Two-dimensional filtration problem for solutions in a nonhomogeneous porous medium

We present a mathematical model of underground leaching by solutions filtering through a porous medium. The model describes the motion of solutions from injection to extraction boreholes, as well as dissolution and secondary deposition in reduced-pH regions. A numerical algorithm has been developed for solving the problem on a plane in the general case of a homogeneous medium that contains regions with various nonhomogeneities. The algorithm combines triangulation of the region with the finite element method. The model also allows slow variation over time of some of the process parameters, such as porosity and the filtration coefficient. Numerical results are reported for various cases. The model qualitatively describes the main regularities of underground leaching and can be used to study and understand the detailed dynamics of these processes. The model also fills gaps in geological prospecting data, and extraction curves constructed for different wells can be applied to determine the approximate location of a particular nonhomogeneity. Mathematical modeling can help to optimize mineral extraction by underground leaching. Translated from Prikladnaya Matematika i Informatika, No. 29, pp. 29–55, 2008.     

Mathematical modeling of the dissolving and deposition processes during solution seepage in a porous medium

A mathematical model that describes solution seepage in a porous medium and the processes of mineral dissolving and secondary deposition is proposed. Self-similar solutions describing the motion of the leading and trailing fronts, that is, the boundaries of the complete-dissolving zone, are determined. The main features of the processes under consideration are studied and numerical calculations are performed. It is shown that the model describes well the experimental data on mineral leaching by sulfate solutions. The dynamics of mineral extraction from productive solutions in a medium with a nonuniformacidity distribution are investigated. It is shown that, in the elevated-PH zones, the mineral is dissolved; whereas, in the low-acidity zones, secondary deposition of the mineral occurs. In the latter case, after the work has been completed, the bed may contain more or less considerable mineral resources, depending on the extent of the low-PH zone and its proximity to an extraction well.     

Modeling dissolution in a filtration flow

The article considers mathematical models that describe in various approximations dissolution in a moving filtration flow. A more complete new model is developed and its results are compared with experimental data. The new model reflects the main features of mineral leaching by sulfuric-acid solutions. Self-similar solutions are obtained describing the motion of the solution leading front that displaces the natural water and the trailing front that tracks the progress of the active dissolution region. The effective dissolution zone width and the dissolution zone transport velocity are determined as functions of the filtration velocity, porosity, saturated solution concentration, and other parameters of the medium. The model is applied to construct the longitudinal concentration distribution of the leached substance for a one-dimensional constant-velocity flow. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Matematika i Informatika, No. 21, pp. 30–47, 2005.     

An air sparging CFD model for heap bioleaching of chalcocite

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver CFX4.4 is used to implement a steady state model of heap bioleaching of chalcocite, which includes air sparging (forced aeration) based on a previous model entirely under natural convection. The model assumes the oxygen supply limits the reaction rate. A parameter analysis is performed which shows that the factors important to copper leaching are liquid and air flow rates, permeability and fraction of pyrite to chalcocite leached (FPY). The ability to control which parts of the bed received the highest extraction as a function of the liquid and air flow rates was established. Sparging is found to increase the oxygen concentration throughout the heap compared to the circumstance with no sparging (natural convection), and consequently improves the copper extraction significantly. The results show that sparging does not provide any better copper extraction for very high heap permeabilities. The arrangement and spacing of air sparging inlets is analysed in regard to the existence of oxygen starved regions between the inlets.     

The design of a full-scale industrial mineral leaching process

The movement of water through the ground is of great industrial importance, and has applications in mining. This paper uses a mathematical model for groundwater flow to present a new design methodology for in situ leaching of minerals. This is a process in which a lixiviant (a solution capable of dissolving the mineral of interest) is pumped into a mineral-bearing rock in order to dissolve the mineral at its own location within the rock itself. The fluid is then pumped to the surface and the mineral is recovered chemically. A major problem with this technology comes from the need to predict accurately where the leaching fluid will go within the ore. Of particular concern is the need to recover as much of the fluid as possible at an appropriate later time. This paper proposes a design strategy that enables the complete recovery of all the mineral leaching fluid, in a full-scale three-dimensional operation. It relies on a spatially periodic arrangement of injection and recovery wells, with a type of secondary recovery process using injected water. The mathematical problem for homogeneous rock is posed, and an extremely accurate asymptotic solution is given. This is sufficient for experimental design purposes. In addition, the full problem is solved numerically using a boundary-integral approach, to investigate limiting cases.     

A hybrid heuristic algorithm for the open-pit-mining operational planning problem

This paper deals with the Open-Pit-Mining Operational Planning problem with dynamic truck allocation. The objective is to optimize mineral extraction in the mines by minimizing the number of mining trucks used to meet production goals and quality requirements. According to the literature, this problem is NP-hard, so a heuristic strategy is justified. We present a hybrid algorithm that combines characteristics of two metaheuristics: Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedures and General Variable Neighborhood Search. The proposed algorithm was tested using a set of real-data problems and the results were validated by running the CPLEX optimizer with the same data. This solver used a mixed integer programming model also developed in this work. The computational experiments show that the proposed algorithm is very competitive, finding near optimal solutions (with a gap of less than 1%) in most instances, demanding short computing times.     

Construction of conformal,mappings of biconnected regions

The author's method for conformal mapping of simply connected circular regions of a special form is extended to biconnected regions. Examples are given to show that the solution of the problem for some common biconnected regions may be reduced to examining the corresponding simply connected regions with boundaries along straight lines and circles. The solutions given in this paper are convenient for generating numerical results.Translated from Vychislitel'naya i Prikladnaya Matematika, No. 58, pp. 71–75, 1986.     

An interactive approach for multiobjective decision making

We develop an interactive approach for multiobjective decision-making problems, where the solution space is defined by a set of constraints. We first reduce the solution space by eliminating some undesirable regions. We generate solutions (partition ideals) that dominate portions of the efficient frontier and the decision maker (DM) compares these with feasible solutions. Whenever the decision maker prefers a feasible solution, we eliminate the region dominated by the partition ideal. We then employ an interactive search method on the reduced solution space to help the DM further converge toward a highly preferred solution. We demonstrate our approach and discuss some variations.     

Solving the musical orchestration problem using multiobjective constrained optimization with a genetic local search approach

In this paper a computational approach of musical orchestration is presented. We consider orchestration as the search of relevant sound combinations within large instruments sample databases and propose two cooperating metaheuristics to solve this problem. Orchestration is seen here as a particular case of finding optimal constrained multisets on a large ensemble with respect to several objectives. We suggest a generic and easily extendible formalization of orchestration as a constrained multiobjective search towards a target timbre, in which several perceptual dimensions are jointly optimized. We introduce Orchidée, a time-efficient evolutionary orchestration algorithm that allows the discovery of optimal solutions and favors the exploration of non-intuitive sound mixtures. We also define a formal framework for global constraints specification and introduce the innovative CDCSolver repair metaheuristic, thanks to which the search is led towards regions fulfilling a set of musical-related requirements. Evaluation of our approach on a wide set of real orchestration problems is also provided.     

堆浸工艺中流动-反应-变形-传质耦合过程数值模拟及应用

基于堆浸过程中的孔隙变形,发展了一孔隙发育模型,并建立了堆浸工艺中流动-反应-变形-传质全耦合模型控制方程组,在喷淋强度不变和常水头的的情况下,给出了方程的数值解.数值结果描述了浸出过程矿堆中溶浸液饱和度的分布、溶浸剂浓度和浸出矿石浓度的分布,拟合结果表明:有用矿物浸出百分比与浸出时间之间呈3次关系,这一关系可用来预测堆浸中的有用金属的浸出回收率.     

Bifurcation of travelling wave solutions for the modified dispersive water wave equation

The method of bifurcation of planar dynamical systems and method of numerical simulation of differential equations are employed to investigate the modified dispersive water wave equation. We obtain the parameter bifurcation sets that divide the parameter space into different regions which correspond to qualitatively different phase portraits. In different regions, different types of travelling solutions including solitary wave solutions, shock wave solutions and periodic wave solutions are simulated. Furthermore, with a generalized projective Riccati equation method, several new explicit exact solutions are obtained.     

Carrier-free separation of Sn113 from indium

A procedure for the separation of carrier-free Sn¹¹³ from deuteron bombarded indium is described. The method employed depends on the extraction of stannic cupferrate from mineral acid solution using carbon tetrachloride, followed by ignition of the complex.     

A model combining acid-mediated tumour invasion and nutrient dynamics

We illustrate a mathematical model for the evolution of multicellular tumour spheroids in a host tissue, including the effect of the excess H⁺ ions and the nutrient dynamics. Both the avascular and the vascular case are considered. The model is a nontrivial generalization of the simple scheme proposed in [K. Smallbone, D.J. Gavaghan, R.A. Gatenby, P.K. Maini, The role of acidity in solid tumour growth and invasion, J. Theoret. Biol. 235 (2005) 476–484]. Many different situations may occur, depending on the values of the physical parameters involved. Existence of solutions and qualitative properties are investigated.     

Classification of optical wave solutions to the nonlinearly dispersive Schrödinger equation

Different kinds of optical wave solutions to the nonlinearly dispersive Schrödinger equation are given according to different parameters’ regions. Those solutions include looped wave solutions, cusped wave solutions, peaked wave solutions, compacted wave solutions. The looped and cusped forms have not been reported in the literature regarding to the study of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation. We also study the limiting behavior of all periodic solutions as the parameters trend to some special values.     

The boundary Carathéodory-Fejér interpolation problem

We give a new solvability criterion for the boundary Carathéodory-Fejér problem: given a point x∈R and, a finite set of target values, to construct a function f in the Pick class such that the first few derivatives of f take on the prescribed target values at x. We also derive a linear fractional parametrization of the set of solutions of the interpolation problem with real target values. The proofs are based on a reduction method due to Julia and Nevanlinna.     

Exact compacton and generalized kink wave solutions of the extended reduced Ostrovsky equation

The extended reduced Ostrovsky equation (EX-ROE) are investigated by using the bifurcation method of planar systems and simulation method of differential equations. The bifurcation phase portraits are drawn in different regions of parameter plane. The planar graphs of the compactons and the generalized kink waves are simulated by using software Maple. Exact explicit parameter expressions of the compactons and implicit expressions of the generalized kink wave solutions are given. The dynamic behavior of these solutions are also investigated.     

FORECASTING MINERAL SUPPLY FROM MINERAL RENT DATA

An optimal control model of exhaustible resources is used to clarify the long run relationship between mineral rent and depletion cost at the industry level. A standard first order condition of the time rate of change of rents is reformulated to reveal that rent data may be used to help forecast the rise in extraction costs resulting from resource depletion. This application of the theory of exhaustible resources is illustrated using historical mineral industry rent and extraction cost data. A forecast of U.S. coal extraction costs, following the method proposed in this paper, suggests that future rates of extraction cost increases will be similar to rates experienced in the past.     

Steady-state oscillations in continuously inhomogeneous medium described by the generalized darboux equation

We refine a result due to L. V. Ovsyannikov on the general formof the second order linear differential equations with a nonzero generalized Laplace which are invariant admitting a Lie group of transformations of the maximal order with n > 2 independent variables for which the associated Riemannian spaces have nonzero curvature. We show that the set of these equations is exhausted by the generalized Darboux equation and the Ovsyannikov equation. We find the operators acting on the set of solutions in every one-parameter family of generalized Darboux equations. For the elliptic generalized Darboux equation possessing the maximal symmetry and describing steadystate oscillations in continuously inhomogeneous medium with a degeneration hyperplane, the group analysis methods yield the exact solutions to boundary value problems for some regions (a generalized Poisson formula) which in particular can be the test solutions in simulating steadystate oscillations in continuously inhomogeneous media.     

GNGA for general regions: Semilinear elliptic PDE and crossing eigenvalues

We consider the semilinear elliptic PDE Δu + f(λ, u) = 0 with the zero-Dirichlet boundary condition on a family of regions, namely stadions. Linear problems on such regions have been widely studied in the past. We seek to observe the corresponding phenomena in our nonlinear setting. Using the Gradient Newton Galerkin Algorithm (GNGA) of Neuberger and Swift, we document bifurcation, nodal structure, and symmetry of solutions. This paper provides the first published instance where the GNGA is applied to general regions. Our investigation involves both the dimension of the stadions and the value λ as parameters. We find that the so-called crossings and avoided crossings of eigenvalues as the dimension of the stadions vary influences the symmetry and variational structure of nonlinear solutions in a natural way.     

Iterative calculation of strongly nonlinear self-vibrating viscoelastic mechanical systems

We consider self-excited vibrations of strongly nonlinear mechanical systems obeying the hereditary theory of viscoelasticity. using the Bubnov-Galerkin method, the problem is reduced to a system of ordinary nonlinear integrodifferential equations. The normal modes of vibration of nonlinear conservative elastic systems are chosen as the unperturbed solutions. Self-vibrating solutions are found by iteration to any degree of accuracy. The process converges for certain restrictions on the unperturbed functions and on the small parameter of the problem.Translated from Dinamicheskie Sistemy, No. 5, pp. 86–90, 1986.