M.Phil. / Pulleys are critical items in belt conveyors. Their primary role is to drive large mining conveyor systems, facilitating the transportation of ore over extensive distances, both in South Africa and abroad. The effect of the manufacturing process (with specific emphasis on the induced residual stresses) on the fatigue performance of conveyor pulleys is herein investigated and reported. A pre-selected pulley was chosen based on size, suitable for experimental work as well as practical specifications. The static and fatigue performance of the pulley were investigated both with the current design criteria as well as Finite Element Analysis, with comparisons drawn. The material data for the Finite Element Models was obtained experimentally with tensile tests of the SANS 1431 350 WA plate. The magnitude of the residual stresses were obtained experimentally by using the incremental hole-drilling technique for non-uniform residual stresses. The method was verified by comparison with the Finite Element Analysis results for the non-linear material analysis of the roll-bending of the shell. The fatigue analysis revealed that the stress ranges of interest for the pulley were below the non-propagating stress range, and hence theoretically infinite fatigue life would be possible under constant amplitude conditions. The operational fatigue life required for the pulley would be possible, when considering the latest S-N curve for "very high cycle fatigue". The stress intensity factors for the weld details were also below the threshold value and hence crack growth should not occur, upon crack initiation. A new design criteria was proposed for the fatigue analysis considering either fatigue assessment standards or fracture mechanics for the assessment of the butt-welds. This investigation showed that the manufacturing-induced residual stresses may play a significant role in the fatigue life of a pulley. The fatigue strength of a machined stressrelieved joint is higher if the stress range is partly compressive. The fatigue strength of a machined as-welded joint is higher than estimated by the fatigue classifications. This is due to residual stress relaxation that occurs at the weld toe because of yielding and hence a subsequent reduction and redistribution of the residual stresses. This reduction in the mean stress level, with a stress range that is partly compressive, would mean an increase in the fatigue strength of the joint. This would in conclusion result in similar fatigue strengths for a stress-relieved and an aswelded joint. This would additionally depend on the extent of the reduction of the residual stress in the as-welded joint. Recommendations were suggested for further experimental and numerical work for both the T-bottom and Turbine-type pulleys.

Atmospheric aerosols have been studied in great depth in regards to its metrological and chemical characterizations. Covering about 33% of the planet, the Global Dust Belt is the major source of wind-blown dust. Airborne aerosols play important roles in the Earth systems, impacting the marine and terrestrial ecosystems, human and organismal health. Aerosolized dust can carry a diverse range of microorganisms that may be transported across large distances. If surviving the transport, influence, as vectors supporting microbial populations or as pathogens to other organisms, the recipient ecosystems where they may be delivered through dry and wet depositions. Located in the middle of the global dust belt area, the Red Sea receives about 1.2 Mt of emitted dust particles per storm and a total of 6 Mt dust deposition from the annual 5-6 storm events, which may contain important loads of microorganisms. This dissertation characterizes the taxonomical compositions of airborne prokaryotes and micro-eukaryotes and their transport history in the dust-associated microbiome, and the functional profile of the airborne microorganisms. The samples required to achieve these goals were collected with a high-volume dust collector over the Red Sea from the coastal and offshore regions over two years. In addition, microbial communities sampled from the surface Red Sea water were used to establish the possible relationship, suggesting an exchange, between the airborne microbial communities and those in the Red Sea. Since relying on culture5 based analyses would take no notice of unculturable microorganism, culture-independent techniques were followed to detect the vast majority of the biological particles on the sampled air filters. However, large volumes of air should be collected due to the difficulty of acquiring enough genomic materials from the low density of airborne microorganisms for molecular assays. Sahara Deserts and deserts in the Arabian Peninsula represented the major sources of microbial inputs to the Red Sea atmosphere. Hence, a high number of allergens, plant and mammalian pathogens, human and animal parasites have been detected in airborne dust samples, which could be of concern. Functionally, dust-associated microbiome has exclusive lifestyle’s features that facilitate a resilient strategy to survive during airborne transportation, so-called “aeolian lifestyle.”

This master’s thesis deals with conveyor belt control design. Control system is created in LabVIEW environment. Application uses machine vision for monitoring objects on the conveyor belt. In the first part there is theoretical background. In the next parts there are described design, implementation and verification of created control system.

The goal of this master’s thesis is design of belt bucket elevator for wheat transportation. The first part of this thesis is focused on drive’s design with slightly marked bond to surrounding facilitie and structure. The following part is focused on design solution of the head and bottom unit of bucket elevator and other constructive details like type of bucket pouring, belt tensioning, driving shaft mounting in head unit, connection of drum with shaft, the way of attaching buckets etc.

The aim of this master´s thesis is to design rock separator. It´s the mechanism, which separates clay from pirites. Main parametre which has been used in proposal is transporting kapacity 5 t/h.

The aim of this diploma thesis is the structural design of continous mixer with output range 5-12 tons per hour. The work contains a brief description of mixing technology and basic parameters of similar machines. The work is devoted to the design of double-arm sand mixer with a belt conveyor. An important part of this diploma thesis is a 3D model of fundamental parts of sand mixer, as well as its composition. Based on the 3D model is elaborated strenght analysis of selected parts with finite element method. The work is accompanied by manufacturing drawings of selected components and assembly drawing of deposit of mixing blades to the shaft.

Multiple drive belt conveyors are being increasingly incorporated in mining plans worldwide because of their high economic performance and the ease of moving these installations around, especially in underground mines. A typical modern multi-drive conveyor system consists of one or more intermediate drive stations positioned along the upper stretch of the conveyor and a single drive station situated in the lower stretch. Despite the acknowledged cost saving potential of the multiple drive technology, no previous work was reported on the methodology to realize a cost-effective design of multi-drive belt conveyors. This study investigates a design approach for multiple drive belt conveyors with the objective to achieve the lowest life cycle cost of multi-drive belt conveyors for a specified material transport task. For this purpose, an optimization model for the cost-effective design of multi-drive conveyor systems is formulated on the basis of the recommendations of the DIN 22101 and SANS 1313 standards. For a given number of intermediate drive stations, the proposed model optimizes a set of design parameters so that the minimum equivalent annual cost of a conveyor can be attained whilst handling the transport requirements and design conditions. The conveyor parameters optimized in this study are the rated powers of motors, the rated torques of gear reducers, the diameters and wrap angles of drive pulleys, the belt width, the belt speed, the lengths of the belt sections not nestled between drive pulleys, the spacings between idler rolls and the shell diameters and shaft diameters of idler rolls. For benchmark analysis purposes, a similar optimization model is also developed for the single drive technology. Described as mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problems, the two optimization models are solved using the MIDACO solver embedded in the MATLAB environment. The results of this study show the validity and effectiveness of the design model proposed for multi-drive belt conveyors. The results also indicate that the multiple drive technology is more beneficial for the conveying over long distances. The impact of the possible instability of inflation throughout the project lifetime is also investigated through three hypothetical scenarios, which involve a fixed inflation rate, a higher fluctuating inflation rate and a lower fluctuating inflation rate, respectively. The results of this sensitivity analysis show that the most cost-effective multi-drive belt conveyors obtained under a fixed inflation rate is robust enough against limited fluctuations of this parameter. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / MEng / Unrestricted

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第19508号 / 理博第4168号 / 新制||理||1599(附属図書館) / 32544 / 京都大学大学院理学研究科地球惑星科学専攻 / (主査)教授 田口 聡, 教授 家森 俊彦, 教授 余田 成男 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

No description available.

The potentially hazardous nature of open pit mining requires the application of sound geotechnical engineering practice to mine design, for the purpose of permitting safe and economic mining of any commodity within any rock mass. The Lerala Diamond Project is situated in the south west of Botswana near the Martin’s Drift Border Post. A 2m-soil cover made surface mapping of geological features impossible, so a number of geotechnical holes were drilled to evaluate the characteristics of the kimberlite pipes and the Granite/gneiss host rock. The Lerala Diamond Project is a typical example of the geotechnical assessment of a kimberlite pipe in Greenstone belt granites. The explosive nature of the formation of these pipes was seen in the various types of joint and fracture pattern identified during this study that could have an influence on the stability of the open pit. Estimating the stability of rock slopes is required by the mining engineering industry for a wide variety of projects. Of importance in this regard is the preliminary evaluation of slope stability at the feasibility stage, excavation stage, and operating stage. The Lerala Diamond Project is currently undertaking a preliminary evaluation as part of a feasibility study. The aim of the geotechnical assessment was to divide the local rock into easily identifiable types that could be geotechnically evaluated. Two classification systems were used during the quantification of the rock mass types. These are the Rock Mass Rating (RMR) system of Bieniawski (1976) and the Mining Rock Mass Rating (MRMR) system of Laubscher (1990). Observations and recordings of the drill core were carried out and these, in conjunction with laboratory results, enabled the determining of the characteristics of the rock mass that will be exposed in the slopes. Computer modelling programmes such as ROCKPAK III were used to test the designs against potential failures. The various potential failures were identified for the different highwalls. Recommendations including the continuous logging of geotechnical features were proposed for the purpose of developing a sound geotechnical model for identifying potential unstable areas within the pit. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Mining Engineering / unrestricted