Physics of Mining Essay - 809 Words

Mining is a necessary component of the world we live in and it has been practiced for thousands of years. The mining industry produces billions of tons of raw product every year. The process of mining is very complicated and involves plenty of physics! Two main components of the mine cycle are: Drilling, and Blasting. Some important factors in mining are the pillars, rock elasticity, and the slope stability of the ground being mined. A basic method for destroying rock is mechanically induced stress, such as drills and erosion jets. A turbine drill for example, uses a turbine to rotate a diamond faced cutter wheel. The power output, p, can be calculated using the equation p=2 Ï€NT where N is the rotational speed of the turbine and T is†¦show more content†¦It is normal for these shearers to have up to 1 megawatt of power! Blasting is used in mining to break up rock or create space. Explosives are placed in a blasting hole and then detonated. The velocity of the detonation of the explosives are enormous. The detonation of a common explosive such as ANFO (an agent consisting of ammonium nitrate prills and fuel oil) can reach velocities of 5,000 m/s in a 375 mm blasting hole. Blasting is very dangerous because it produces fragments of rock moving at high speeds called flyrock. There have been cases of flyrock weighing up to 500 kg being projected almost a full kilometer! It is often necessary for miners to take into account the resistance of rock bodies to compression and distortion when placed under stress. The ability of a body to resist forces is determined by elasticity. The three moduli of elasticity are: Youngs Modulus: E= (Applied force/Area) / (Change in length/original length) Shear Modulus: G= (Applied force/unit area) / (Angular deformation) Bulk Modulus K= (Force/unit area) / (Change in volume/unit volume) Youngs Modulus measures the ability of a body to resist elongation or shortening. Shear Modulus measures the ability of a body to resist a change in shape. Bulk Modulus measures the ability of a body to resist a change in volume. Slope stability is important when a judgment is neededShow MoreRelatedComputer Based Technologies Impact On The Way We Live, Work, And Play969 Words   |  4 Pagesmethods of analytics and datamining had changed over the past few decades. In 1970s datamining played an important role in scientific fields such as physics, biology, and climate science. In mid-1990s and into the first decade of the new millennium, data mining and analytics played important role in business practices. In the Educational field, data mining and analytics are useful to discover how people learn, to predict learning, and to understand real learning behavior. 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