Includes bibliographical references (p. 239-255).

M.Ing. (Engineering Management) / In a tender bid to energy and chemical company Sasol, a request to offer a technical solution for a two-flight overland conveyor system whose function is to transport coal from a 15 000 tonne bunker into an external stockpile storage facility in the plant was made. This conveyor consisted of two conveyor flight sections of lengths 18 423m and 8 537m each. The prospect of combining the two flights of conveyors to form one, super-efficient conveyor structure with additional cost saving benefits was identified. It was found that this occurrence was not unique to the individual project as other researching engineers have been faced with similar problems before [18]. This then lead the researcher into believing that there could be some advantage in investigating the possible benefits to the overall cost, maintainability and scheduling of the fabrication and erection activities for the entire project of combining the multiple flight conveyors into a single-flight conveyor. It is also the conviction of the researcher that the achieved outcomes will prove beneficial to the bulk materials handling industry as a whole. The problem is traditionally short, multiple flight conveyors have always been used for performing the function of transporting bulk material from one location in a mining plant to another hence; long, single-flight overland conveyors of lengths exceeding 26 km have not been commonly installed. In this dissertation the possibility of employing a single-flight overland as opposed to a two-flight conveyor in the Sasol Impumelelo coal plant is investigated. This is done against the work of other researchers who have conducted similar studies in the field as well as by utilizing project-specific data using applicable industry standards as well as Engineering Management course theory. By employing actual project procurement and engineering design data; the investigation is done by calculating and comparing the individual capital and operational costs that encompass the total cost of ownership (TCO) for both conveyor systems as well as the two systems’ reliability, availability and maintainability to establish each system’s complete life cycle costs. It is the opinion of the researcher that the investigation method is valid as it is in line with the guidelines given by The Miami University of Ohio [24] as well as J Hanek [25] and thus provides the researcher with a plausible technique for establishing which between the single-flight overland conveyor and two-flight overland conveyor configurations is overall the more superior system to install. It was found that even though its initial capital and operational costs are higher; the single-flight conveyor system is more reliable, readily available and cheaper to run and sustain over the 30 year expected life-span of the plant. It also is less labour intensive to perform maintenance on, yields less material degradation and results in less material spillage because of the elimination of additional transfer points and transfer towers. These results can be taken as valid on a global scale, for any mining plant, not restricted to any specific material as they are not subject to South African temperature, altitude or seismic conditions nor are they constrained to the type of bulk material being mined.

Room temperature elastic properties of thin supported TiC films, deposited on silicon and silicon carbide substrates and of single Rh-based alloy crystals, Rh3Nb and Rh3Zr, are investigated by the Surface Brillouin Scattering (SBS) technique. Velocity dispersion curves of surface acoustic waves in TiC films of various thicknesses, deposited on each substrate (Si and SiC) were obtained from SBS spectra. Simulations of SBS spectra of TiC thin hard films on germanium, silicon, diamond and silicon substrates have been carried out over a range of film thickness from 5 nm to 700 nm. The simulations are based on the elastodynamic Green's functions method that predicts the surface displacement amplitudes of acoustic phonons. These simulations provide information essential for analysis of experimental data emerging from SBS experiments. There are striking differences in both the simulated and experimental SBS spectra depending on the respective elastic properties of the film and the substrate. In fast on slow systems (e.g. TiC on silicon), the Rayleigh mode is accompanied by both broad and sharp resonances; in slow on fast systems (e.g TiC on SiC), several orders of Sezawa modes are observed together with the Rayleigh mode. The velocity dispersion of the modes has been obtained experimentally for both situations, allowing the elastic constants of the films to be determined. Effects of two deposition conditions, RF power and substrate bias, on the properties of the films are also considered. Platinum metal group alloys are promising candidates for future ultra high temperatures gas turbines materials due to their excellent high-temperature properties. In the present work, room temperature elastic properties of single crystals of Rh3Nb and Rh3Zr are investigated. SBS spectra for a range of wave vector directions from the (001) surface have been acquired in order to determine the angular variation of the surface acoustic wave velocities and the longitudinal wave threshold within the Lamb shoulder. The elastic stiffnesses of the specimens were determined using two approaches; one approach involves a least-square fit of the experimental data to calculated results and the other is an analytical approach which involves the 2 c minimization of secular equations for the Rayleigh surface acoustic wave and the longitudinal wave threshold velocities in the [100] and [110] directions on the (001) surface of a cubic crystal. Results from the two methods were in good agreement.

A diversity of animals move on and bury within dry and wet granular media, such as dry desert sand or rainforest soils. Little is known about the biomechanics and neural control strategies used to move within these complex terrains. Burial and subsurface locomotion provides a particularly interesting behavior in which to study principles of interaction because the entire body becomes surrounded by the granular environment. In this dissertation, we used three model organisms to elucidate control principles of movement within granular substrates: the sand-specialist sandfish lizard which dives into dry sand using limb-ground interactions, and swims subsurface using body undulations; the long-slender shovel-nosed snake which undulates subsurface in dry sand with low slip; and the ocellated skink, a desert generalist which buries into both wet and dry substrates. Using muscle activation measurements we discovered that the sandfish targeted optimal kinematics which maximized forward speed and minimized the mechanical cost of transport. The simplicity of the sandfish body and kinematics coupled with a fluid-like model of the granular media revealed the fundamental mechanism responsible for neuromechanical phase lags, a general timing phenomenon between muscle activation and curvature along the body that has been observed in all undulatory animals that move in a variety of environments. Kinematic experiments revealed that the snake moved subsurface using a similar locomotion strategy as the sandfish, but its long body and low skin friction enabled higher performance (lower slip). The ocellated skink used a different locomotor pattern than observed in the sandfish and snake but that was sufficient for burial into both wet and dry media. Furthermore, the ocellated skink could only reach shallow burial depths in wet compared to dry granular media. We attribute this difference to the higher resistance forces in wet media and hypothesize that the burial efficacy is force-limited. These studies reveal basic locomotor principles of burial and subsurface movement in granular media and demonstrate the impact of environmental interaction in locomotor behavior.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wollongong, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references: leaf 308-322.

This dissertation describes the development of software specifically designed to facilitate simulation analysis of bulk material transportation systems. Use of the term simulation analysis indicates a special variation of the systems analysis process in which the model developed is a digital computer simulation model. Specifically, the software aids in model development, execution, and presentation of the simulation results. Simulation analysis is currently utilized by bulk material transport operators in a limited manner. The problem is that use of available simulation languages requires knowledge concerning language syntax and semantics. Additionally, system operators are not typically trained in how to perform an analysis of their bulk material transportation system. The common solution to these problems is to retain analytical experts who are unfamiliar with the system to be analyzed. The system operators for whom the analysis is performed, and who are responsible for implementation of analytical results, are therefore removed from the analysis process. The considerably reduces the credibility of the analysis. The simulation software described in this dissertation provides a means for a system operator, or anyone not familiar with simulation language use, to develop and execute a simulation model of their system. By increasing the operator role in the analysis process, the acceptability of the analysis is increased. The software is specifically designed for bulk material transportation systems analysis, a research area which can be greatly benefited through the use of simulation model analysis. The simulation software package embodies concepts somewhat similar to those of expert systems, a concept derived from the study of artificial intelligence. The software is "expertly" structured to represent bulk material transportation systems. It contains a knowledge base oriented toward both simulation analysis and bulk material transportation systems analysis. The computer languages C and SIMAN were used for software development. The software is structured in three parts; 1) input interface, 2) SIMAN code generator, and 3) output interface. The user interacts with the input interface, providing information as to the system to be analyzed. This information is utilized by the code generator to create executable SIMAN simulation programs. The output interface provides the simulation output in the system terminology initially selected by the user. / Ph. D.

This thesis provides a report on the numerical analysis of stress distributions within granular materials held in silos and hoppers. Stress distributions within granular materials stored in silos and hoppers have been the subject of research for over 100 years, work starting in this field in 1895 (Janssen). Knowledge of stress distributions within the granular materials contained is essential to allow structural design of the silo and hopper shell and attachments, and to allow estimation of likelihood and location of cohesive arch formation. National design codes for silos and hoppers (including BS EN 1993-4-1:2007 Eurocode 3 and DIN 1055-6:2005-03) are based on approximate techniques that assume vertical and horizontal directions of principal stresses, with constant horizontal stress across the silos. According to the knowledge of the author there are no industrial standards that allow calculation of loading on inserts within hoppers. The objective of the research project is to develop algorithms to predict stresses in hoppers and silos using principal stress arc geometry methods, and implementation of these methods in various silo and hopper configurations including those with inserts for the purposes of aiding flow. The research project algorithms are spreadsheet- and QB64 platform-based, and are able to produce stress distributions within silos and hoppers. This is achieved by extension of the principal stress arc method of analysis. The new algorithms allow prediction of common flow problems and provide new information on structural loading of silos and hoppers, including inserts used to promote flow. The research project models allow estimation of azimuthal stresses within three-dimensional case studies.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1978 T66 / Master of Science

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