Development of the process for production of vanadium rich slag and low silicon pig iron from vanadium bearing titan-iferous magnetites of Masanikere at VISL, Bhadravati

The paper describes the smelting trials carried out for utilisation of vanadium bearing magnetites of Masanikere in collaborative efforts by NML and VISL. The trials were carried out in a 1500 KVA submerged arc furnace by smelt-ing vanadium bearing titaniferous magnetites with nut coke and lime stone as flux to produce vanadium bearing pig iron which was subsequently blown in a converter to obtain a vanadium rich slag and low silicon pig iron. The commercial feasibility of the process was established by carrying out smelting trials in 13.2 MVA furnace foll-owed by blowing the hot metal in 15 ton capacity converter

The Production of Rights in Disasters in Uttar Pradesh, India : Implications for Theory and Practice

Despite a shift in the practice of international NGOs to a rights-based approach to disasters there is a dearth of substantial theoretical reflections on this linkage within academia. Given this knowledge gap, this research studies the linkages between disaster and rights using the case study of Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, India. The main contribution that this thesis makes to new knowledge is that of deepening the understanding of the way in which rights are produced in disasters. The thesis proposes a theoretical framework to enable such a critical assessment. The main assertion of the theoretical framework is that the social vulnerability approach to disasters can reduce vulnerability and promote social resilience only through a critical assessment of rights that includes subaltern constructs of rights and moral economy structures, their critique or collusion with the governmental framing and institutionalization of rights. The thesis grounds this claim made in the theoretical framework through its empirical chapters. The thesis has four empirical chapters; the first inquires into the colonial history of modern disaster rights; the second interrogates disaster rights in post-colonial India; the third analyses the implications of a subaltern perspective of rights for disaster risk reduction strategy; and the fourth analyses social change processes through the contestation of rights, partly attributed to the disaster. The concluding chapter of the thesis makes recommendations for a rights based social vulnerability analysis and for action in disasters in Uttar Pradesh, India. These recommendations can act as new directions for rights based disaster risk reduction and recovery work. The thesis uses an interdisciplinary approach to investigate this subject area. In particular, it uses disaster theory, human rights and political theory, subaltern theory and feminist theory. The thesis uses a hermeneutic approach as its dominant research methodology, and ethnographic research methods. It also makes a limited use of archival data and quantitative survey methods

Some Observations on the Processing of the Polymetallic Sea nodules at the National Metallurgical Laboratory

There is now doubt that the deep sea bed nodules occuring in the oceans are the potential source of major metals of importance to mankind. So for as India is conc-erned, it has very small deposits of nickel, comparatively less of copper and no cobalt. The annual requirements of nickel and cobalt are met with large import of these metals involving heavy foreign exchange. Copper is also important to a certain extent as indigenous production is not able to meet the growing demand of this metal. So far as manganese is concerned, the present situation is that, limited resources of good grade manganese ores are avai-lable which can not sustain the ferro-manganese industry for long. Under the above circumstances alternate resou-rces of these metals are necessary for the major requi-rements of various industries. One of the major resource of the above metals is the polymetallic sea nodules from the Indian Ocean which is of great strategic impor-tance to India

Physico Chemical Aspects of Alumino-Thermic Reduction in the Production of Low Carbon Ferro-Alloys

No doubt Carbon is the oldest, most extensively used and cheapest reducing agent for the extraction of metals, and ferro-alloys, but due to its high affinity for many metals it results in the formation of undersirable carbides. The growing demand of carbon free alloys has generated considerable interest in aluminothermic reduction of various .oxides. A common example of aluminothermic reduction is the thermit welding of rails and repair of steel castings. As early as in 1898, Goldschmidt (1) demonstrated the use of aluminium as a reducing agent in the production of refractory metals. Subscquently, alumino-thermic reduction has been extensively used to produce pure metals such as chromium, manganese and master alloys such as carbon free chromium-aluminium, titanium - alumin-ium, ferro-chrome, ferro-molybdenum, ferrocolumbium, ferro-tungsten and ferro-titanium of high purity. Alumino-thermic techniques have led to notable developments in the field of high purity special steels. The objective of aluminothermic reduction is to utilise the exothermic heat of the reaction for smelting purposes. Aluminothermic reduction did not generate much interest till 1950's due to various reasons such as high cost of pure aluminium and lack of available means for the removal of residual ele-ments and oxides. The interest in alumino-thermic reduc-tion , revived in 1960's and onwards. Since then extensive research work has been, carried out on aluminothermic reduction for producing low carbon ferro-alloys by obtain-ing 95-96% pure metals from their pure oxides and also metallic values from their oxides available as secondary sources

Rethinking forced migrants’ well-being: lessons from Ukraine

Five years after their initial displacement, Ukrainian IDPs show relatively high levels of posttraumatic growth; their experiences offer insights for practitioners seeking to promote psychosocial well-being among displaced populations

Hyperconvex representations and exponential growth

Let $G$ be a real algebraic semi-simple Lie group and $\Gamma$ be the fundamental group of a compact negatively curved manifold. In this article we study the limit cone, introduced by Benoist, and the growth indicator function, introduced by Quint, for a class of representations $\rho:\Gamma\to G$ admitting a equivariant map from $\partial\Gamma$ to the Furstenberg boundary of $G$'s symmetric space together with a transversality condition. We then study how these objects vary with the representation

Automatic evolution of ideas through multilayer evolutionary system to support creative thinking

Creativity is a tool that helps in effective problem solving utilizing optimum scarce resources in any business. This paper presents a conceptual framework of a multilayer evolutionary system that supports creative thinking. The system evolves, using a genetic algorithm, new ideas from a set of basic ideas that are casually provided through an interactive editor or selected from past transaction records. The architecture proposed here encompasses three layers called system layer, database layer, and query producer and user interface layer. Besides the general architecture, the paper also describes the detailed methodology, genetic procedure to evolve ideas, reproduction operators like modified mutation, cross over and selection; and fitness functions to evolve suitable and strong ideas. The system layer further describes algorithm of stimulus-generation process. The proposed architecture is easy to develop, generic, domain independent and works with databases, which increases scope and usability of the system. Above all, the interactive user interface makes the system friendly and easy to operate

Gender, place and mental health recovery in disasters: addressing issues of equality and difference

UK and wider EU governments follow gender neutral policies in their disaster planning and management based upon a misconception that the gender gap has been eliminated. Findings from our quantitative and qualitative research, carried out as a part of an EU Project, ‘MICRODIS’, in two flood affected locations in England (Tewkesbury floods of 2007, and Morpeth floods of 2008), challenges this notion, revealing that disasters can have paradoxically equal and yet differentiated gendered impacts. Our findings highlight some of the more subtle ways that disasters differentially impacted women and men. It shows that although the degree of mental health recovery of affected men and women was mostly equal, they mobilised different recovery strategies, mostly consistent with their traditional gendered norms and socially constructed roles. Women's recovery strategies were mainly aligned with emotional notions of care, while men's were with notions of control. These findings also show that gendered identities, home-neighbourhood place attachment, and mental wellbeing are related in complex ways. Temporary displacement from their home-neighbourhood places after floods were traumatic for both men and women, although there were perceptible differences in this experience. The paper concludes that gender difference in disasters is ubiquitous globally, and thus analyses must include a gender and diversity analysis and ask more probing gender questions, even in apparently gender equal societies, in order to uncover sometimes hidden impacts

When the state does not care : disability rights in a context of multi-layered crises, instability and disablism

Although the UNCRPD is the guarantor for the rights of persons with disabilities, it is critiqued for conceptualizations of individualized rights, in stable contexts where rights are state-protected. We investigate how disability rights can be advanced in unstable and crisis-affected contexts in the Global South, using the case of Lebanon, which has experienced multi-layered crises. We argue that, in a disablist and unstable state,  any progress made is threatened by the absence of institutionalization of rights, and interrogate the limitations of the UNCRPD. Through a critical policy review and interviews with self-advocates and disability activists, we suggest a new model of action for disability rights affirmation in such unstable contexts by strengthening community governance, initiatives and networks; solidarity and joint actions between disability and wider civil society groups; international advocacy; and the political identity of the disability movement

Calcium Silicide - Methods of production and their technological consideration

Three industrial methods of production of calcium silicide have been discussed with their merits and demerits along with technological considerations. Calcium silicide was produced at NML in 500 KVA submerged arc furnace using partial charging method. Based on the results and observations of the smelting trials carried out a model has been proposed to explain the mechanism of form-ation of calcium silicide. Inoculation trials with calcium silicide produced at NML compares favourably with those obtained from abroad