Title :
Electric pulse rock sample disaggregator
Author :
Hammon, Jud ; Hopwood, Doug ; Ingram, Mike ; Klatt, Mike ; Tatman, Tom
Author_Institution :
Maxwell Phys. Int., San Leandro, CA, USA
Abstract :
Maxwell Physics International has developed and demonstrated a pulsed power-based system for disaggregating rocks, the Rock Sample Disaggregator 140L (RSD-140L) using pulse power. When a sufficiently powerful, short-duration, pulsed electric field is applied to rock particles between electrodes submerged in water, extensive ionization occurs along mineral grain boundaries. Electrical breakdown of the rock occurs along the ionized paths, creating high peak current flow and high internal tensile stress between the mineral grains. The result is selective fracture, breaking up the rock along internal grain boundaries (disaggregation).
Keywords :
electric breakdown; electric fields; electrodes; fracture; grain size; mineral processing industry; minerals; pulsed power supplies; rocks; Maxwell Physics International; RSD-140L; Rock Sample Disaggregator 140L; disaggregation; electric pulse rock sample disaggregator; electrical breakdown; electrodes; high peak current flow; internal grain boundaries; internal tensile stress; ionization; mineral grain boundaries; pulse power; pulsed electric field; Breakdown voltage; Capacitance; Electric breakdown; Electrodes; Grain boundaries; Minerals; Morphology; Physics; Production; Pulsed power supplies;
Conference_Titel :
Power Modulator Symposium, 2000. Conference Record of the 2000 Twenty-Fourth International
Conference_Location :
Norfolk, VA, USA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-5826-0
DOI :
10.1109/MODSYM.2000.896155
