Identification of digital technologies and digitalisation trends in the mining industry

Digitalisation in mining refers to the use of computerised or digital devices or systems and digitised data that are to reduce costs, improve business productivity, and transform mining practices. However, it remains increasingly difficult for mining companies to decide which digital technologies are most relevant to their needs and individual mines. This paper provides an overview of digital technologies currently relevant to mining companies as presented and discussed by mining journals, the media and insight reports of leading consultancy agencies. Relevant technologies were systematically identified using text-mining techniques, and network analyses established the relations between significant technologies. Results demonstrated that currently 107 different digital technologies are pursued in the mining sector. Also, an analysis of the actual implementation of digital technologies in 158 active surface and underground mines reveals a limited uptake of digital technologies in general and that the uptake increases with the run-of-mine production. Large-scale mining operations appear to select and apply digital technologies suitable to their needs, whereas operations with lower production rates do not implement the currently available digital technologies to the same extent. These minor producers may require other digital transformation solutions tailored to their capabilities and needs and applicable to their scale of operations.     

Evaluation of expanded gamut software solutions for spot color reproduction

Expanded gamut printing is an approach in color reproduction that expands the color gamut of conventional CMYK printing processes via the use of additional colorants, such as Orange, Green, and Violet inks. This study evaluates the ability of commercial color management software to create an accurate solution for an expanded gamut printing system. In this study, two printing processes were used, an Epson SureColor P9000 inkjet printer/proofer and an HP Indigo 7900 digital production press, both with 7-color expanded gamut ink sets. Software solutions from Alwan, CGS ORIS, ColorLogic, GMG Color, Heidelberg, and Kodak were evaluated. The systems were tested to see how well they could reproduce the colors in the entire PANTONE+ Solid Coated spot color library. It is shown that the solutions are able to reproduce 89% to 94% of the spot colors on the Epson P9000 inkjet printer and 77% to 87% of the library on the Indigo 7900, both to less than two CIEDE2000 (a typical tolerance in label and packaging work). The number of color patches in expanded gamut characterization test charts was noted, as this is still an area of proprietary, nonstandardized working practice. There are many different colorant combinations that can make the same color in expanded gamut printing. The ink build created by the different software solutions was studied, as it relates to press stability through appropriate choice of colorants. Pantone and Adobe provide everyday commercial tools for expanded color workflows. The study identified some issues with products from these companies that could confuse a less-skilled user in a busy production environment. The conclusion of the study is that expanded gamut solutions for spot color printing produce totally acceptable results for digital printing processes; expanded gamut printing is ready, here and now. The findings show that expanded gamut printing can replace cumbersome conventional spot color workflows creating considerable savings and advantages, especially for label and packaging printers.     

Application of the novel Droplet digital PCR technology for identification of meat species

The authenticity and traceability of meat products are issues of primary importance to ensure food safety. Unfortunately, food adulteration (e.g. the addition of inexpensive cuts to minced meat products) and mislabelling (e.g. the inclusion of meat from species other than those declared) happens frequently worldwide. The aim of this study was to apply a droplet digital PCR assay for the detection and quantification (copies μL⁻¹) of the beef, pork, horse, sheep, chicken and turkey in meat products. The analysis conducted on commercial meat showed the presence of traces of DNA from other animal species than those declared. We show that the method is highly sensitive, specific and accurate (accuracy = 100%). This method could be adopted by competent food safety authorities to verify compliance with the labelling of meat products and to ensure quality and safety throughout the meat supply chain, from primary production to consumption.     

Efficiency and effectiveness enhancement of an intercooler of two‐stage air compressor by low‐cost Al2O3/water nanofluids

The present study was aimed to utilize low‐cost alumina (Al₂O₃) nanoparticles for improving the heat transfer behavior in an intercooler of two‐stage air compressor. Experimental investigation was carried out with three different volume concentrations of 0.5%, 0.75%, and 1.0% Al₂O₃/water nanofluids to assess the performance of the intercooler, that is, counterflow heat exchanger at different loads. Thermal properties such as thermal conductivity and overall heat transfer coefficient of nanofluid increased substantially with increasing concentration of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles. Specific heat capacity of nanofluids were lower than base water. The intercooler performance parameters such as effectiveness and efficiency improved appreciably with the employment of nanofluid. The efficiency increased by about 6.1% with maximum concentration of nanofluid, that is, 1% at 3‐bar compressor load. It is concluded from the study that high concentration of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles dispersion in water would offer better heat transfer performance of the intercooler.     

Structural,morphological, dielectric and magnetic properties of Zn-Zr co-doping yttrium iron garnet

In this study, yttrium iron garnet co-doped with Zn and Zr atoms with a chemical formula Y₃Zn_xZr_xFe_(5−2x)O₁₂ (x = 0.0-0.3) has been successfully prepared by the solid-state reaction method. The effects of doping concentration on the microstructure, crystal structure, magnetic properties, and dielectric properties of Y₃Zn_xZr_xFe_(5−2x)O₁₂ were investigated. The microstructure analysis indicates that co-doping of YIG with Zn and Zr can effectively reduce the grain size of the ceramic. The crystal structure results reveal that the doping concentration of Zn–Zr has substantial influence on the lattice parameters of YIG, such as, increases the lattice constant, crystal cell size, and interplanar spacing. However, the second phase of ZrO₂ appears once x ≥ 0.15. Additionally, the dielectric properties of YIG ferrite can be regulated using this Zn–Zr co-doping method. Zn–Zr co-doping can improve the dielectric stability and reduce the dielectric loss at high temperature. The magnetization measurement shows that the saturation magnetization is stabilized at x < 0.15, and the magnetic loss is decreased with the increase in the doping concentration. Overall, the findings show that the ceramic with x = 0.1 exhibits better properties included high saturation magnetization (24.607 emu/g), low magnetic loss (0.0025 @ 1 MHz), and relatively low dielectric loss (496 @ 400°C).     

Anchoring single Pt atoms on hollow Ag3VO4 spheres for improved activity towards photocatalytic H2 evolution reaction

The high cost of noble metal catalysts has been a great bottleneck for the catalyst industry. Using the noble metal at a single-atom level for catalytic applications could dramatically decrease the cost. The impacts of single Pt atoms on the photocatalytic performance of Ag₃VO₄ have been investigated and reported. In this report, single Pt atoms were anchored on the surface of Ag₃VO₄ (AVO) as a cocatalyst, and the resultant composite photocatalyst has been studied for photocatalytic H₂ production from water driven by visible light. The as-prepared AVO particles are hollow nanospheres in the monoclinic phase with a bandgap of 2.20 eV. The light absorption edge of AVO/Pt is slightly red-shifted compared to that of the pristine AVO, indicating more visible light absorption of AVO/Pt. The XPS peaks of Ag, V, and Pt exhibit a significant shift after AVO and Pt get into contact, suggesting the strong interaction between the surface Ag and V atoms, and single Pt atoms. After 3-h illumination, the photocatalytic H₂ evolution amount from AVO/Pt is improved up to 1400 μmol, which is 2.8 times that on the bare AVO. Such efficient photocatalytic H₂ evolution on AVO/Pt is still maintained after five reaction cycles. The better photocatalytic performance of AVO/Pt has been attributed to the more efficient visible light utilization and the lower interfacial charge transfer resistance, as demonstrated in the DRS and EIS spectra. The presence of the surface Pt atoms also leads to a higher amount of reactive radicals, which could efficiently promote the surface redox reactions.     

Compiler compatible 5.66 Mb/mm2 8T 1R1W register file in 14 nm FinFET technology

1-read/1-write (1R1W) register file (RF) is a popular memory configuration in modern feature rich SoCs requiring significant amount of embedded memory. A memory compiler is constructed using the 8T RF bitcell spanning a range of instances from 32 b to 72 Kb. An 8T low-leakage bitcell of 0.106 μm² is used in a 14 nm FinFET technology with a 70 nm contacted gate pitch for high-density (HD) two-port (TP) RF memory compiler which achieves 5.66 Mb/mm² array density for a 72 Kb array which is the highest reported density in 14 nm FinFET technology. The density improvement is achieved by using techniques such as leaf-cell optimization (eliminating transistors), better architectural planning, top level connectivity through leaf-cell abutment and minimizing the number of unique leaf-cells. These techniques are fully compatible with memory compiler usage over the required span. Leakage power is minimized by using power-switches without degrading the density mentioned above. Self-induced supply voltage collapse technique is applied for write and a four stack static keeper is used for read Vmin improvement. Fabricated test chips using 14 nm process have demonstrated 2.33 GHz performance at 1.1 V/25 °C operation. Overall V_min of 550 mV is achieved with this design at 25 °C. The inbuilt power-switch improves leakage power by 12x in simulation. Approximately 8% die area of a leading 14 nm SoC in commercialization is occupied by these compiled RF instances.     

LWIP协议在STLite/OS20操作系统中的移植

介绍了免费的TCP/IP协议栈LWIP开发工具和环境,分析了如何实现LWIP的移植,并给出了一种嵌入式系统与网络互联的新思路。