Sharif Digital Repository

Decision on the location of new wells through infill drilling projects is a complex problem that depends on the reservoir rock and fluid properties, well and surface facilities specifications, and economic measures. Conventional approach to address this is a direct optimization that uses the numerical flow simulation. However, this is computationally very extensive. In this study the authors use a hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA) optimization technique based on the genetic algorithm (GA) with helper functions based on the polytope algorithm and the neural network. This hybridization introduces hill-climbing into the stochastic search and makes use of proxies created and calibrated iteratively... 

A high-order compact finite-difference lattice Boltzmann method (CFDLBM) is proposed and applied to accurately compute steady and unsteady incompressible flows. Herein, the spatial derivatives in the lattice Boltzmann equation are discretized by using the fourth-order compact FD scheme, and the temporal term is discretized with the fourth-order Runge-Kutta scheme to provide an accurate and efficient incompressible flow solver. A high-order spectral-type low-pass compact filter is used to stabilize the numerical solution. An iterative initialization procedure is presented and applied to generate consistent initial conditions for the simulation of unsteady flows. A sensitivity study is also... 

This paper develops a two dimensional Green element simulator based on a "compatibility-equation" algorithm for simulation of counter-current spontaneous imbibition (COUCSI) process. The Green element method is a novel computational approach based on the boundary integral theory, which is regarded as a hybrid combination of both boundary and finite element methods. The superiority of the Green element method in modeling of two phase water/oil flow is at the core of this paper. The developed simulator within the context of this proposition is explored to predict the oil recovery from a one dimensional single matrix block. The results are then compared with the experimental data, and they... 

Decision on the location of new wells through infill drilling projects is a complex problem that depends on the reservoir rock and fluid properties, well and surface facilities specifications, and economic measures. Conventional approach to address this is a direct optimization that uses the numerical flow simulation. However, this is computationally very extensive. In this study the authors use a hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA) optimization technique based on the genetic algorithm (GA) with helper functions based on the polytope algorithm and the neural network. This hybridization introduces hill-climbing into the stochastic search and makes use of proxies created and calibrated iteratively... 

In this paper, a unique and applicable method was developed for calculation of efficiency (and mass and heat transfer coefficients) of randomly-packed distillation columns. This method has potential advantages; e.g., unlike all the available methods, it can calculate efficiency without using any empirical mass transfer and hydraulic correlations, and without the need to estimate the operational and hydraulic parameters of an operating column. It, therefore, will be free of errors and limitations of such empirical items and can be used for efficiency calculation of any random packing including new ones. Along with an analysis of the proposed method, the paper also presents a thorough analysis... 

In this study, we use direct simulation Monte Carlo method to simulate subsonic flow in nanochannels and micro/nanoscale backward-facing (BF) step considering a wide range of Knudsen number regimes. The nanochannel flow simulation indicates that the nanoscale flow through the nanochannel resembles unique features such as encountering negative pressure deviation behavior and observing flat velocity profiles at higher Knudsen number regimes. On the other hand, the micro/nano BF step flow simulations demonstrate that the length of separation region considerably decreases as the flow becomes more rarefied and approaches the transition regime. Meanwhile, the variations in the flow properties are... 

In the present study, a preconditioned Euler flow solver is developed to accurately and efficiently compute the inviscid flowfield around hovering helicopter rotor. The preconditioning method proposed by Eriksson is applied. The three-dimensional preconditioned Euler equations written in a rotating coordinate frame are solved by using a cell-centered finite volume Roe's method on unstructured meshes. High-order accuracy is achieved via the reconstruction of flow variables using the MUSCL interpolation technique. Calculations are carried out for an isolated rotor in hover for different conditions and the computed surface pressure distributions are compared with the experimental data. The... 

Domed roofs have been used in Iran and many other countries to cover large buildings such as mosques, shrines, churches, schools. They have been also employed in other buildings like bazaars or market places in Iran due to their favorable thermal performance. The aim of this research is to study about domed roofs thermal performance in order to determine how they can be helpful in reducing the maximum air temperature of inside buildings during the warm seasons considering all parameters like air flow around them, solar radiation, radiation heat transfer with the sky and the ground as well as some openings on the building. The results of the study show that the thermal performance of the... 

Simulation of the in-situ combustion process is one of the most complex simulations amongst other reservoir flow simulations. Accurate simulation of the process is critical to obtain a successful implementation of the in-situ combustion process. Several factors impact performance of the simulation of this process. First are all the numerical models used for different sub-processes, such as reactions, fluid phase behavior, heat loss to surrounding formations and fluid physical properties. In the previous numerical models of the in-situ combustion process, very simplified models were used for the phase behavior of the fluid. Recent studies show that the fluid phase behavior model has a great... 

Production logging is used to evaluate wells production performance. Interpretation of production log data provides velocity profile and contribution of each zone on total production. In multi-phase flow conditions, production log interpretation can be challenging since producing fluids do not have similar densities and travel with different speed depending on fluids properties and wellbore deviation. Production log interpretation in multi-phase producing wells requires identifying downhole flow regimes and determining velocity profile for each phase. There are different flow regimes and velocity models available, which are being used in production log interpretation to determine wells flow... 

This Paper presents the simulation of electroosmotic flow in nanochannels using the dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) method. Most of the past electroosmotic phenomenon studies have been carried out using the continuum flow assumptions. However, there are many electroosmotic applications in nanoscales NEMS and microscales MEMS, which need to be treated using non-continuum flow assumptions. We simulate the electroosmotic flow within the mesoscopic scale using the DPD method. Contrary to the ordinary molecular dynamics method, the DPD method provides less computational costs. We will show that the current DPD results are in very good agreement with other available non-DPD results. To expand... 

Contraction flow is one of important geometries in fluid flow both in Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids. In this study, flow of a viscoelastic fluid through a planar 4:1 contraction with rounded corners was investigated. Six different rounding ratios (RR =0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.375, 0.438, 0.475, 0.488) was examined using the linear PTT constitutive equation at creeping flow and isothermal condition. Then the resulting PDE set including continuity, momentum, and PTT constitutive equations were implemented to the OpenFOAM software. The results clearly show vortex deterioration with increasing rounding diameter, so that when rounding corner exceeds a critical value, the vortex disappears... 

We investigate heat transfer between parallel plates separated by liquid argon using two-dimensional molecular dynamics (MD) simulations incorporating with 6-12 Lennard-Jones potential between molecule pairs. In molecular dynamics simulation of nanoscale flows through nanochannels, it is customary to fix the wall molecules. However, this approach cannot suitably model the heat transfer between the fluid molecules and wall molecules. Alternatively, we use thermal walls constructed from the oscillating molecules, which are connected to their original positions using linear spring forces. This approach is much more effective than the one which uses a fixed lattice wall modeling to simulate the... 

The present study focuses on the numerical simulation of cavitation around the NACA 0015. The unsteady behaviors of cavitation which have worthwhile applications are investigated. The cavitation patterns, velocity fields and frequency of the cavitating flow around hydrofoil is obtained. For multi phase simulation, single-fluid Navier-Stokes equations, along with a volume fraction transport equation, are employed. The bubble dynamics model is utilized to simulate phase change. SIMPLE algorithm is used for velocity and pressure computations. For discretization of equations the finite-volume approach written in body fitted curvilinear coordinates, on collocated grid, is used. In this study,... 

Reservoir flow simulation involves subdivision of the physical domain into a number of gridblocks. This is best accomplished with optimized gridpoint density and a minimized number of gridblocks, especially for coarse-grid generation from a fine-grid geological model. In any coarse-grid generation, proper distribution of gridpoints, which form the basis of numerical gridblocks, is a challenging task. We show that this can be achieved effectively by a novel grid-generation approach based on a background grid that stores gridpoint spacing parameters. Spacing parameter (L) can be described by Poisson's equation (▽2L = G), where the local density of gridpoints is controlled by a variable source... 

Three-dimensional simulation of incompressible flow in rotating tubes for both laminar and turbulent flows has been performed using a finite-volume method for elliptic flows. The influence of Reynolds number on the velocity field and the effects of temperature gradient on temperature profiles have been presented by numerical simulations. Also the effects of velocity field, flow regime, and temperature distribution along the tube have been studied from different points of view. The results have been calculated for rotational Reynolds numbers ranging from 1000 to 320,000. The comparisons between numerically calculated velocity field and the Nusselt number have shown satisfactory agreement with... 

Forced convective of a nanofluid that consists of water and Al2O3 in horizontal tubes has been studied numerically. Computed results were validated with existing well established correlation. Two-phase Eulerian model has been implemented for the first time to study such a flow field. A single-phase model and two-phase mixture model formulations were also used for comparison. The comparison of calculated results with experimental values shows that the mixture model is more precise. It is illustrated that the single-phase model and the two-phase Eulerian model underestimates the Nusselt number. Effects of nanoparticles concentration on the thermal parameters are also discussed  

In this work, the Chebyshev collocation spectral lattice Boltzmann method is implemented in the generalized curvilinear coordinates to provide an accurate and efficient low-speed LB-based flow solver to be capable of handling curved geometries with non-uniform grids. The low-speed form of the D2Q9 and D3Q19 lattice Boltzmann equations is transformed into the generalized curvilinear coordinates and then the spatial derivatives in the resulting equations are discretized by using the Chebyshev collocation spectral method and the temporal term is discretized with the fourth-order Runge–Kutta scheme to provide an accurate and efficient low-speed flow solver. All boundary conditions are... 

The accuracy of Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence models to predict the behavior of 2-D density currents has been examined. In this work, a steady density current is simulated by the k - ε, k - ε RNG, two-layer k - ε and modified v̄2 - f model, all of which are compared with the experimental data. Density currents, with a uniform velocity and concentration, enter a channel via a sluice gate into a lighter ambient fluid and move forward down-slope. The eddy-viscosity concept cannot accurately simulate this flow because of two stress production structures found within it. Results show that all isotropic models have a weak outcome on this current, but by improving the ability of... 

Applying upscaling techniques is an undeniable demand in reservoir simulation, considering the difference between level of details in a geological model and level of details that can be handled by reservoir simulators. Upscaling reservoir model involves first constructing a coarse grid by employing gridding algorithms and then computing average properties for coarse grid blocks. Although various techniques have been proposed for each of these steps, one has to be aware of strengths and weaknesses of each technique before attempting to apply them. In this paper, we focus on different gridding methods and evaluate their performances. Three main grid generation techniques are considered:...