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Since a few years, nanomaterials are more and more used in industrial process. In order to protect the population and the environment from the consequences of an accidental release into the atmosphere, the risk assessment allowed to identify the accidental scenario in transport, manipulation and storage of those products. The accidental leakage of the conveying pipe may lead to a massive release of nanoparticles. In order to evaluate the consequences of this type of accident, our study focuses on the prediction of particles properties dispersed into the air, for example the particle number concentration and the particle diameter distribution. The first step of the study consists in the analyse of physical phenomena related to nanoparticles in order to choose the most predominant physical phenomena to model. The relevant physical phenomena in the present configuration are the agglomerate complex shape, the drag force on agglomerates, the agglomerate breakage by gas, the agglomerate collision and the agglomeration. After that, the modelling of physical phenomena chosen is developed in CFD tool Code\_Saturne. For each physical phenomenon, a simulation test case is realized in order to verify the development in CFD tool. A good agreement between CFD tool Code\_Saturne and 0D tool from Scilab and model in the literature is obtained. Also in the present study, new model for the collision probability of agglomerates is proposed. This new model is validated with the numerical experiment. After that, the numerical tool developed is applied in a simulation of an accidental pipe leakage. The field near the leakage is simulated by Code\_Saturne. The results from Code\_Saturne is used as the input data for ADMS tool, a simulation tool for the particle dispersion in large scale. The results show that the particles are dispersed more than 1 km from the release source, which is in agreement with the distance observed. In perspective, the influences of different parameters as the wind field and the particle properties, on the agglomerate size and number distribution can be tested. An experiment of the microparticle jet is realized at INERIS in order to be able to assess the nanoparticle jet experiment in the laboratory scale.

Size reduction represents one of the most energy-intensive and costly processes in the extraction of valuable minerals and rocks. Drilling and blasting, being the first operation in the size reduction chain, may have a significant downstream effect, influencing mine economics. This thesis investigates effects of blasting on subsequent size reduction operations. A series of small scale blasts have been conducted, and the fragments have been screened, drop weight tested, crushed and their Bond Work Index and breakage parameters have been determined. The process was repeated for 3 different types of granite blocks (Stanstead, Laurentian, and Barre granite) using samples not blasted previously and samples blasted with three different powder factors (0.391, 0.782, and 1.173kg/m3). As well, four types of different charge methods with the same powder factor were used to investigate the influence of blasting energy distribution on grindability in the case of Barre granite. Subsequently, stress wave collision blasting and the effect of delay timing were tested under the same powder factor conditions. Generally, powder factor resulted in the most significant changes in the breakage parameters as well as fragmentation. The Bond Work Index showed a small decrease as a function of powder factor, which can be considered to be material dependent. There is indication that distribution of charge resulted in better grindability while fragmentation seems to be similar in both cases and better than when air decking was used. The results from Barre granite showed clearly that stemming affected fragmentation by producing finer fragments. / Thesis (Master, Mining Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2010-04-23 12:49:29.244

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Abstract In the existing JKMRC breakage testing method for AG/SAG mill modelling, ore is characterised using mainly high energy single impact tests. However, recent DEM studies have suggested that breakage in AG/SAG mills is mainly due to low energy repetitive (or multiple) collisions rather than single high energy impacts. Furthermore, several of the published AG/SAG ore hardness tests developed outside the JKMRC use laboratory tumbling mills to quantify the specific power required to grind the ore to a set product size. Comprehensive experiments were carefully designed using two mill diameters of 1.1 and 0.6 m to mimic the reported low energy repetitive impact breakage under low load conditions. The ore breakage characterisation parameters derived from high energy single impact tests were used to predict the low energy repetitive impact breakage behaviour. Significant bias has been shown to be associated with the traditional high energy single impact characterisation approach, suggesting an alternative method was required. An extensive experimental program with more than 1400 tests was conducted using a newly developed JKRBT (JKMRC Rotary Breakage Tester) device, gravity drop test and laboratory tumbling mills. Comprehensive data were collected and analysed to provide an understanding of low energy repetitive impact breakage of particles and high energy single impact breakage. Details of the experimental study and findings are presented in Chapter 5. A breakage characterisation model has been developed, which takes into account the various impact energy classes and their associated body breakage and surface breakage responses. The breakage conditions were analysed and used to derive two sets of impact breakage parameters (body breakage and surface breakage). These parameters were then combined using a procedure believed to account for the two key breakage modes in tumbling, and successfully applied to predict the breakage in the two laboratory tumbling mills. Chapter 6 presents the breakage modelling approach and results. Based on the understanding of different breakage modes, a novel particle breakage characterisation method for AG/SAG mill modelling has been proposed and validated. Different from the prior-art JKMRC approach in which the breakage tests are conducted at high energy single impact, the proposed method incorporates high energy single impact, low energy multiple impacts and a simplified tumbling test. Both breakage probability and degree of breakage are used to characterise the breakage behaviour of ores. The details of the new characterisation method can be found in Chapter 7. The studies conclude that • The JKRBT can be used to investigate rock breakage characteristics under single and repetitive impacts; • The breakage of rocks in tumbling mills (under very low load conditions) can be likened to the low energy JKRBT repetitive impact breakage. • The behaviour of particle breakage as observed in AG/SAG milling can be modelled using a combination of JKRBT and tumbling ore breakage characterization; • A methodology for ore breakage characterization for AG/SAG mill modelling has been proposed and validated using independent sets of ores samples.

The particle size distribution produced from first break roller milling of wheat determines the flows through the rest of the mill and hence the quality of the final flour, and is affected by debranning and by the operation of the roller mill. The Double Normalised Kumaraswamy Breakage function (DNKBF) gives a quantitative basis to describe breakage during first break milling of wheat and to interpret effects. Previous work developed and extended the breakage equation in order to understand and predict wheat breakage based on distributions of the grain characteristics and the operating parameters of the mill. However, broken particles vary in composition as well as size; therefore the primary objective of the current work was to extend the DNKBF during first break milling to include particle composition, using fingerprints of pericarp, aleurone, endosperm and germ. Meanwhile, debranning is a technology that has enhanced flour milling in recent years, leading to improvements in quality that are not well understood but that start with the effect on milling. A second objective of the current work was therefore to apply the DNKBF to describe and interpret the effects of debranning on wheat breakage and, in so doing, to clarify the physical significance of the DNKBF parameters. Samples of Mallacca (hard wheat) and Consort (soft wheat) were debranned for nine different times, at three roll gaps and under S-S and D-D dispositions. The DNKBF successfully described the normalised particle size distribution at different debranning times. The DNKBF describes wheat breakage in terms of Type 1 and Type 2 breakage, where Type 1 describes a relatively narrow distribution of mid-sized particles, whilst Type 2 describes a wide size range of predominantly small particles extending to very large particles. The proportion of Type 1 breakage increased at longer debranning times, while Type 2 breakage decreased, for both wheats under both dispositions. S-S milling tended to produce more Type 1 breakage than D-D. A mechanism of wheat breakage is proposed to explain the co-production of very large and small particles via Type 2 breakage, and hence the effect of debranning. The proposed mechanism is that small particles of endosperm arise from scraping of large flat particles of wheat bran under the differential action of the rolls; removal of the bran reduces the production of the large bran particles and thus reduces the opportunity for the scraping mechanism that produces the very small particles. The composition of broken particles can be characterised considering the four major wheat components, pericarp, aleurone, endosperm and germ. Kernels of Mallacca and Consort wheats were manually dissected to isolate these components. FTIR spectroscopy was able to distinguish the different components in milled fractions. However, attempts to quantify the relative contribution of each wheat component in milled fractions (by measuring specific peak heights and by Partial Least Squares, PLS) were compromised by technical limitations. An alternative approach aimed to fingerprint the components using sugar analysis by HPLC, with some success; however the technique was too complex and limited by the detection limit of HPLC, in particular for arabinose and xylose. Instead, the botanical distributions within eight milled fractions of Mallacca and Consort wheats milled under S-S and D-D dispositions were analyzed by PLS models developed by Barron (2011). The concentration functions were then found by applying the DNKBF to the particle size distributions and to the compositional distributions, the ratio of the DNKBFs giving the concentration function. The DNKBF was able to describe the data well for the four botanical components studied in both wheats: pericarp, aleurone, intermediate layer and starchy endosperm. The analysis clarified the nature of the particles produced on breakage, showing that for Mallacca wheat, the pericarp and aleurone layer compositions mostly varied with particle size in similar ways. Intermediate layer showed broadly similar results to those for pericarp and aleurone in the Mallacca wheat despite being the least accurate component predicted. However, for Consort wheat, the intermediate layer behaved differently from pericarp and aleurone, suggesting a different breakage mechanism, perhaps associated with how the wheat hardness affects breakage of the bran and the production of large flat bran particles. Creation of pericarp/intermediate layer/aleurone dust during milling was notable, in particular for Mallacca wheat. The relative uniformity of the Mallacca compositions in relation to pericarp, intermediate layer and aleurone, which varied in consistent ways with particle size, was also notable. By contrast, for Consort wheat, the relative proportions of these three components appear to vary substantially in particles of different size, pointing to very different breakage origins. It seems that in the hard wheat, the breakage patterns are dominated by the endosperm physical properties, while for the soft wheat, the behaviour of the large bran particles produced is dictated much more by the properties and structure of the bran layers than by the hardness of the endosperm. The approach presented is practical to describe, quantify and interpret the effects of breakage on component distributions, in order to understand the fate of kernel components during milling and hence the origins of flour quality.

Allozyme data and DNA strand break frequencies were compared among populations of Pleurocera canaliculatum from five sites with varying mercury contamination on the North Fork Holston River (NFHR) in southwestern Virginia, USA. Allozyme genotype frequencies for four loci were significantly different between populations from the three most highly contaminated sites and those from two lesser contaminated sites. In addition, heterozygosity at three of these loci was significantly lower in the populations from the most highly contaminated sites. The DNA strand break frequency was significantly correlated to whole-body total mercury concentration in snails from three sites. These data add to the evidence supporting the use of DNA strand breakage as an indicator of chemical contamination and the use of allozyme analysis as a marker of contamination and possible selection for pollution resistance. However, the relationship between contaminant-induced changes in the genetic variation of enzymes of central metabolism and the functionalities upon which selection for resistance may act remain unclear, and mechanisms other than selection for resistance must be considered. Use of enzymes from other biochemical pathways may be appropriate for other species or for those under other chemical pollution pressures.

This study examined Hurricane Katrina damage in southeast Mississippi to identify stand and site characteristics that may contribute to wind-related damage. Aggregated forest plot-level biometrics were coupled with storm meteorology, topographical features, and soil attributes using GIS techniques to produce damage maps for specific tree species. Regression Tree Analysis was utilized to explore the relationship between damage type and distance variables (distance to coast/storm track). Results indicated that the total damage class had the greatest relationship with distance variables; individual damage classes (shear and blowdown) displayed a better relationship with stand-level variables (Quadratic Mean Diameter, Lorey’s Mean Height, Trees Per Hectare). Logistic regressions identified a negative relationship between damage and height variation, elevation, slope, and aspect and a positive relationship with TPH. For plots/stands nearest to the coast and storm track height variation, TPH, QMD, and LMH consistently predicted damage levels for most species examined.