Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE150100058
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$560,000.00
Summary
Three dimensionally compressed and monitored Hopkinson bar . 3D compressed and monitored Hopkinson bar: The 3D compressed and monitored Hopkinson bar allows determination of the dynamic mechanical properties and fracturing behaviour of materials under such confinement. Understanding material behaviour under dynamic loading is essential in dealing with many engineering problems as excavation, fragmentation, earthquake, blasting, and structure design. In geotechnical and structure projects, materi ....Three dimensionally compressed and monitored Hopkinson bar . 3D compressed and monitored Hopkinson bar: The 3D compressed and monitored Hopkinson bar allows determination of the dynamic mechanical properties and fracturing behaviour of materials under such confinement. Understanding material behaviour under dynamic loading is essential in dealing with many engineering problems as excavation, fragmentation, earthquake, blasting, and structure design. In geotechnical and structure projects, materials are often subjected to existing confining stresses. The full-field optical techniques, with an ultra-high speed and resolution camera in the system, aims to assist the quantitative measurement of deformation fields including small strain induced in brittle material's failure and identification of constitutive parameters.Read moreRead less
A new damage model for rock burst in hard rocks during deep mining. This project seeks to develop a new model to predict incipient rock burst in deep mines. Violent sudden energy released during dynamic brittle failure of rocks can kill people and cause serious damages to mining infrastructures. The project aims to investigate formation of micro-fractures on the brittle shear zones during dynamic brittle failure of pristine rocks with a unique experimental methodology under high-pressure-tempera ....A new damage model for rock burst in hard rocks during deep mining. This project seeks to develop a new model to predict incipient rock burst in deep mines. Violent sudden energy released during dynamic brittle failure of rocks can kill people and cause serious damages to mining infrastructures. The project aims to investigate formation of micro-fractures on the brittle shear zones during dynamic brittle failure of pristine rocks with a unique experimental methodology under high-pressure-temperature condition. It is anticipated that a new micromechanics-based damage model for brittle rocks will be developed from this. Implementation of the new coupled thermo-mechanical damage model into a finite element should result in realistic simulation of deep mining operations to identify rock-burst prone areas and allow mining managers to avoid potential hazards.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100011
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$700,000.00
Summary
The national geotechnical centrifuge facility. A new geotechnical centrifuge will enable the modelling of complex offshore and onshore structures. The new facility will support many geotechnical fields, associated with the economical and geographical development of Australia, and ensure that Australia will maintain its leadership within the international physical modelling community.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE160100206
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$800,000.00
Summary
National Rock, Concrete and Advanced Composite Testing Capability. National rock, concrete and advanced composite testing capability:
The aim of the project is to develop a national hybrid biaxial/true triaxial load testing facility to serve the needs of geotechnical, structural, mining and materials researchers and engineers for sophisticated testing. It would address the need for leading edge testing and analysis of the deformation and strength of rock, concrete, and thin plates comprising me ....National Rock, Concrete and Advanced Composite Testing Capability. National rock, concrete and advanced composite testing capability:
The aim of the project is to develop a national hybrid biaxial/true triaxial load testing facility to serve the needs of geotechnical, structural, mining and materials researchers and engineers for sophisticated testing. It would address the need for leading edge testing and analysis of the deformation and strength of rock, concrete, and thin plates comprising metals, composites and polymers, under a wide range of loading conditions. The facility would accommodate cubic specimens up to 300 millimetres and be able to apply 10 megapascals of stress in up to three orthogonal directions. State-of-the-art monitoring equipment is designed to assess the degree of damage caused by testing, simulating damage induced by blasting, cutting, static loading and/or impact.Read moreRead less
NEUTRALISING MINERAL REACTIONS IN ACID MINE DRAINAGE CONTROL. The project addresses the serious environmental problem of acid and toxic element release from iron sulfides in waste rock dumps and tailings storage in the mining industry. Long-term neutralising capacity, currently not tested in laboratory assessments, is available from the reaction of some silicate and aluminosilicate minerals. This potential has not been systematically tested or modelled. The research project aims to understand th ....NEUTRALISING MINERAL REACTIONS IN ACID MINE DRAINAGE CONTROL. The project addresses the serious environmental problem of acid and toxic element release from iron sulfides in waste rock dumps and tailings storage in the mining industry. Long-term neutralising capacity, currently not tested in laboratory assessments, is available from the reaction of some silicate and aluminosilicate minerals. This potential has not been systematically tested or modelled. The research project aims to understand the relative mechanisms and rates for long-term alleviation of acid production with mineral layered and blended combinations. Improved understanding will provide methodology for assessment and control of acid mine drainage.Read moreRead less
Nature's mechanisms for leaching and remobilising metals. This project aims to understand the chemical and physical processes that govern reactive transport and metal scavenging in rocky environments. Much of Australia's mineral wealth is the result of the interaction of warm fluids with rocks deep in the Earth over geological timescales. The formation of ore deposits is governed by the physical chemistry of mineral dissolution and crystallisation, and by fluid flow through porous rocks and frac ....Nature's mechanisms for leaching and remobilising metals. This project aims to understand the chemical and physical processes that govern reactive transport and metal scavenging in rocky environments. Much of Australia's mineral wealth is the result of the interaction of warm fluids with rocks deep in the Earth over geological timescales. The formation of ore deposits is governed by the physical chemistry of mineral dissolution and crystallisation, and by fluid flow through porous rocks and fractures. This project integrates innovation in geology, chemistry, and mineral engineering, and will deliver mineral-scale reaction models that will increase efficiency of in-situ mining and leaching technologies. Knowledge generated can be applied to improve mineral exploration, mining, and processing, contributing to unlocking billions of dollars’ worth of resources tied up in low grade, mineralogically complex ores.Read moreRead less
Reverse engineering nature: metal extraction through mineral replacement. This project aims to find new methods of copper recovery from low grade copper ores, which are currently uneconomic to mine. In nature, at the top of ore deposits and just below the water-table, is a region known as the supergene zone. Here mild oxidizing reactions take place causing primary ore minerals such as chalcopyrite to be replaced by more copper-rich, less refractory minerals. These processes are driven by disso ....Reverse engineering nature: metal extraction through mineral replacement. This project aims to find new methods of copper recovery from low grade copper ores, which are currently uneconomic to mine. In nature, at the top of ore deposits and just below the water-table, is a region known as the supergene zone. Here mild oxidizing reactions take place causing primary ore minerals such as chalcopyrite to be replaced by more copper-rich, less refractory minerals. These processes are driven by dissolution re-precipitation reactions (CDR reactions) and in many CDR reactions, the reaction mechanism, rather than intensive properties such as pressure and temperature, control the nature of the products and the overall reaction process. This project will explore the mechanism and controls on these reactions to see if they can be utilized in the mining industry to economically extract copper from low grade ores.
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Novel technology for enhanced coal seam gas production utilising mechanisms of stimulated cleat permeability through graded particle injection. This cross-disciplinary project will develop a new integrated technology for well productivity enhancement in coal seam gas, shale, tight gas and geothermal reservoirs - the world’s fastest growing unconventional clean energy resources. It will improve our understanding of the multi scale physics of natural gas and energy production.
Molecular Structure and Transport Properties of Hydrothermal Fluids under Extreme Conditions: Near-Critical, High Salinity, High Pressure and High Volatile Contents. The experimental capabilities, theoretical understanding, and numerical modeling methods developed in this project have broad implication for supporting both well-established (mineral exploration and ore processing) and emerging (geothermal energy; geosequestration) industries of core significance for the future of Australia's econo ....Molecular Structure and Transport Properties of Hydrothermal Fluids under Extreme Conditions: Near-Critical, High Salinity, High Pressure and High Volatile Contents. The experimental capabilities, theoretical understanding, and numerical modeling methods developed in this project have broad implication for supporting both well-established (mineral exploration and ore processing) and emerging (geothermal energy; geosequestration) industries of core significance for the future of Australia's economy. This project also provides access to unique technology developed overseas; this technology will be adapted for the unique challenges faced by Australia, and made available to the broader scientific community via the Australian Synchrotron.Read moreRead less
Reducing the deleterious impacts of clay particle interactions with valuable minerals in copper and gold processing. This project seeks to understand the rheological behaviour of clay minerals and the effect of the viscosity caused by clay minerals on gas dispersion, the transport of network structures and the locking of the structures in the froth in mineral flotation. Novel methods will be developed to improve flotation separation by reducing the viscosity.