Innovative Technologies to Improve Occupational Safety in Mining and Construction Industries-Part I.

Innovative technologies have been helping to improve comfort and safety at work in high-risk sectors for years. The study analysed the impact, along with an assessment of potential implementations (opportunities and limitations) of innovative technological solutions for improving occupational safety in two selected sectors of the economy: mining and construction. The technologies evaluated included unmanned aerial vehicles and inspection robots, the Internet of Things and sensors, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, innovative individual and collective protective equipment, and exoskeletons.

Identification and systematics of safety hazards in surface rock mining.

The necessity to ensure safety in the work environment is a priority for the functioning of mines as enterprises with a high level of exposure to hazards. The basis for this is the identification of hazards to which mine workers are exposed. This article aims to identify and systematize safety hazards present in quarries.

Guidelines for Natural Stone Products in Connection with European Standards.

The selection of ornamental stones for specific applications requires technical guidance since it should be based on the durability, service life, and aesthetic value of the stones. In most cases, these fundamentals provide quantitative data on the usability and performance of ornamental stones. The present study attempts to put forward a quantitative classification system for natural stone products concerning critical rock properties.

Influence of Basalt Aggregate Crushing Technology on Its Geometrical Properties-Preliminary Studies.

The use of mineral aggregates is related to the increasing demand in construction, railway and road infrastructures. However, mineral aggregates can appear to be of variable quality, directly affecting their suitability for respective earthwork applications. Since the production of mineral aggregates should ensure the standardized, high-quality requirements of the final product, rock-crushing mechanisms should be investigated in a detailed manner.

Assessment of Böhme Abrasion Value of Natural Stones through Artificial Neural Networks (ANN).

This present study explored the Böhme abrasion value (BAV) of natural stones through artificial neural networks (ANNs). For this purpose, a detailed literature survey was conducted to collect quantitative data on the BAV of different natural stones from Turkey. As a result of the ANN analyses, several predictive models (M1-M13) were established by using the rock properties, such as the dry density (ρ), water absorption by weight (w), Shore hardness value (SHV), pulse wave velocity (V), and uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of rocks.

Evaluation of the Structure and Geometric Properties of Crushed Igneous Rock Aggregates.

The aim of this publication is to analyze the influence of rock mineral composition and rock geometric properties on the quality of crushed aggregates, from the perspective of selecting an adequate aggregate production technology. This research is based on samples of crushed aggregates from plants processing igneous rocks from four different igneous deposits. In the case of the geometric properties, shape and flakiness indexes were identified and subsequently analyzed along with particle size distribution.

Wear and Fragmentation Resistance of Mineral Aggregates-A Review of Micro-Deval and Los Angeles Tests.

The aim of this article is to present the current knowledge and experiences related to wear and fragmentation resistance tests and to indicate those of their aspects that require further research. For this purpose, a review of the literature was performed. Results show that tests of resistance to wear (the M test) and fragmentation (the LA test) are performed worldwide according to different standards (and thus following different test methods), which prevents a comparison of the obtained results.