Mechanochemical leaching of chalcopyrite concentrate by sulfuric acid

This study aimed to introduce a new cost-effective methodology for increasing the leaching efficiency of chalcopyrite concentrates at ambient temperature and pressure. Mechanical activation was employed during the leaching (mechanochemical leaching) of chalcopyrite concentrates in a sulfuric acid medium at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. High energy ball milling process was used during the leaching to provide the mechanochemical leaching condition, and atomic absorption spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry were used to determine the leaching behavior of chalcopyrite. Moreover, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the chalcopyrite powder before and after leaching. The results demonstrated that mechanochemical leaching was effective; the extraction of copper increased significantly and continuously. Although the leaching efficiency of chalcopyrite was very low at ambient temperature, the percentages of copper dissolved in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and ferric sulfate (Fe₂(SO₄)₃) after 20 h of mechanochemical leaching reached 28% and 33%, respectively. Given the efficiency of the developed method and the facts that it does not require the use of an autoclave and can be conducted at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, it represents an economical and easy-to-use method for the leaching industry.     

Forecasting UK Industrial Production with Multivariate Singular Spectrum Analysis

In recent years the singular spectrum analysis (SSA) technique has been further developed and applied to many practical problems. The aim of this research is to extend and apply the SSA method, using the UK Industrial Production series. The performance of the SSA and multivariate SSA (MSSA) techniques was assessed by applying it to eight series measuring the monthly seasonally unadjusted industrial production for the main sectors of the UK economy. The results are compared with those obtained using the autoregressive integrated moving average and vector autoregressive models. We also develop the concept of causal relationship between two time series based on the SSA techniques. We introduce several criteria which characterize this causality. The criteria and tests are based on the forecasting accuracy and predictability of the direction of change. The proposed tests are then applied and examined using the UK industrial production series. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental investigation and adaptive neural fuzzy inference system prediction of copper recovery from flotation tailings by acid leaching in a batch agitated tank

The potential of copper recovery from flotation tailings was experimentally investigated using a laboratory-mixing tank. The experiments were performed with solid weight percentages of 30 wt%, 35 wt%, 40 wt% and 45 wt% in water. The measurements revealed that adding sulfuric acid all at once to the tank rapidly increased the efficiency of the leaching process, which was attributed to the rapid change in the acid concentration. The rate of iron dissolution from tailings was less than when the acid was added gradually. The sample with 40 wt% solid is recommended as an appropriate feed for the recovery of copper. The adaptive neural fuzzy system(ANFIS) was also used to predict the copper recovery from flotation tailings. The back-propagation algorithm and least squares method were applied for the training of ANFIS. The validation data was also applied to evaluate the performance of these models. Simulation results revealed that the testing results from these models were in good agreement with the experimental data.     

Facile cathodic electrosynthesis and characterization of iron oxide nano-particles

Fe2O3 nano-particles have been synthesized by simple cathodic electrodeposition from the low-temperature nitrate bath.The morphology and crystal structure of the obtained oxide powder were analyzed by means of scanning and transmission microscopy(SEM and TEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD) and Fourier transform infrared(FTIR) spectroscopy.Thermal behavior and phase transformation during the heat treatment of as-deposited sample were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) and thermogramimetric analysis(TGA).The results showed that the deposited Fe2O3 was composed of the nanoparticles with grain size of approximately 10-60 nm.A serious problem during cathodic electrodeposition of iron oxide was splashing of deposit into electrolyte due to its low adhesion.This problem was tackled by reducing the bath temperature and dielectric constant of solvent.     

Evaluating the Impacts of Virtual Organization Absorption on the Quality of Urban Private Constructions; the System Dynamics Approach

Quality compliance checking of urban private constructions in Iran follows a fragmented pattern. By considering this fragmentation along with the inherent complexities of the quality compliance checking, it becomes urgent to look closer at this mechanism to find a way for making improvements. Since there is no determination to change the existing mechanism, this study discusses the use of virtual organizations as a strategy to enhance the level of quality. To this end, according to the intended approach for developing virtual organizations, this study identifies the capabilities of this type of systems in the first step. Then, this research evaluates the impacts of virtual organization absorption on the quality of urban private constructions. In this evaluation, the paper applies the system dynamics approach as the modeling tool due to its ability to address complexities and feedback structures. The resulted dynamic model needs initial values and requires functions to be able to run the simulation. In this case, the Delphi Technique is used to extract the functions and the values. After importing the resulted values and functions into the model, the focus group is used for the validation. The result of this analysis represents the positive impacts of the virtual organization absorption in the quality compliance checking mechanism. Fifty-percent improvement in the quality level of urban private constructions after a twenty-year period is one of the results, which could be considered as an indicator of virtual organization impacts.

     

A Robust Data‐Mining Approach to Bankruptcy Prediction

In this study, new variants of genetic programming (GP), namely gene expression programming (GEP) and multi‐expression programming (MEP), are utilized to build models for bankruptcy prediction. Generalized relationships are obtained to classify samples of 136 bankrupt and non‐bankrupt Iranian corporations based on their financial ratios. An important contribution of this paper is to identify the effective predictive financial ratios on the basis of an extensive bankruptcy prediction literature review and upon a sequential feature selection analysis. The predictive performance of the GEP and MEP forecasting methods is compared with the performance of traditional statistical methods and a generalized regression neural network. The proposed GEP and MEP models are effectively capable of classifying bankrupt and non‐bankrupt firms and outperform the models developed using other methods. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Cu-Cr alloy with nano and microscale Cr particles produced in a water-cooled copper mold

Microstructures have profound effects on the hardness and strength of Cu-Cr alloys. The microstructures of a Cu-Cr alloy cast in a water-cooled copper mold were studied in the present work. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results show that there are the copper matrix saturated with chromium, spherical precipitates of chromium separated from liquid phase during cooling before the initiation of solidification, and a eutectic phase in grain boundary areas. To investigate the effect of age-hardening treatment on the microstructures and properties of the material, some samples were subsequently age-hardened in a salt bath and investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that coherent precipitates with the diameter of 11 nm are detectable in the samples before and after the age-hardening stage. Of course, the volume fraction of coherent precipitates is higher after the aging process.     

Processing of nanostructured metallic matrix composites by a modified accumulative roll bonding method with structural and mechanical considerations

Particulate reinforced metallic matrix composites have attracted considerable attention due to their lightweight, high strength, high specific modulus, and good wear resistance. Al/B₄C composite strips were produced in this work by a modified accumulative roll bonding process where the strips were rotated 90° around the normal direction between successive passes. Transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses reveal the development of nanostructures in the Al matrix after seven passes. It is found that the B₄C reinforcement distribution in the matrix is improved by progression of the process. Additionally, the tensile yield strength and elongation of the processed materials are increased with the increase of passes.     

不同应变速率下Mg?B4C纳米复合材料的力学性能表征

Magnesium has wide application in industry. The main purpose of this investigation was to improve the properties of magnesium by reinforcing it using B₄C nanoparticles. The reinforced nanocomposites were fabricated using a powder compaction technique for 0, 1.5vol%, 3vol%, 5vol%, and 10vol% of B₄C. Powder compaction was conducted using a split Hopkinson bar (SHB), drop hammer (DH), and Instron to reach different compaction loading rates. The compressive stress–strain curves of the samples were captured from quasi-static and dynamic tests carried out using an Instron and split Hopkinson pressure bar, respectively. Results revealed that, to achieve the highest improvement in ultimate strength, the contents of B₄C were 1.5vol%, 3vol%, and 3vol% for Instron, DH, and SHB, respectively. These results also indicated that the effect of compaction type on the quasi-static strength of the samples was not as significant, although its effect on the dynamic strength of the samples was remarkable. The improvement in ultimate strength obtained from the quasi-static stress–strain curves of the samples (compared to pure Mg) varied from 9.9% for DH to 24% for SHB. The dynamic strength of the samples was improved (with respect to pure Mg) by 73%, 116%, and 141% for the specimens compacted by Instron, DH, and SHB, respectively. The improvement in strength was believed to be due to strengthening mechanisms, friction, adiabatic heating, and shock waves.     

Estimating multi-country prosperity index: A two-dimensional singular spectrum analysis approach

With the development of the global economy, interaction among different economic entities from one region is intensifying, which makes it significant to consider such interaction when constructing composite index for each country from one region. Recent advances in signal extraction and time series analysis have made such consideration feasible and practical. Singular spectrum analysis （SSA） is a well-developed technique for time series analysis and proven to be a powerful tool for signal extraction. The present study aims to introduce the usage of the SSA technique for multi-country business cycle analysis. The multivariate SSA （MSSA） is employed to construct a model-based composite index and the two dimensional SSA （2D-SSA） is employed to establish the multi-country composite index. Empirical results performed on Chinese economy demonstrate the accuracy and stability of MSSA-based composite index, and the 2D-SSA based composite indices for Asian countries confirm the efficiency of the technique in capturing the interaction among different countries.