Sharif Digital Repository

Numerical simulation of liquefaction-induced lateral spreading in gently sloped sandy layers requires fully coupled dynamic hydro-mechanical analysis of saturated sandy soil subjected to seismic loading. In this study, a fully coupled finite element model utilizing a critical-state two-surface-plasticity constitutive model has been applied to numerically investigate the effects of surface/subsurface geometry on lateral spreading. Using a variable permeability function with respect to excess pore pressure ratio is another distinctive feature of the current study. The developed code has been verified against the results of the well-known VELACS project. Lateral spreading phenomenon has been... 

The physical properties including glass transition temperature and permeability behavior of clay-filled epoxies are reviewed in this chapter. There is no consensus in the literature on how nanoclay affects the α-relaxation temperature in epoxy systems. This perhaps rises from the complexity of nanoclay morphology in polymeric resins and the interphase properties since morphology of nanoclay and interphase characteristics are two key parameters to control the glass transition process in epoxy nanocomposites. In addition, the possible existence of several α-transitions in montmorillonite-filled epoxies due to the existence of several relaxation domains may account for the controversial... 

Gas-oil relative permeability is essential for performance predictions of reservoirs with solutions for gas drive, gas cap expansion, or gas injection. The nature of flow in reservoir is determined by the interplay of relative permeability and viscous, gravity, and capillary forces. Displacement experiments of the gas-oil system are performed on long core scale models by varying the petrophysical properties and flow conditions. Experiments are conducted in situations where capillary, gravity, and viscous forces are comparable. The effect of destabilized front velocity on relative permeability and residual saturation is investigated. The results indicate that the relative permeability varies... 

Relative permeability is used to describe quantitatively simultaneous transport of two or more immiscible phases through a porous medium. Accurate estimates of relative permeability curves depend on the method of estimation and are desired to obtain reliable predictions of flow behavior. To compare the accuracy of relative permeability estimation of implicit and explicit methods, primary drainage experiments of water by a sample oil fluid have been studied. The experiments performed on a horizontal glass type micromodel as a model of porous media sample under different fixed high flow rates condition to negate capillary pressure effects. The relative permeability of oil and water phases is... 

In this paper we present new methods to estimate the effective permeability (keff) of heterogeneous porous media with a wide distribution of permeabilities and various underlying structures, using percolation concepts. We first set a threshold permeability (kth) on the permeability density function and use standard algorithms from percolation theory to check whether the high permeable grid blocks (i.e., those with permeability higher than kth) with occupied fraction of “p” first forms a cluster connecting two opposite sides of the system in the direction of the flow (high permeability flow pathway). Then we estimate the effective permeability of the heterogeneous porous media in different... 

In this article, dynamic core flood experiments in miscible CO2 condition were carried out to investigate core damage due to asphaltene deposition. Carbonate and sandstone cores were used to study of effect of core characteristic on permeability and porosity reduction. The experimental results show asphaltene deposition preferentially in sandstone core type takes place in the first half of the core while in the carbonate one it occurs in the second half. In spite of asphaltene content measurement results (IP-143) that show higher asphaltene deposition in sandstone cores, permeability impairment compared to the carbonate one is severe. Also, permeability-porosity reduction models are affected... 

The authors studied deposition and entrainment of asphaltene particles as major mechanisms that occur in porous media. Deposition mechanisms that contribute to permeability reduction and entrainment of deposited particle improve the damaged permeability value. While in most previous works the effects of entrainment mechanism are considered negligible, in this study miscible CO2 injection tests were conducted by core flood apparatus to investigate the effect of asphaltene deposition on permeability and porosity alterations. Results indicated that proposed model for entrainment mechanism is affected by deposition mechanism. The asphaltene deposition core's characteristics have undeniable roles... 

The requirement of reliable relative permeability data is more intensified when the miscibility condition approaches. In this work the relative permeability of CO2 and oil has been measured at different miscibility conditions using conventional methods. Fractured dolomite and sandstone core plugs samples were used in the experiments. Due to some errorful assumptions of conventional methods such as immiscible, incompressible displacement, inverse modeling was used for predicting the reliable relative permeability of oil and gas phases at near miscible condition from measured oil production and pressure drop data. The initial guesses of relative permeabilities were provided from conventional... 

The permeability is one of the most important reservoir parameters and its accurate prediction is necessary for reservoir management and enhancement. Although many empirical formulas are derived regarding permeability and porosity in sandstone reservoirs [1], these correlations cannot be modified accurately in carbonate reservoir for the wells which are not cored and there is no welltest data. Therefore estimation of these parameters is a challenge in reservoirs with no coring sample and welltest data. One of the most powerful tools to estimate permeability from well logs is Artificial Neural Network (ANN) whose advantages and disadvantages have been discussed by several authors [2]. In this... 

The performance of a polymeric membrane in an ultrafiltration system under the chosen optimum conditions was studied. To achieve this, four real produced waters were dealt with. To find the optimum conditions, Taguchi method was applied. Results showed that PAN350 membrane is a potential candidate for industrial applications for three feeds which contained oil and total organic carbon (TOC) less than 1,500 and 300 ppm, respectively. The values of oil/grease, total suspended solids, and turbidity rejections were approximately 100%. Although TOC could not be entirely removed, the removal values for TOC were acceptable in this study. For the fourth feed due to the values of oil and TOC which... 

Natural gas contains several impurities, e.g., CO 2 and H 2S, which have undesirable effects on the performance of the glassy polymeric membranes. The plasticization effect of H 2S at high concentrations on the gas separation performance of polyphenylene oxide hollow fiber membrane has been studied at different compositions of H 2S and feed pressures. The existence of high concentrations of H 2S in CH 4 feed mixture, which is present in many natural gas sources in Iran, enhances plasticization. For a H 2S/CH 4 mixture containing 5008 ppm H 2S at ≈ 75 psig, the H 2S permeance reduces by > 45% from its initial value. H 2S acts as a plasticizer in H 2S/CH 4 membrane separation at elevated... 

The stability of tailings dams is affected by seepage characteristics such as the location of the phreatic surface inside the dam, the effects of the capillary fringe, and the unsaturated zone above the zero pore pressure level. In this study, the performance of drainage systems in tailings dams was investigated by analyzing saturated and unsaturated seepage in the dam, considering the effects of the construction method, tailings properties, and the type of drainage systems. First, general seepage characteristics in tailings dams were studied and the effects of non-homogeneity were investigated. Our results show that in a silty tailings dam with a height of 15 m, unsaturated plus capillary... 

Productivity of gas condensate reservoirs reduces significantly due to the near wellbore condensate/water blockage phenomenon. A novel, permanent solution to alleviate this problem is near wellbore wettability alteration of reservoir rocks to preferentially gas wetting conditions; industrial chemical materials are good candidates for this purpose, because of their eco-friendly characteristics, economical price, and mass production. In this paper, a comparative study is conducted on two industrial fluorinated chemicals, MariSeal 800 and SurfaPore M. Static and dynamic contact angle measurements, spontaneous imbibition, and core flooding tests were conducted to investigate the effect of... 

Production of sand is a common issue in oil and gas fields causing various production problems. However, as a result of sand production, rock permeability can also be increased at near-wellbore areas, which is considered to be an advantage of solid particles production. Therefore, this study aims to investigate sand production behavior and permeability changes during sand production experimentally. To do so, a specific core flooding system capable of applying different radial and axial stresses has been designed which is equipped with a special fluid distributer at the outlet to prevent any sand particle blockage during fluid production. As part of this study, eleven unconsolidated synthetic... 

Steady state seepage analysis of embankment dams is one of the most significant stages in the designing process. Currently, most seepage modeling of embankment dams is performed in two dimensions, often for the highest section, which include several simplifications. In this way, the effect of watertight elements such as grouting curtains in side abutments as well as their material properties is not taken into account in seepage analysis results. Especially if the dam is located in a narrow valley or the effect of existing faults beneath the dam is to be investigated, the results of the two-dimensional seepage analysis differ from those of three-dimensional (3D). In this paper, the... 

Reservoir permeability is an important parameter that its reliable prediction is necessary for reservoir performance assessment and management. Although many empirical formulas are derived regarding permeability and porosity in sandstone reservoirs, these correlations cannot be accurately depicted in carbonate reservoir for the wells that are not cored and for which there are no welltest data. Therefore, having a framework for estimation of these parameters in reservoirs with neither coring samples nor welltest data is crucial. Rock properties are characterized by using different well logs. However, there is no specific petrophysical log for estimating rock permeability; thus, new methods... 

Reservoir permeability is an important parameter that its reliable prediction is necessary for reservoir performance assessment and management. Although many empirical formulas are derived regarding permeability and porosity in sandstone reservoirs, these correlations cannot be accurately depicted in carbonate reservoir for the wells that are not cored and for which there are no welltest data. Therefore, having a framework for estimation of these parameters in reservoirs with neither coring samples nor welltest data is crucial. Rock properties are characterized by using different well logs. However, there is no specific petrophysical log for estimating rock permeability; thus, new methods... 

A gas sensor was developed to measure the concentration of binary gas mixtures. This sensor works based on the permeability change of different gas mixtures across the polymeric membranes. Although high values of permeability and selectivity are needed for an ideal separation, the performance of this sensor mainly depends on the permeability factor. Polysulfone and silicone rubber were applied as the membrane base and coat, respectively. Moreover, in contrast to existing polymeric sensors that use hollow fibers, the present sensor is made of flat membranes. This new design is cheaper, smaller, and easier to use in comparison to the hollow fiber polymeric sensors. In order to test the sensor... 

The formation of condensate banking in the near well-bore region will lead to the reduction in gas relative permeability and loss of well deliverability. This loss is investigated by conducting a series of fine grid numerical compositional simulation with the gas condensate and dry gas reservoir data. Also, a method for calculation of condensate blockage skin factor is introduced in which the skin factor is calculated using dry gas and gas condensate simulation production data. The authors also found that absolute permeability and pressure drawdown of the producing well have significant influence on the well gas deliverability and condensate blockage skin factor