Interdisciplinary Engineering

This paper presents the results of ground vibration measurements carried out in Hisarcik Boron open pit mine located on the west side of central Anatolia near Kütahya province in Turkey. Within the scope of this study to predict peak particle velocity (PPV) level for this site, ground vibration components were measured for 304 shots during bench blasting. In blasting operations, ANFO (blasting agent), gelatin dynamite (priming), and delay electric detonators (firing) were used as explosives. Parameters of scaled distance (charge quantity per delay and the distance between the source and the station) were recorded carefully and the ground vibration components were measured for all blast events using two different types of vibration monitors (one White Mini-Seis and one Instantel Minimate Plus Model). The absolute distances between shot points and monitor stations were determined using GPS. The equation of square root scaled distance extensively used in the literature was taken into consideration for the prediction of PPV. Then, the data pairs of scaled distance and particle velocity obtained from the 565 event records were analyzed statistically. At the end of statistical evaluation of the data pairs, an empirical relation which gives 50% prediction line with a reasonable correlation coefficient was established between PPV and scaled distance.

Rheological techniques are used to investigate the rejuvenation of aged bitumen. The thermal transition associated with the collapse of the compact structure constituted by asphaltene is determined by Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analysis. For aged bitumen, this transition shifts to a higher temperature but when rejuvenating agents are added, the transition returns to its original value. The “rutting factor,” G*/sin δ allows to define the maximum temperature the binder can reach without permanent deformation. The employed rejuvenating agents are suitable because permanent deformation is postponed. Viscosity results reveal that aged bitumen needs a high mixing temperature (>200°C) to behave like a fluid material able to wet, adhere, and envelop aggregates. The addition of rejuvenating agents considerably reduces mixing and compaction temperatures. The mixture of 80% aged bitumen—20% recycled motor oil, obtained exclusively from waste materials is an apt binder that can compete satisfactorily with new 60/70 bitumen.

Since its initial development as a specialty technique for modeling neutron transport in fissile materials almost 80 years ago, the Monte Carlo method has since been deployed in almost every area of science and engineering, including radiative transfer. This paper reviews the history and progress in Monte Carlo methods for simulating radiative energy transfer, with emphasis on advances over the past 25 years. A short historical review that emphasizes the probabilistic foundations of the method, is followed by discussions of recent extensions and applications, including variance reduction techniques, high fidelity simulations in complex media, and a discussion of unresolved issues. The article concludes with an outlook for the method as impacted by advancements in algorithm development as well as massively parallel and quantum computing.

At Centralised Waste Management Facility (CWMF) 160m3 of radioactive chemical sludge, generated from treatment of several batches of category-II and category-III radioactive liquid wastes by chemical precipitation method was stored in clariflocculator (CF) for downstream processing. The sludge needed conditioning before disposal. The analysis of the sludge samples collected at different radial locations and depths from the CF showed suspended