Feed Belt Research Articles

The CSIRO Automatic Tester for Length and Strength (ATLAS)

Use of the CSIRO Automatic Tester for Length and Strength (ATLAS) for the characterization of greasy-wool staples enabled sale with additional measurement to be introduced into the marketing of Australian wool at the beginning of 1985. Three instruments produced by CSIRO have been installed in the Sydney laboratory of AWTA Ltd to perform commercial testing together with the first unit made by an instrument manufacturer. Further instruments are being manufactured. The instrument accepts up to 70 staples on its feed belt and delivers them one by one to the length-measuring section. Each staple is then conveyed past a bank of photocells, where its length is assessed as the distance travelled by the staple while the light to the photocells is interrupted. The staple is next picked up by a pair of belts and is fed to a set of jaws in the strength section, where it is gripped A each end and stretched until it breaks while the applied force is measured. The broken pieces are blown down to two balances, where the...

Improved Grindability of Iron Ores using Microwave Energy

ABSTRACTThe Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior, has conducted studies to utilize rapid microwave heating to stress fracture ore samples. Iron ores containing hematite, magnetite, and goethite were subjected to microwave energy in batch operations at 3 kW and heated to average temperatures between 840° and 940° C. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) photomicrographs verified fracturing along grain boundaries and throughout the gangue matrix. Standard Bond grindability tests showed that microwave heating reduced the work index of iron ores by 9.9 to 23.7 pct. Preliminary studies using a continuous feed belt in a microwave applicator indicated that samples heat more uniformly and with better temperature control than in batch operations.