As ore grades decline, waste rock to ore ratios increase and mines become progressively deeper mining operations face challenges in more complex scenarios. Today´s predominant means of material transport in hard-rock surface mines are conventional mining trucks however despite rationalisation efforts material transportation cost increased significantly over the last decades and currently reach up to 60% of overall mining. Thus, considerations and efforts to reduce overall mining costs, promise highest success when focusing on the development of more economic material transport methods. Semi-mobile in-pit crusher and conveyor (SMIPCC) systems represent a viable, safer and less fossil fuel dependent alternative however its viability is still highly argued as inadequate methods for the long term projection of system capacity leads to high uncertainty and consequently higher risk. Therefore, the objective of this thesis is to develop a structured method for the determination of In-pit crusher and conveyor SMIPCC system that incorporates the random behaviour of system elements and their interaction. The method is based on a structured time usage model specific to SMIPCC system supported by a stochastic simulation. The developed method is used in a case study based on a hypothetical mine environment to analyse the system behaviour with regards to time usage model component, system capacity, and cost as a function of truck quantity and stockpile capacity. Furthermore, a comparison between a conventional truck & shovel system and SMIPCC system is provided. Results show that the capacity of a SMIPCC system reaches an optimum in terms of cost per tonne, which is 24% (22 cents per tonne) lower than a truck and shovel system. In addition, the developed method is found to be effective in providing a significantly higher level of information, which can be used in the mining industry to accurately project the economic viability of implementing a SMIPCC system.

O transporte pneumático de sólidos constitui uma aplicação comum em processos industriais petroquímicos, de mineração, de alimentos e agrícola. Entretanto, devido a limitações de ordem prática, a maioria das aplicações existente envolve o transporte de 1 a 400 toneladas por hora, através de distâncias de até 1000 m. Entre estas limitações, o consumo de potência provavelmente é a mais severa. Um sistema de transporte seguro e que apresente uma redução no consumo de potência pode ser implementado com técnicas não convencionais de controle. Este trabalho descreve a implementação de um controlador difuso em um circuito experimental de 45 mm de diâmetro interno utilizado para transportar sementes de Setaria Itálica ao longo de 21 metros. Informações obtidas com um estudo prévio de identificação de regimes gás - sólido através de redes neurais auto-organizáveis foram utilizadas no projeto do controlador. Os resultados mostraram uma redução significativa de 41%, em média, no consumo de potência requerida para o transporte de uma mesma carga de sólido. / The pneumatic conveying of solids in a gas stream is a recurrent process in petrochemical industries as well as in agricultural, food and mining. However, due to practical limitations the majority of existing systems have capacities ranging from 1 to 400 tones per hour over distances less than 1000 m, mainly because of a high power consumption per transported unit mass. A safe circuit with reduced power consumption can be designed using non-conventional control techniques. This work describes a fuzzy controller implementation for a 45 mm i.d. pneumatic conveying system used to transport Setaria Italica seeds over a distance of 21 m. Data obtained in a previous study about gas-solid flow regime identification through a self-organizing neural network were used in the controller design. The results show that reduction in power consumption can reach 41% when compared with classical non controller transport.

The air seeding cart is an important piece of farming equipment used in the seeding process. Three factors which are necessary to monitor during the seeding process are the seeding rate (material mass flow rate), air flow rate, and blockages. In current practice, there are systems that monitor and report air flow and blockages but not the actual seeding rate. Presently, the seeding rate is based on the metering calibration before the seeding process starts, which requires a lot of time and energy from the operator. If that goes wrong, it not only takes longer, but also costs more money and increases the already significant stress and fatigue which farmers and operators have during the seeding period. Therefore, the development of reliable, and easily calibrated, on-line sensors for flow monitoring would be beneficial. Further, such sensors would facilitate closed-loop control of the flow rate itself. In order to develop a laboratory prototype for mass flow measurement, a model for mass flow estimation was established. This was accomplished by using pressure transducers to determine the pressure drop across an elevation in the primary air cart run (between the air seeding cart and the air hoe drill). An air seeding test station was designed and developed for the study. Three different types of seeds and a granular fertilizer were chosen and tested. These tested materials were canola, wheat, chickpea and urea fertilizer (46-0-0). The general form of the model was developed using data from the canola tests. The input parameters for this mass flow estimation model were pressure drop and air flow information. The average percent error of the material mass flow rate’s full range was under 10%, except for the highest rate which tested up to 20%. Overall, more than 75% of the estimations had percent errors being less than 5%. The form of the model was also applicable to other individual tested materials with the percent error of their full ranges up to 20%. However, their average of their median error was around 5% of their full ranges. The general model was also applied to the combined data from all tested materials. The results were not as accurate as when the model was applied to the individual tested material. The median of the percent error (of material mass flow rate full range) varied from as low as 1% to as high as 30%, depending on the tested materials. Nevertheless, it demonstrated that there were consistencies between the behaviour of the four tested materials.

Thesis (MTech (Chemical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2013 / Centrifugal pumps are the most commonly used pumps in slurry transport systems. The design of pumping systems dealing with liquids more viscous than water requires a reliable method of pump performance prediction for the pump selection. For Newtonian fluids, the Hydraulic Institute method is well established, but there is no generally accepted method for non-Newtonian fluids. Many authors have fallen back on using the Hydraulic Institute method for non-Newtonian fluids. This requires a constant viscosity while non-Newtonian fluid viscosity varies with the shear rate. The question arises: What viscosity should be used in this method for non-Newtonian fluids? Two approaches have been developed: the use of a Bingham plastic viscosity made by Walker and Goulas (1984) and the use of the apparent viscosity calculated using an “equivalent hydraulic pipe” diameter, designed by Pullum et al. (2007). Previous results obtained from these two approaches are not in agreement. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore a suitable procedure to determine a representative non-Newtonian viscosity to be used in the Hydraulic Institute method to predict the pump performance. To achieve this goal, a set of data was experimentally obtained and the existing data were reused. Test work was conducted using the pump test rig in the Flow Process Research Centre at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. A Warman 4/3 pump was tested, using four concentrations of kaolin suspension and three concentrations of CMC solution. Five pump speeds were chosen to run these tests: 1200, 1400, 1600, 1800, and 2000 rpm. An additional data set obtained by testing two submersible centrifugal pumps with eight concentrations of sludge, in Stockholm, Sweden, was also analysed. These sets of data were analysed firstly according to the Walker and Goulas (1984) approach and secondly according to the Pullum et al. (2007) approach. The use of the apparent viscosity led to the better pump head prediction. The results of this prediction were close to those obtained in the Pullum et al. (2007) work, and even better in some cases. On the other hand, the use of the Bingham plastic viscosity showed better pump efficiency prediction, although the Walker and Goulas (1984) efficiency prediction range was achieved only for one pump out of five. The apparent viscosity reflected the non-Newtonian behaviour but it could not represent alone the non-Newtonian viscosity because of the poor efficiency predictions and the sensitivity of the Pullum et al. (2007) approach to a change in viscosity. From the results of this work, it is advisable that the pump performance prediction be done using both apparent and Bingham plastic viscosity, the apparent viscosity for the head prediction and the Bingham plastic viscosity for the efficiency prediction.

O transporte pneumático de sólidos constitui uma aplicação comum em processos industriais petroquímicos, de mineração, de alimentos e agrícola. Entretanto, devido a limitações de ordem prática, a maioria das aplicações existente envolve o transporte de 1 a 400 toneladas por hora, através de distâncias de até 1000 m. Entre estas limitações, o consumo de potência provavelmente é a mais severa. Um sistema de transporte seguro e que apresente uma redução no consumo de potência pode ser implementado com técnicas não convencionais de controle. Este trabalho descreve a implementação de um controlador difuso em um circuito experimental de 45 mm de diâmetro interno utilizado para transportar sementes de Setaria Itálica ao longo de 21 metros. Informações obtidas com um estudo prévio de identificação de regimes gás - sólido através de redes neurais auto-organizáveis foram utilizadas no projeto do controlador. Os resultados mostraram uma redução significativa de 41%, em média, no consumo de potência requerida para o transporte de uma mesma carga de sólido. / The pneumatic conveying of solids in a gas stream is a recurrent process in petrochemical industries as well as in agricultural, food and mining. However, due to practical limitations the majority of existing systems have capacities ranging from 1 to 400 tones per hour over distances less than 1000 m, mainly because of a high power consumption per transported unit mass. A safe circuit with reduced power consumption can be designed using non-conventional control techniques. This work describes a fuzzy controller implementation for a 45 mm i.d. pneumatic conveying system used to transport Setaria Italica seeds over a distance of 21 m. Data obtained in a previous study about gas-solid flow regime identification through a self-organizing neural network were used in the controller design. The results show that reduction in power consumption can reach 41% when compared with classical non controller transport.

This master’s thesis is dealing with the conveying machines used for transport of piece goods. The thesis is divided into theoretical and practical part. In the first part is performed overview of the most widely used conveyors. Second part of this thesis is focused on creating design of conveyor system for distribution centre with required line throughput.

Vibrationsförderer sind technische Systeme, welche auf Basis von Vibrationen einen Fördergutstrom erzeugen. Die Vibrationen führen zu einem kontinuierlichen Wechsel von Beschleunigungskräften und Reibung am Fördergut. Im Einsatz sollen durch ein zielgerichtetes Aufbringen von Antriebskräften möglichst hohe Fördergeschwindigkeiten erreicht werden. In diesem Beitrag wird ein Simulationsmodell vorgestellt, welches die grundlegenden mechanischen Zusammenhänge zur Berechnung der Fördergeschwindigkeit beinhaltet. Mit Hilfe des vorgestellten Modells können die Einflüsse der Vibrationsbewegung auf die Fördergeschwindigkeit abgebildet und theoretisch untersucht werden. / Vibration conveyors are technical systems which generate a stream of materials on basis of vibrations. The vibrations lead to continuous change between acceleration forces and friction. In the practical operation high conveying speeds shall be accomplished with a defined use of the driving force. In this article a simulation model in the software SimulationX is introduced which utilities basic mechanical correlations to calculate the conveying speed. With the help of the presented model influences of vibration movement curve on the conveying speed can be portrayed and analyzed.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:57:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Beatriz Judith Lima Scoz.pdf: 14218864 bytes, checksum: ad350fe3b21697ef1fccc5db5abed2a9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004-11-30 / This study aimed at understanding teachers construction of subjectivity and identity by drawing on the configuration of senses they convey in their learning and teaching processes within their families, neighbourhood, at school, and in formal training. Teachers perception of their own sense-conveying was also taken into account, as well as the new senses they went up building. Methodology used was the technique known as sandplay, created by jungian psychoanalyst Dora Kalff. It consists of a sandbox and miniature figures where subjects build up scenes. In this study, teachers built and described scenes of their lives and of teaching and learning situations. The use of this technique relied on the principles that ground it, on the researcher's own professional experience, and on the concepts put forth by authors like Fernando González Rey, Alicia Fernández, Sara Paín, Estelle Weinrib, and Ruth Ammann. Subjects' symbolic acts, reflexions, and emotional expressions during scene-building allowed for understanding the senses they make in their learning and teaching processes, hence their in process subjectivity and identity. Furthermore, the teachers were able to perceive themselves their situation, overcoming their fragmented understanding and redefining meanings concerning their learning and teaching processes. The use of sandplay itself has also proved educational: teachers awareness of their capacity to produce meanings, to question them, and to make new senses emerge led them to acknowledge their own thinking ability and move about through a "near-development zone", thus opening up space that favours learning. Such technique may thus be a valuable resource to overcome troubling situations in teacher training, with a view to better-quality education and teaching / Este estudo visou compreender a construção da subjetividade e identidade de professoras/es, com base na configuração de sentidos que produzem em seus processos de aprender e de ensinar em suas famílias, em suas comunidades de convivência, escolas e em seus processos formativos. Também foi considerada a percepção que os professores têm de suas próprias produções de sentidos e, com base nestas, dos novos sentidos que iam produzindo. A metodologia utilizada foi a técnica vivencial denominada Jogo de Areia (Sandplay) criada por Dora Kalff, analista junguiana. Trata-se de uma caixa com areia e miniaturas onde os sujeitos constroem cenas. Neste estudo, as professoras construíram e relataram cenas de suas trajetórias de vida e de situações de ensino e aprendizagem. A utilização desse meio de pesquisa foi alicerçada nos princípios que o norteiam, na experiência profissional da pesquisadora e nas concepções de autores como Fernando González Rey, Alicia Fernández, Sara Paín, Estelle Weinrib e Ruth Ammann. O ato simbólico, os momentos reflexivos e o aflorar das emoções presentes na construção dos cenários possibilitaram a compreensão dos sentidos que as professoras produziam em seus processos de aprender e de ensinar e, conseqüentemente, de suas subjetividades e identidades em construção. Além disso, elas mesmas percebiam a situação em que se encontravam, superavam a maneira fragmentada de compreendê-la e redefiniam novos sentidos em relação a seus processos de aprender e de ensinar. A vivência com o Jogo de Areia revelou-se também um meio educativo: a capacidade de produzir sentidos, de questioná-los e, a partir daí, fazer surgir novos sentidos, fez com que as professoras reconhecessem sua capacidade pensante e transitassem por uma "zona de desenvolvimento próximo", abrindo-se assim espaços facilitadores de aprendizagem. Tal vivência pode pois constituir valioso recurso para superar situações problemáticas relativas à formação de professores, na direção de uma melhor qualificação da educação e do ensino

This research investigates the problem of constrained sequencing of a set of jobs on a conveyor system with the objective of minimizing setup cost. A setup cost is associated with extra material, labor, or energy required due to the change of attributes in consecutive jobs at processing stations. A finite set of attributes is considered in this research. Sequencing is constrained by the availability of two elements ??orage buffers and conveyor junctions. The problem is motivated by the paint purge reduction problem at a major U.S. automotive manufacturer. First, a diverging junction with a sequence-independent setup cost and predefined attributes is modeled as an assignment problem and this model is extended by relaxing the initial assumptions in various ways. We also model the constrained sequencing problem with an off-line buffer and develop heuristics for efficiently getting a good quality solution by exploiting the special problem structure. Finally, we conduct sensitivity analysis using numerical experiments, explain the case study, and discuss the use of the simulation model as a supplementary tool for analyzing the constrained sequencing problem.

The design and operation of a high volume conveyor sortation system are important due to its high cost, large footprint and critical role in the system. In this thesis, we study the characteristics of the conveyor sortation system from performance evaluation and design perspectives employing continuous modeling approaches. We present two continuous conveyor models (Delay and Stock Model and Batch on Conveyor Model) with different representation accuracy in a unified mathematical framework. Based on the Batch on Conveyor Model, we develop a fast fluid simulation methodology. We address the feasibility of implementing fluid simulation from modeling capabilities, algorithm design and simulation performance in terms of accuracy and simulation time. From a design perspective, we focus on rates determination and accumulation design in the accumulation and merge subsystem. The optimization problem is to find a minimum cost design that satisfies some predefined performance requirements under stochastic conditions. We first transform this stochastic programming problem into a deterministic nonlinear programming problem through sample path based optimization method. A gradient based method is adopted to solve the deterministic problem. Since there is no closed form for performance metric even for a deterministic input stream, we adopt continuous modeling to develop deterministic performance evaluation models and conduct sensitivity analysis on these models. We explore the prospects of using the two continuous conveyor models we presented.