oxidation-stage)are investigated in this study.For high and low total organic carbon(TOC)samples of different thermal maturity levels,it is apparent that particle crush-size has a strong influence on the results obtained from RockEval analysis,with the effect being stronger in high-TOC samples.In comparison to the coarser-splits,S;and pyrolyzable carbon(PC)were found to be higher for the finer crush sizes in all the shales studied.The S_(2)CO_(2)oxidation curve shapes of Permian shales show contrasting signatures in comparison to the Paleocene-aged lignitic shale,both from Indian basins.A reduced TOC was observed with rising sample weight for a mature Permian shale from the Jharia basin,while the other shales sampled showed no significant reduction.The results indicate that the S_(2)CO_(2)curve and the S_(2)T_(2),are strongly dependent on the type of organic-matter present and its level of thermal maturity.Sample weight and particle size both influence the S;-curve shapes at different heating rates.With increasing sample weights,an increase in S;-curve magnitude was observed for the shales of diverse maturities.These differences in the S;curve shape lead to substantially different kinetic distributions being fitted to these curves.These findings are considered to have significant implications for the accuracy of reaction kinetics obtained from pyrolysis experiments using different sample characteristics.