Collecting hyperspectral data of tailings through a sapphire window to assess the feasibility of instrument development

通过蓝宝石窗口收集尾矿的高光谱数据以评估仪器开发的可行性

• 批准号: 514480-2017
• 负责人: Rivard, Benoit
• 金额: $ 1.82万
• 依托单位: University of Alberta
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Engage Grants Program
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2017-01-01 至 2018-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=640720
• 关键词: Collecting; hyperspectral; data; tailings; through

ConeTec is an international site investigation company with specialization in the design and use of in-situ soiltesting equipment including a wide range of cone penetration testing (CPT) probes and sampling systems.ConeTec is currently one of the service providers for the oil sands operators in Alberta. The oil sands operatorsneed CPT for geotechnical characterization of tailings. In regards to geotechnical characterization of tailings,estimation of the swelling potential of clays is of great importance for the management of tailings. The activityof clays significantly affects the settling and consolidation of tailings and the geotechnical stability of a finaltailings deposit for reclamation purposes. The activity of oil sands tailings solids is typically determined usingthe methylene blue index (MBI), an analytical technique that quantifies the ionic absorption capacity of asample. Currently, ConeTec needs to collect samples from different depths of the tailings ponds that are thensent to commercial laboratories for the estimation of the tailings MBI. This procedure is costly and timeconsuming. Dr. Rivard's research group at the University of Alberta (UofA) has investigated the use of spectralsensors for tailings characterization. This research has laid the foundation to establish a quick and reliablein-situ method for determining the MBI of tailings based on hyperspectral observations. Consequently ConeTecis interested in integrating a hyperspectral sensor in their CPT probes for the downhole estimation of MBI. Insuch case, the spectral measurements would be collected through a sapphire window embedded in the CPTprobe. The proposed work is therefore a feasibility study to address the challenge of collecting spectralmeasurements of tailings through a sapphire window and assess the quality of such data for the purpose of MBIestimation.

ConeTec是一家国际现场勘察公司，专门设计和使用现场土壤测试设备，包括各种锥体渗透测试(CPT)探头和采样系统。ConeTec目前是艾伯塔省油砂运营商的服务提供商之一。油砂作业者需要CPT对尾矿进行岩土工程表征。在尾矿的岩土工程特性方面，评价粘土的膨胀势对尾矿的管理具有重要意义。粘土的活性对尾矿的沉降固结和尾矿复垦最终堆积物的岩土稳定性有重要影响。油砂尾矿固体的活性通常使用亚甲基蓝指数(MBI)来确定，这是一种量化样品离子吸收能力的分析技术。目前，ConeTec需要从尾矿库的不同深度采集样本，然后送往商业实验室，以估计尾矿库的MBI。这一过程既昂贵又耗时。Rivard博士在阿尔伯塔大学(UofA)的研究小组研究了光谱传感器在尾矿表征中的使用。本研究为建立一种快速、可靠的基于高光谱观测的尾矿MBI原位测定方法奠定了基础。因此，ConeTech有兴趣将高光谱传感器集成到他们的CPT探头中，用于井下MBI估计。在这种情况下，光谱测量将通过嵌入CPT探测器中的蓝宝石窗口进行收集。因此，拟议的工作是一项可行性研究，目的是解决通过蓝宝石窗口收集尾矿光谱测量数据的挑战，并评估这些数据的质量，以便进行MBI估计。