M.Tech. / This dissertation details the research performed into the development of a smart material for roofbolt application in the mining industry. It describes the methodology and research done to design a smartbolt using a metastable austenitic stainless steel. A number of measuring devices were used to study the properties and structure of this smartbolt alloy. These devices include a Ferritescope and a Krautkramer USM 25 DAC ultrasonic sound velocity measuring instruments. The dissertation details the development, processing, laboratory and field testing of the smartbolt alloy. The designed alloy was found to have much stronger workhardening effect, causing it to have a relatively low ductility. Therefore, the threads on the roofbolts produced from this alloy were machined instead of thread rolled. It was also found that the incubation strain of the smartbolt alloy to be <5% and that the microstructural transformation rate is high, thus enabling effective monitoring. Magnetic and ultrasonic techniques were used to monitor the progress of the y->a' transformation in the smartbolt alloy loaded in uniaxial and biaxial tension. It was found that the von Mises effective strain criterion gives a reasonable correlation of transformation kinetics. Using the modelling method, it was found that the failure strains for the rock are not the same as those for the smartbolt alloy. All the smartbolts installed in the haulage tunnel (level 94 of mineshaft) showed a pattern of increasing longitudinal ultrasonic velocity (load) with time. This was due to the fact that mining was taking place above the area (in level 93 of the mineshaft).

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xv, 120 p. : ill. (some col.), maps. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 102-109).

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 158 p. : ill. (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 137-141).

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2000. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 131 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 62-63).

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in the partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering, January 2018 / The higher quality virgin coal resources in the Witbank Coalfield are near completion, hence new methods of mining the underground coal pillars that have been left insitu as primary support becomes attractive to mine using opencast methods. Up until 2006 more than three million pillars have been created (van der Merwe, 2006) and have been growing since. There are various challenges associated with pillar extraction via opencast mining method. These challenges relate to spontaneous combustion, underground water and the exact spatial location of underground pillars that have been mined in the early to mid-1900. The reliability of old underground mine plans pre-1960, before the Coalbrook disaster, saw underground pillars not being offset which resulted in unreliable survey plans (van der Merwe, 2006). This report focuses on possible techniques that can be used to identify underground pillars where no water and no spontaneous combustion are evident. The following two methods have been tested: Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) technique which is based on geophysics and a down the hole 3D laser method using the Cavity, Auto-scanning, Laser System (CALS Tool) which uses reflectorless principles to measure the geometries of the underground pillars. The GPR did not provide any conclusive data, whilst the CALS Tool provides detailed information of the workings. The CALS Tool is not practical to identify every single pillar in a reserve but can be used on a larger extent as a short term mine planning mechanism. The CALS Tool proved to have the ability to identify the spatial location of the underground workings as confirmed by the test done at TOC. / XL2018

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 167 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 139-143).

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xii, 84 p. : ill. (some col.). Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 83).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 187 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-187).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1990. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 235-239). Also available via the Internet

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri, School of Mines and Metallurgy, 1947. / The entire thesis text is included in file. Typescript. Title from title screen of thesis/dissertation PDF file (viewed June 29, 2010) Includes bibliographical references (p. 50-51).