The overall objective of any geotechnical mine design procedure must be to maximize the extraction of the ore reserves while maintaining the integrity of the working areas. At the McLellan Mine the cut-and-fill mining method was first adopted. This decision was made for flexibility in the size and shape of the mine openings to allow for the variability in width and grade of the ore zone. As a result the geotechnical design of the cut-and-fill stopes necessitated investigations to evaluate the character of the rock mass with regard to the hydrogeology, lithology, structural geology, rock strength and rock mass ratings at the site and to assess the in-situ stress conditions. In addition, the character of the backfill material had to be estimated prior to detailed testing. Based upon these parameters two dimensional finite element analyses were completed, the sill pillar and the two stopes were designed. Finally, remedial rock reinforcement was recommended for suspected unstable spans. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Mining Engineering, Keevil Institute of / Graduate

Synthesis of materials with certain properties for targeted applications is an ongoing challenge in materials science. One of the most interesting classes of solid-state materials that have been recently introduced with the potential to address this is metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). MOFs chemistry offers a higher degree of control over materials to be synthesized utilizing various new design strategies, such as the molecular building blocks (MBBs) and the supermolecular building layers (SBLs) approaches. Depending on using predetermined building blocks, these strategies permit the synthesis of MOFs with targeted topologies and enable fine tuning of their properties. This study examines a number of aspects of the design and synthesis of MOFs while exploring their possible utilization in two diverse fields related to energy and pharmaceutical applications. Concerning MOFs design and synthesis, the work presented here explores the rational design of various MOFs with predicted topologies and tunable cavities constructed by pillaring pre-targeted 2-periodic SBLs using the ligand-to-axial and six-connected axial-to-axial pillaring strategies. The effect of expanding the confined spaces in prepared MOFs or modifying their functionalities, while preserving the underlying network topology, was investigated. Additionally, The MBBs approach was employed to discover new modular polynuclear rare earth (RE)-MBBs in the presence of different angular polytopic ligands containing carboxylate and nitrogen moieties with the aid of a modulator. The goal was to assess the diverse possible coordination modes and construct highly-connected nets for utility in the design of new MOFs and enhance the predictability of structural outcomes. The effect of adjusting ligands’ length-to-width ratio on the prepared MOFs was also evaluated. As a result, the reaction conditions amenable for reliable formation of the unprecedented octadecanuclear, octanuclear and double tetranuclear RE-MBBs were isolated, and their corresponding MOFs were successfully synthesized and characterized. Regarding the applications of MOFs, gas sorption behavior of the novel prepared MOFs was studied to establish structure-property relationships that elucidate the effect of using different metals and/or ligands on tuning various properties of the prepared compounds. Furthermore, the magnetic properties of selected MOFs were investigated. Besides, as a proof-of-concept, known neutral and anionic MOFs were considered as potential drug delivery carriers.

M.Ing. / Safety within the mining industry is a primary concern for everyone involved. More specifically, active below-ground stope support for South African Mines is becoming increasingly important due to a renewed emphasis on the safety and well-being of the people actually working underground. It is imperative that all stope support systems are rigorously tested, continuously, both under laboratory conditions and in-situ to prove their performance and manufacturing standards. The Rocprop was initially manufactured in 1995 with the first two hundred props being installed at East Driefontein Consolidated Gold Mine in the Carletonville area. In the three years since the first introduction over three hundred thousand Rocprops have been manufactured and sold to South African Mines with the number steadily increasing. The Rocprop is a tubular support consisting of two tubes — a Ø139mm 'inner' tube and a Ø152mm 'outer' tube. One end of each tube is sealed by dome ends which are welded onto the tube mouths. The two tubes, cut to identical lengths, fit inside one another and extend telescopically during installation. Once the desired height has been reached, leaving enough tube overlapping to ensure the support does not buckle, the wedge is hammered in locking the prop at that height. The water is then removed after which the prop will provide active support of the rock mass above it. One of the components responsible for the Rocprops success is a dome end. This is either a forging or a pressing welded onto each end of the support and allows continual concentric loading throughout the life of the Rocprop. At present the dome ends are pressings, manufactured into hemispheres from 10mm mild steel plate in one action. The reason for the Rocprop's success is its performance characteristics. It's all metal construction, ease of installation, reliability and predictability in both seismic and static conditions, fire resistance, blast resistant, economically viability and versatility have made the prop successful. Reasons for the research were to investigate the dome end forming process in general and to investigate current numerical analysis techniques ability to predict loads during manufacture, the final shape, spring-back and other local deformation areas. Also to investigate alternate manufacturing methods such as cold forming, which provides advantages such as better mechanical properties and higher structural capabilities. The use of alternate materials in the Rocprop manufacture has been an ongoing process for MSP, manufacturer and current licensee holder of the Rocprop. A substitute for the current dome end manufactured from mild steel was investigated. For the substitute to be viable the material should be stronger, weigh less and be cost effective. In depth knowledge about the forming of the dome end at various velocities was gathered, providing information for further optimisation of the component.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:07:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LidianeB_DISSERT.pdf: 4154722 bytes, checksum: 488f09116e9123d31a90be2e32d3f613 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-07-20 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / Structural changes in waste for zeolites synthesis are subject of many studies carried out in the synthesis of molecular sieves. These materials are named molecular sieves because they have well defined pore sizes and they have the capacity of select molecules by its size. In this work, it was studied the synthesis processes of two types of molecular sieves: pillared acid clays using as starting material one natural montmorillonite clay and the synthesis of zeolites from a silico-aluminous residue. This residue is a byproduct of the extraction of lithium -spodumene. The preparation of pillared acid clays was performed in two steps: 1? acid treatment of clay samples (time and temperature studies) and 2?pilarization of them with Al13 (Keggin ion). The temperature and acid concentration affect the removal of cations in the structure and porosity of the material obtained. The analysis of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared spectroscopy (IR), showed that increasing the severity of the acid treatment compromises the structural material. Also the pore size distribution is approximately uniform. Despite presenting a structural disorganization, the samples were pillared. As evidenced by XRD increasing the basal spacing, specific area and uniform porosity by adsorption of N2. Regarding the microporous molecular sieves were synthesized zeolites A and NaP1 from a silico-aluminous residue, a byproduct of extracting lithium. The temperature and time of agitation during the synthesis were the most important factors for obtaining zeolite A. The aging of the gel and the highest crystallization time promoted the formation of zeolite NaP1 using a Si / Al ratio = 3.2 / Modifica??es estruturais de res?duos para s?ntese de ze?litas ? tema de muitos estudos desenvolvidos na ?rea de s?ntese de peneiras moleculares. Estes materiais s?o chamados de peneiras moleculares por possu?rem tamanho de poros bem definido e por terem a capacidade de selecionar as mol?culas pelo tamanho. Neste trabalho foram estudados os processos de s?ntese de dois tipos de peneiras moleculares: argilas ?cidas pilarizadas, utilizando como mat?ria prima natural uma argila montmorilonita, e tamb?m a s?ntese de ze?litas a partir de um res?duo s?lico-aluminoso subproduto da extra??o de L?tio do -espodum?nio. A prepara??o de argilas ?cidas pilarizadas foi realizada em duas etapas: 1? tratamento ?cido das amostras de argila (estudos de tempo e temperatura) e 2? pilariza??o das mesmas com Al13 (?on de keggin). As vari?veis temperatura e concentra??o do ?cido influenciaram na retirada de c?tions estruturais e na porosidade do material obtido. A partir das an?lises de difra??o de raios-X (DRX) e espectroscopia de infravermelho (IV), observou-se que o aumento da severidade do tratamento ?cido compromete a organiza??o estrutural do material. Tamb?m a distribui??o no tamanho de poros fica menos uniforme. Mesmo apresentando menor organiza??o estrutural, as amostras foram pilarizadas. Foi comprovado por DRX o aumento do espa?amento basal e por adsor??o de N2 o aumento da ?rea espec?fica e uniformiza??o dos poros. Com rela??o ?s peneiras moleculares microporosas, foram sintetizadas ze?litas A e NaP1 a partir de um res?duo s?lico-aluminoso, subproduto da extra??o de L?tio. A temperatura e o tempo de agita??o durante o processo de s?ntese s?o par?metros importantes para a obten??o da ze?lita A. O envelhecimento do gel e o maior tempo de cristaliza??o promoveram a forma??o da ze?lita NaP1, utilizando uma rela??o Si/Al = 3,2

Ce travail est consacré à l'élaboration par voie humide (pontage, solvothermale et colloïdale) de photocatalyseur TiO2 supporté sur trois types de minéraux argileux d'origine marocaine: la stévensite, la beidellite et la palygorskite, à leurs caractérisations et finalement à l'évaluation de leurs activités photocatalytiques vis-à-vis de l'élimination en milieu aqueux du colorant anionique l'Orange G (OG) très utilisé en industrie textile. La stévensite et la beidellite sont toutes les deux des smectites de types magnésien trioctaédrique et aluminifère dioctaédrique respectivement. En revanche, la palygorskite est un minéral fibreux riche en Al doté d'un caractère dioctaédrique très marqué. Les matériaux photocatalyseurs supportés développés par le pontage de la stévensite ou de la beidellite ne révèlent pas de formation de piliers interlamellaires de TiO2, mais plutôt l'obtention dans les deux cas de matrice de TiO2 amorphe dans laquelle sont éparpillées quelques rares particules indemnes de phyllosilicates. De même, ceux à base de stévensite élaborés par la méthode solvothermale révèlent des particules du phyllosilicate désintégrées au sein d'une matrice de TiO2 toutefois cristallisée sous forme d'anatase. Néanmoins, la fonctionnalisation selon la voie colloïdale a permis d'immobiliser avec succès des nanoparticules d'anatase (10 nm) sur aussi bien des feuillets plus ou moins exfoliés de stévensite ou de beidellite que sur des fibres de palygorskite. L'anatase attachée aux particules de ces minéraux argileux demeure extraordinairement stable jusqu'à 900 °C alors que celle formée en absence de ces phyllosilicates se convertit complètement en rutile vers 650 °C. Cette stabilité remarquable de l'anatase supportée est due à l'empêchement de la croissance, par coalescence à haute température, de la taille de ses particules au-delà de la taille critique (30 nm) requise pour sa conversion en rutile relativement moins photoactive. Les essais de photocatalyse révèlent que l'activité catalytique des différents matériaux élaborés croit selon la méthode de fonctionnalisation: pontage - méthode solvothermale - voie colloïdale et aussi selon la nature du minéral argileux : stévensite - beidellite - palygorskite. En outre, les matériaux photocatalyseurs supportés, à base de beidellite ou de palygorskite, développés par la voie colloïdale, manifestent une activité deux fois supérieure à celle de la poudre commerciale TiO2 Degussa P25. Leurs particules floculent aisément, ce qui facilite leur élimination du milieu aqueux sans recourir à la microfilitration requise dans le cas de la Degussa P25. / This work was devoted to the elaboration by wet route (pillaring, solvothermal and colloidal) of TiO2 supported photocatalysts on three kinds of clay minerals (stevensite, beidellite and palygorskite) from Morocco, to their characterizations and finally to the evaluation of their photocatalytic activities towards the removal from aqueous media of anionic Orange G dye, widely used in textile industry. Stevensite and beidellite were magnesian trioctahedral and aluminiferous dioctahedral smectites respectively. Nevertheless, palygorskite was a fibrous Al-rich clay mineral with a predominant dioctahedral character. The photocatalyst materials elaborated by the pillaring of stevensite or beidellite did not reveal the formation of TiO2 interlayer pillars, but the observation of an amorphous matrix of Ti-rich phase within which were distributed some rare unaltered particles of phyllosilicates. Those based on stevensite elaborated according to solvothermal method also showed dissolved phyllosilicates particles, but within crystalline TiO2 anatase matrix. Nevertheless, the functionalized materials developed according to colloidal route exhibited successful immobilization of anatase nanoparticles (10 nm) onto as well as more or less exfoliated layers of stevensite or beidellite than on palygorskite fibers. Anatase remained remarkably stable up to 900 °C when attached to particles of clay minerals in comparison with that developed in their absence which underwent a complete transformation into rutile at around 650°C. This remarkable stability at high temperature of anatase supported on clay minerals particles was due to the hindrance of particles growth by sintering whose the sizes remained below the nucleus critical sizes (30 nm) required for its transition into less photoactive rutile. The photocatalysis tests revealed that the catalytic activity of different elaborated materials increased according to the synthesis route: pillaring process - solvothermal method - colloidal route and according to the nature of clay mineral: stevensite - beidellite - palygorskite. In addition, the supported photocatalysts based on beidellite or palygorskite prepared by colloidal route were found to be twice more active than the commercial TiO2 powder Degussa P25. Furthermore, their particles easily floculated so that they are readily removable from treated solutions without resorting to expensive microfiltration required upon the use of Degussa P25.