Planning, Designing and Optimising Production Using Geostatistical Simulation

Bulk density miscalculations and subsequent reporting can produce resource estimation errors and unexpected financial outcomes. Density and bulk density vary throughout a mineral deposit, especially in porous deposits and deposits containing variable amounts of high-density minerals (e.g., barite). Resource estimators must correlate bulk density with core recovery and apply quality assurance/quality control analysis to bulk density data. Core recovery is an important factor in resource estimation and reporting. Block tonnages (ore and waste) are estimated from volumes using a dry bulk density value. Ore dilution is a volumetric effect integral to ore reserve estimation that also has the potential to affect the economics of mining a deposit. Both the bulk density and dilution problems could be overcome by reporting a mineral resource estimate in grade per unit volume.

The exposure of outdoor workers to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) has been known for some time. Measurements of erythemally weighted UVR are usually related to days of exposure and to the anatomical distribution of UVR on the human body. The aim of this research is to describe the UVR exposure of workers during a strawberry production cycle in order to assess the UVR hazard and to identify the highest exposure in the anatomical distribution of UVR on the body during an entire agricultural production cycle. This research was carried out on the experimental farm (Azienda Agraria Didattico-Sperimentale) of Università Politecnica delle Marche in Agugliano, Italy. A spectrometer was used to measure UVR, and electronic dosimeters were used to record UVR exposure. The measurements were carried out on all working days of the strawberry production cycle in 2012 during daily peak UVR levels. The daily UVR exposure geometric mean and the percentage ambient UVR in the strawberry production cycle were calculated and analyzed to assess the hazard for workers during the entire production cycle. The nape of the neck was the anatomical site most exposed to UVR. The mean daily UVR exposure on the nape of the neck was higher than 1.50 SED, the minimum value required to produce perceptible erythema in unacclimatized white skin, and a maximum value of 2.29 SED was measured. Real-time exposure data suggest that it may be useful to remind workers of the risks associated with UVR exposure.

Critical points for the maintenance of genetic variability over a production cycle in the European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax

Multidetector-row CT: high performance but still many questions

This paper proposes a method for solving the path planning problem for a collaborative robot. The time-optimal, smooth, collision-free B-spline path is obtained by the application of a nature-inspired optimization algorithm. The proposed approach can be especially useful when moving items that are delicate or contain a liquid in an open container using a robotic arm. The goal of the optimization is to obtain the shortest execution time of the production cycle, taking into account the velocity, velocity and jerk limits, and the derivative continuity of the final trajectory. For this purpose, the velocity profiling algorithm for B-spline paths is proposed. The methodology has been applied to the production cycle optimization of the pick-and-place process using a collaborative robot. In comparison with point-to-point movement and the solution provided by the RRT* algorithm with the same velocity profiling to ensure the same motion limitations, the proposed path planning algorithm decreased the entire production cycle time by 11.28% and 57.5%, respectively. The obtained results have been examined in a simulation with the entire production cycle visualization. Moreover, the smoothness of the movement of the robotic arm has been validated experimentally using a robotic arm.

To determine the optimal design of the rail profile for a curved segment of a heavy haul railway, an optimization method that considers the extent of rail wear over the entire design cycle was developed. The approach is based on wheel–rail rolling contact theory, vehicle–track dynamic theory and nonlinear programming theory. The changes in the rail profile were analyzed using an updating strategy that considers random irregularities in the railway track. The minimum average metal loss from the vehicle in terms of wear and grinding for the whole design cycle was regarded as the design objective, and discrete point coordinates on the rail were regarded as the design variables. A radial basis function was used to establish an approximate model, which formed an explicit function between design variables and design objectives. The optimization model was established on this basis, and a genetic algorithm was used to solve the optimization model for the optimized profile. The maximum passing gross load for the whole design cycle reached 150.74 x106 t, an increase of 139.73% compared with the standard profile, which achieved the purpose of prolonging the service life of the rail.

The analysis of costs for use in equipment replacement decisions is not a new topic, for much has been said and written on the subject. However, one who reads this literature finds advocated a confusing diversity of formulas and methods for computing and comparing costs. The objective of this article is therefore to examine these differences and to develop an approach to the problem which will be logically sound and also workable in the solution of practical business problems. It will be limited to methods of determining and comparing costs for use in deciding whether or not to replace an existing piece or type of equipment with a new or different machine capable of performing the same function. The first step in developing a method for analysis of costs to be used in decisions as to replacement of equipment must be a clear statement of the principle underlying the comparison of alternatives in the selection of equipment. From this it is possible to determine what facts are needed and with this in mind one can proceed to collect the data. A cost comparison can then be made with assurance that the results will be reliable within the limits of the precision with which the cost figures have been measured. It will also be found that this approach can simplify a problem the solution to which has often been made complex and confusing.

Response of Layer Breeders to Dietary Acetylsalicylic Acid.: 4. Egg Residue Studies

The subject of mineral extraction involves a number of highly technical and economically sensitive issues ranging from overburden and waste removal and disposal, through blast design and methods of loading and transporting ore to selection and scheduling of equipment and environmental protection. Many of these issues are more usually associated with the engineering of surface mines for coal and metals and, as such, are the subject of detailed studies and publications (IMM 1983; Hartman 1987; Kennedy 1990; Shaw & Pavlovic 1991). In the UK, the term ‘mine’ is defined by law (Mines and Quarries Act 1954) as any mineral extraction operation that takes place underground. Surface extraction is ‘quarrying’ although metalliferous surface mines are often referred to as ‘open-pits’ and surface coal mines as ‘open-cast’. At the present time, the lower cost of surface mining dictates that almost all aggregates are produced by quarrying. The methods and equipment employed in quarrying rock or excavating sands and gravels are similar to those used in surface mining operations and, in recent times, often approach the scale, capacity and output of large metalliferous mines. This chapter identifies some of the more important aspects of mineral extraction relevant to aggregate production but is necessarily a simplified and condensed review of the methods and equipment used in the quarrying industry. The methods and equipment employed to extract aggregates depend primarily on the type of deposit or source rock being worked. The selection of particular techniques and machines requires consideration of a number of factors.

In order to determine the optimal configuration of energy equipment types and capacities in an integrated energy system, this paper proposes a method of equipment selection and capacity planning for an integrated energy system (IES) that considers the coupling of electricity, heat, and gas. Starting from the type of optional equipment and the form of input energy, the basic structure of IES is established. On this basis, for the equipment selection and capacity planning, an optimization model with the minimum annual comprehensive cost as the objective function is established, and the mixed integer linear programming algorithm is used to optimize the equipment type and capacity at the same time. Finally, taking an IES park as an example, the planning schemes in different scenarios are given, and the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified.

Estimations of mineral resources and ore reserves have been recently widely used by mining engineers and investors. The classification framework based on the prepared code by the Joint Ore Reserves Committee of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Australian Institute of Geoscientists and Minerals Council of Australia (JORC code), which is one of the international standards for mineral resource and ore reserve reporting, provides a template system that conforms to international society requirements. Recent research has shown that an existing fault risk can affect the mineral resource and ore reserve estimation. According to this research, the faulted area that is involved in the effect on the estimated region is so extensive that it is not distinguishable. In this research, a new method called FGT (F for fault, G for grade and T for thickness) is introduced and presented for the estimation of mineral resources. The proposed method can provide an error map of a particular aspect of the combination of coal accumulation (G), fault risk (F) and thickness (T), and its output would categorise the mineral resources. This method was implemented in the Parvadeh Ш coal deposit, which is located in the eastern portion of Central Iran. The deposit contains five seams named B1, B2, C1, C2 and D; of these, C1 was selected as the most important seam in the exploratory grid analysis. Thus, C1 alone can reflect the properties of the Parvadeh Ш deposit. In this study, we compared the conventional method and the FGT method. This comparison indicated that the areas that should be rejected from the region in the FGT method are less and more distinguishable than those determined with the conventional method. Therefore, the inferred resources can be completely differentiated from the indicated and measured resources with a high resolution. The conventional method cannot distinguish between these three categories at this level of resolution. Therefore, the FGT approach has high precision in classifying the coal resource compared to the conventional method.

Operators of telecommunication networks own a large amount of specialised equipment. Procurement, selection, evaluation and approval of telecommunications equipment is basically focused on conformity of functional requirements and availability requirements. Each type of requirement has his own effect on the quality of service and the cost of operation. The availability requirements are the focus of this contribution. Operating companies have to go into severe testing and approval procedures before deciding on purchasing a particular apparatus or type of equipment. This is also true for power equipment. One of the reasons behind this effort is the wish to reduce the risk that equipment failure would occur at undesired levels. This contribution shows the principles with which it is possible to minimise the effort that has to be put into evaluating availability aspects of equipment before purchase during procurement and approval. The benefit of this method is that the total cost of ownership can be estimated much more accurately during this procurement and evaluation period. Especially, the methods of handling the statistics and the use of installed base data are explained. The method described here is being used by PTT Telecom of the Netherlands especially for telecommunication power supplies and was developed by the department for operational service management in collaboration with service development and the purchasing department.

To solve the small scale livestock production with effective technologies providing problem, it is necessary modern technical and technological solutions reducing production costs and the competitive products’ production ensure developing and implementing. In this case, modular solutions are a promising direction. A research reproductive technology module and manufactured for the maintenance of two sows with suckling pigs at various stages of the production cycle has been developed. One of the tasks in this module designing was to ensure the necessary air exchange, taking into account the animal weight throughout the production cycle, as well as the period of the year changing. In the reproductive technology module, the animal weight’s minimum value will be 200 kg at one sow in the module during the idle and pregnant periods is keeping, and animal’s weight maximum value can reach 620 kg if two sows with suckling piglets at the same time at 28 days of age are kept. A mathematical model of the change in animal weight during the production cycle in the form of a natural argument’ piecewise linear function has been developed. Graphs of changes in air exchange in depending on changes at a sow with suckling pigs’ weight, taking into account the period of the year and the normative values of air exchange, are constructed. The necessary air exchange in the technological module has been determined, it varies in the range from 60 to 372,7 m3/h, in depending on the animals’ weight and the period of the year, so and recommendations for the performance of the main exhaust axial fan with 400 m3/h maximum capacity with the possibility lowering it by the speed adjust and a backup exhaust’s fan choose are given. The data obtained as a result of the study can be used in the design and development of ventilation systems at small scale pig breeding enterprises, as well as in the selection of technological equipment of the required capacity.

Installations of electrical equipment and system designs that comply with well-known consensus standards and national codes will meet or exceed minimum guidelines for safety and reliability. However, many within industry hold the belief that further attention should be paid to “safety by design” and “prevention through design” principles. In response, IEEE 1683, IEEE Guide for Motor Control Centers Rated up to and Including 600 V AC or 1000 V DC with Recommendations Intended to Help Reduce Electrical Hazards [1], has been written to address electrical safety for low voltage motor control centers and similar standards are in development for other types of equipment. IEEE 1683 is the first IEEE standard developed to specifically address equipment design, selection and installation practices with emphasis on methods to reduce exposure to shock and arc flash hazards. This paper is summary of the history and reasons that lead to the development of IEEE 1683 and an introduction to its application for safer low voltage motor control center applications.

Optimization of folate deposition in eggs through dietary supplementation of folic acid over the entire production cycle of Hy-Line W36, Hy-Line W98, and CV20 laying hens