Vol 25, No 3 (2021)

The study was performed to develop a method for selecting a rational profile of a profiled flap wheel for a turret stripping head for cleaning parts with different radius of the transverse curvature. Researchers from the Irkutsk National Research Technical University and Irkutsk Aviation Plant designed and fabricated a special PFS-4 (peen forming setup) unit to implement manufacturing technology of large-scale contour-forming components. The unit is equipped with a CNC system, two movable operating elements, a shot blaster and a turret stripping head with four flap wheels. The paper offers methods and criteria for selecting the profiled flap wheel for stripping the contour-forming surfaces of the components, depending on the curvature radius of the latter. A flap wheel with an optimal curvature radius of 40 m was chosen for analysis, which allows a sufficiently large range of profile curvature of the processed components (from 8 to 40 m) to be covered. Profiled flap wheels 100 and 200 m wide with a flap profile radius of 40 m provided uniform material removal when cleaning the surface with a curvature radius from 8 to 40 m without further overlapping with a finished strip. It was shown that wider profiled flap wheels are necessary to increase stripping efficiency. In this case, a 300 mm wide flap wheel can be used for a component surface area with a transverse curvature radius over 14 m and a 400 mm wheel for surface areas with a curvature radius of over 20 m. Thus, comparing the stripping process of a curved surface by the straight flap wheel revealed that profiled flap wheels significantly expand the workability of the PFS-4 unit turret stripping head.

This paper examines the thermophysics of a drilling process of polymeric composite materials such as carbonfibre-reinforced plastics (CFRP) and fibreglass by tubular diamond drill bits. Features of the COMSOL Multiphysics engineering software package were used. We employed Fourier heat equations, which express the intensity of heat gain by a mobile source in a moving coordinate system. The research was performed using the proprietary method of modelling spatial thermal action upon drilling polymer composite materials (fibreglass and carbon-fibre-reinforced plastics) in the COMSOL Multiphysics software environment. A tubular diamond drill bit with a diameter of 10 mm with two slots was chosen as a model cutting tool. Solid plates with a thickness of 5.5 mm made of layered fibrous polymer composite materials (fibreglass, carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic) were used as a preform. As a result of computer calculations, we obtained temperature fields of fibreglass and carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic during diamond drilling with the tubular tool. When studying the thermal behaviour of fibreglass and carbon-fibre-reinforced plastics, maximum temperature fields were located. The study revealed that the temperature reaches 413.6 K and 448.7 K during CFRP and fibreglass drilling, respectively. It was shown that the distance of heat transfer from the edge of the hole into the preform was 6.42 and 6.40 mm for CFRP and fibreglass, respectively. A method of modelling the thermal effects when cutting polymer composite materials developed in the COMSOL Multiphysics environment allows complex analytical calculations of temperatures induced by drilling to be simplified. In addition, it helps avoid overheating of a preform during drilling, allows the depth of heat distribution inside the preform from the edge of the formed hole in different polymer composite materials to be assessed. These measures lead to increasing the machining quality of polymer composite materials.

This paper investigates the effect of the load factor of frequency converters and thyristor converters on electrical power quality. Recommendations for reducing the influence of higher harmonics and switching overvoltages on the characteristics of electrical power are provided. Higher harmonics were measured by a PKK57 complex device for controlling electrical parameters and a digital oscilloscope of the Tektronix TDS 2024V type. Impulse switching overvoltages were recorded by an active resistance divider of the DNEK-10 type and the above-mentioned oscilloscope. The obtained data were processed by the Loginom 6.4 software and the methods of mathematical statistics. The lower threshold level of the load factor of frequency converters and thyristor converters was set equal to 0.8, at which the sinusoidal distortion of voltage curves correspond to the RF standard of electrical power quality. The suppression degree of higher harmonics from the 5th to 17th frequency by power transformers with a capacity of 250–6,300 kV. A ranged from 95 to 45%. The use of the ‘transformer–converter–electric receiver’ system as applied to the power supply systems of mining and processing enterprises was substantiated. It was shown that electric motors with a capacity of up to 2,500 kW inclusively require protection against switching overvoltages. Conventional RC-absorbers based on RC-circuits connected to the terminals of electric motors are shown to be highly efficient for protecting electric motors against switching overvoltages. Thus, the quality of electrical power in power supply systems of mining and processing enterprises in Russia can be ensured by frequency converters and thyristor converters with a load factor of 0.8 or greater. Provided that the transformer capacity does not exceed 1,000 kV. A, a more efficient and less expensive ‘transformer–converter–electrical receiver’ system is recommended. Effective protection of electric motors of up to 2,500 kW inclusive can be provided using the proposed conventional RC absorber, which maintains the overvoltage rate at a level not exceeding 1.7.

The aim was to improve the thickening of an ultra-fine flotation concentrate by efficient flocculants when processing refractory sulphide gold-bearing ores from South Urals deposits. The chemical ore composition was studied using gravimetric, atomic absorption, chemical, X-ray fluorescent, assay test and electron microprobe analytical methods. Particle size analysis of the ultra-fine flotation concentrate under study was performed using a Malvern Hydro Mastersizer 2000MU analyser (Malvern Panalytical Ltd, UK). In thickening experiments, samples with the same composition after the ultra-fine grinding process were used. The gold content in the ore was determined (22.8 g/t) based on analytical studies on the material composition of samples. At least 92% of the final grain size class is -20 microns. Laboratory tests performed on eight samples containing polyacrylamide-based flocculants revealed an optimal A44 flocculant (produced in China). The flocculant meets the requirements for minimum flow rate, deposition rate and L:S ratio. The specific performance of the JX20 radial thickener (JPMFex Corp. Ltd., China) was calculated. The optimal flocculant flow rate is 200 g/t per 1 t of thickened material, leading to thickening 50 t of pulp per 1 m2 of thickener per day. The A44 flocculant is recommended for pilot testing. Thus, developing, testing and implementing fundamentally new reagents and improving existing technologies of processing gold-containing ores and concentrates are necessary to intensify the ore dewatering processes after ultra-fine grinding.