Trends of enrichment of free mica grains in crushed rock aggregates

The paper reports a study of the behaviour of free mica grains in crushed rock aggregates of metamorphic origin undertaken to identify any typical trends of enrichment with grain size. The mineralogical composition of the various grain size fractions was obtained using a polarizing microscope and point counting. Two general trends of enrichment of mica are presented: Type I (isotropic source rock) and Type A (anisotropic source rock). Type I is associated with a general increase in free mica towards the finer fraction, with or without a peak for “coarser” grain fractions. Type A is associated with an increase in free mica up to a certain grain fraction, after which there is a decrease with progressively smaller grain size.      

Estimation of Rock Aggregates Quality Using Analyses of Drill Cuttings

There is a need for an effective method to estimate the quality of crushed rock aggregates and its usability in the early stages of project planning, e.g., for road and railway constructions and quarry prospecting. The proposed method is based on mineralogical and petrographic analyses of drill cuttings and analysis of the coarse fraction to estimate the homogeneity/heterogeneity of the bedrock. The geological analyses are followed by an estimation of the rock materials’ mechanical properties and their potential technical usability. Development and practical applicability (field and laboratory) of the method have been performed and correlated to three road projects from regions of different geological and climatic zones in Sweden. The study confirms the capability of the proposed method as a surveying tool.     

Prediction of a fracture system from an excavated ditch in the central Caledonides, Sweden

Prospecting for the dimension stone Offerdalsskiffer in the Finnsäter area, Offerdal Nappe, Swedish Caledonides, is mainly undertaken where no bedrock is exposed in order to assess the likely quality of the rock and the effective recovery ratio. A knowledge of the local fracture system is therefore required. The paper discusses a case study undertaken in the Finnsäter area of Sweden where ditch mapping was carried out to predict the fracture system. A comparsion was made of a fracture map extrapolated from the ditch mapping data and that prepared from a larger cleared bedrock surface in order to assess its potential for quarry viability.     

Free mica grains in crushed rock aggregates

Enrichment of free mica (i.e. as monomineralic grains) in the fine fraction of crushed rock aggregates affects the quality of the aggregate end product. Granitoid rock from the Svecofennian Province were used as being representative of crushed rock aggregates commonly used for construction purposes. The results reveal a general trend of enrichment of mica for finer fractions. For the coarse grained rock a peak occurs at 0.25–0.5 mm followed by a decrease in the amount of free mica; for grains <0.063 mm there is an increase. The general trend and peak are correlated to the microstructural characteristics of the samples.      

Tuning SCTP failover for carrier grade telephony signaling

The Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) has not only been selected as the signaling transport protocol of choice in IETF SIGTRAN, the architecture that bridges circuit-switched and IP-based mobile core networks, but also plays a pivotal role in SAE/LTE, the next-generation UMTS/HSPA networks. To meet the redundancy requirements of telecom signaling traffic, SCTP includes a failover mechanism that enables rerouting of traffic from an unreachable network path to a backup path. However, the recommendations provided by IETF on how to configure the SCTP failover mechanism to meet telecom signaling requirements are kept quite general and leave much of the tuning to the telecom equipment vendor and/or operator. Several works by us and others have been carried out to study the effect of different SCTP parameters on the failover performance. The main contribution of this paper is that it gives a coherent treatment of how to configure the SCTP failover mechanism for carrier-grade telephony signaling, and provides practically usable configuration recommendations. The paper also discusses an alternate or complementary way of optimizing the SCTP failover mechanism by relaxing the exponential backoff that foregoes a retransmission timeout in SCTP. Some results showing significantly reduced failover times by use of this mechanism, with only marginal deteriorating effects on a signaling network, are discussed and analyzed in the paper.     

Effect of induced fracturing based on a natural fracture system in a dimension stone quarry in the Offerdal Nappe, Sweden

The degree of induced fracturing related to bench blasting has been investigated in the Offerdal Nappe in the Landögssjö area, in the county of Jämtland, Sweden where the dimension stone "Flammet Quartzite" is quarried. Two fracture trace maps have been compiled; one from an area within the quarry, where natural and induced fracturing are analysed, and a second from an area where no quarrying has taken place, i.e. where only natural fractures appear. This means that it is possible to take into account differences between natural fractures and induced fractures. The fracture system has been described in the investigated areas according to fracture set orientation, size, frequency and occurrence. Two types of fracture occurrence related to blasting have been defined: (1) coalescing fractures with at least one end terminating in a drill hole (type A), and (2) coalescing fractures with one end terminating in a type A fracture (type B). Fractures of type A increase the fracture frequency by up to 23%. Considering fractures of type A and B together, an increase of up to 36% has been noted. In this investigation, approximately 17% of the rock volume shows increased fracturing from the blasting operation.     

A Method for Estimation of Free Mica Particles in Aggregate Fine Fraction by Image Analysis of Grain Mounts

The need to evaluate free mica grains in fine fraction of aggregate products has initiated the development of a statistically and scientifically acceptable method. The proposed method is based on a modified point-counting approach using digital micro photos of thin sections of aggregate grains and a software package to sustain sample analysis. A thin section of aggregate grains provides permanent sample documentation readily available for complimentary or other analysis. Statistical analysis, together with a repeatable analysis of samples (permanent mounts), confirms the robustness of the method. The method is appropriate as a complementary assessment tool to estimate and trace changes or variations in quality of rock aggregate. Though, the estimation of free mica particles in fine fraction needs to be combined with other analyses, e.g., petrographic analysis and analyses of mechanical properties, to assess the quality of any rock material. As the samples can be collected from drill cuttings, i.e., an accessible residual product obtainable from surveying or production, the present method is particularly useful as a surveying tool and in prospecting and projecting activities.     

Precipitation of calcium carbonate in the presence of citrate and EDTA

The influence of process conditions such as feed rate, calcium/carbonate ratio, pH, complexing agents [ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), citrate (CIT)] and their concentration on the average particle size and shape of precipitated calcium carbonate was studied. The precipitation was performed in a semi-batch operated agitated vessel at constant pH by adding sodium hydrogen carbonate to a solution containing calcium chloride. In the absence of a complexing agent, agglomerates of needle-shaped crystals, probably aragonite, are obtained. Increasing feed time and the calcium/carbonate ratio increases the average particle size, whereas the opposite effect is observed for increasing pH. The observations can be related to the level of supersaturation. In the presence of complexing agents and at a concentration ratio of calcium vs. a complexing agent of 6, differently shaped and smaller particles were obtained. Furthermore, the effect of the other parameters on particle size becomes much weaker in the presence of complexing agents. In the presence of EDTA mostly spherical particles were obtained, and in the presence of citrate mainly rhombic particles corresponding to calcite were obtained. The effect on particle shape and size is attributed to interactions of the complexing agents with the faces of the crystalline calcium carbonate.