Weight Determination of Stockpiled Ferrochrome Using Microgravity Measurements

摘要

The Defense National Stockpile Center (DNSC) maintains three stockpiles of highcarbon ferrochrome at an industrial site in Charleston, SC, and has a requirement to produce current weight estimates for each pile as part of an internal audit. Microgravity measurements were performed over each stockpile to provide high-resolution surveys of the gravitational field to determine the average bulk density of the processed ore. Nettleton's and Parasnis methods were used to analyze the gravity anomaly data. These methods have the advantage of averaging the effect of density variations more accurately than can be done from surface or core samples. Volumes of the ore stockpiles were determined using standard land surveying methods. The computed weights of each ferrochrome stockpile are compared to the reported weights provided by DNSC.