Engineering Commons^™

Improving The Health And Safety Of Manufacturing Workers By Detecting And Addressing Personal Protective Equipment (Ppe) Violations In Real-Time With The Use Of Automated Ppe Detection Technology, Joseph Olufemi Fasinu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) emphasized that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) can significantly reduce the risk of occupational injuries and illnesses. However, improper use, failure to use, and other PPE-related violations can still result in injuries and fatalities. Eye and face protection violation has been one of the top 10 most frequently violated OSHA standards in fiscal years 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 consecutively. A common practice among safety professionals to ensure PPE compliance has been to physically inspect or monitor PPE usage among workers, which has been found to be unsustainable on a continuous real-time …

Advancing Carbon Sequestration Through Smart Proxy Modeling: Leveraging Domain Expertise And Machine Learning For Efficient Reservoir Simulation, Iman Oraki Kohshour

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Geological carbon sequestration (GCS) offers a promising solution to effectively manage extra carbon, mitigating the impact of climate change. This doctoral research introduces a cutting-edge Smart Proxy Modeling-based framework, integrating artificial neural networks (ANNs) and domain expertise, to re-engineer and empower numerical reservoir simulation for efficient modeling of CO₂ sequestration and demonstrate predictive conformance and replicative capabilities of smart proxy modeling.

Creating well-performing proxy models requires extensive human intervention and trial-and-error processes. Additionally, a large training database is essential to ANN model for complex tasks such as deep saline aquifer CO₂ sequestration since it is used as the …

Synthetic Well Log Generation Software, Daniel E. Keller

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In this study, we developed a novel approach to generate synthetic well logs using backpropagation neural networks through the use of an open source software development tool. Our method predicts essential well logs such as neutron porosity, sonic, photoelectric, and resistivity, which are crucial in various stages of oil and gas exploration and development, as they help determine reservoir characteristics. Our approach involves sequentially predicting well logs, using the outputs of one prediction model as inputs for subsequent models to generate comprehensive and coherent sets of well logs. We trained and tested our models using 16 wells from a single …

Application Of The Flowing Material Balance To Unconventional Gas Reservoirs, Amanda Jo Parrish

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In the realm of conventional reservoirs, the estimation of Original Gas-in-Place (OGIP) has long been established using traditional material balance method. However, the emergence of unconventional shale reservoirs accessed through horizontal well and hydraulic fracturing presents new challenges for estimation OGIP by the traditional material balance. The flowing material balance (FMB) has the potential to provide an estimate of the OGIP in the stimulated reservoir volume (SRV).

Adsorption of hydrocarbons to the organic matter within the shale rock matrix represents a significant component of the overall OGIP. The inclusion of the Langmuir volume and pressure in the material balance equation …

Incentive Analysis Of Blockchain Technology, Rahul Reddy Annareddy

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Blockchain technology was invented in the Bitcoin whitepaper released in 2008. Since then, several decentralized cryptocurrencies and applications have become mainstream. There has been an immense amount of engineering effort put into developing blockchain networks. Relatively few projects backed by blockchain technology have succeeded and maintained a large community of developers, users, and customers, while many popular projects with billions of dollars in funding and market capitalizations have turned out to be complete scams.

This thesis discusses the technological innovations introduced in the Bitcoin whitepaper and the following work of the last fifteen years that has enabled blockchain technology. A …

High Precision Pipeline Leak Detection And Localization Using Negative Pressure Wave Technique: An Application In A Real Field Case Study, Nathaniel C. Moryan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

One of the most important aspects of oil and gas production is the safe and efficient fluid transportation using pipelines. Pipelines transporting various fluids are the most efficient but are susceptible to failure and leaks. These leaks can come about through natural disaster, as well as from general wear from the pipes that could result in major environmental and economic problems. The ability to detect leaks with speed and accuracy, as well as locating these leaks within a narrow range, will aid with the maintenance response. Hasty responses will minimize the revenue loss and reduce potential environmental impact but bring …

Development Of A Machine Learning Model To Characterize The Performance Of A Selective Catalytic Reduction On Filter After-Treatment System For A Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine, Samuel A. Okeleye

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Particulate matter (PM) and Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) are the major pollutants in diesel engines, an attempt to control one leads to an increase in the other, a phenomenon known as PM-NOx trade-off in diesel engine emission control. Currently, these two pollutants are controlled by the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) and the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) after-treatment system respectively, in addition to the Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC) which helps to provide 1:1 split of NO/NO₂ and helps with raising exhaust gas temperatures. Today, heavy-duty diesel engines feature a DPF, a primary SCR and a secondary SCR. Despite this complex …

Ear Biometrics: A Comprehensive Study Of Taxonomy, Detection, And Recognition Methods, Susan Awm El-Naggar

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Due to the recent challenges in access control, surveillance and security, there is an increased need for efficient human authentication solutions. Ear recognition is an appealing choice to identify individuals in controlled or challenging environments. The outer part of the ear demonstrates high discriminative information across individuals and has shown to be robust for recognition. In addition, the data acquisition procedure is contactless, non-intrusive, and covert. This work focuses on using ear images for human authentication in visible and thermal spectrums. We perform a systematic study of the ear features and propose a taxonomy for them. Also, we investigate the …

Productivity Index For Unconventional Gas Wells, Yousef Khajah

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Productivity Index reflects the ability of a well to produce hydrocarbons and is often used to analyze the well's performance. Productivity Index is the ratio of the flow rate to the drawdown pressure under pseudo-steady state flow conditions. The unconventional gas formation such as shale are the main target of the gas exploration and production. The application of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies have been instrumental in development of shale gas resources. The evaluation of the productivity index for unconventional gas wells is however challenging because the production mainly occurs under the transient conditions.

This research aims to evaluate …

Modeling Gas Migration During A Gas Kick, Ali Zankawi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Gas kick is an undesirable problem in the oil and gas industry, which can potentially interfere with the production process and damage drilling equipment. The primary intent of this study is to highlight gas migration and its effect on gas kick mitigation approaches that would benefit the petroleum industry. The integrated analysis provides valuable insight regarding parameters promoting efficient drilling and production processes, Minimizing the risk of gas kicks. This study aimed to investigate the impact of critical parameters on gas migration during the gas kick in both water- and oil-based mud and promote the understanding of the dynamics of …

Designs And Practical Control Methods For Soft Parallel Robots, Benjamin T. Buzzo

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The use of soft robotics is becoming an increasingly researched topic, since they can provide more flexibility in movements and increase safety when working with humans. However, they are more susceptible to modeling and manufacturing errors in the design.

The objective of this thesis is two-fold, the first objective is to determine the benefits and limitations of using calibration tables that rely on the PWM signals instead of modeling as a control method. If calibration tables are not adequate to achieve a high level of precision. The second objective is to determine if using a tethered mobile robot in unison …

Engaging First Year Students With Intellectual Property, Marian G. Armour-Gemmen

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Since intellectual property is so important to engineers, creating enthusiasm from the beginning of their engineering studies is imperative. Since first year students have not learned how to apply technological concepts to real life, demonstrating intellectual property could be a challenge. To engage first year engineering students in the concept and the value of intellectual property, students were introduced to basic concepts and applications. Different concepts were applied to real life examples allowing them to interface with technology from an intellectual property perspective. This paper highlights not only patents, but also trademarks and trade secrets.

Utilization Of A Numerical Reservoir Simulation With Water And Gas Injection For Verification Of Top Down Modeling, Ashley Konya

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The primary purpose of this thesis was to confirm the capabilities of artificial intelligence and machine learning through Top Down Modeling in history matching and predicting the oil, gas, and water production rates, reservoir pressure, and water saturation, of one limb of an anticline with water and gas injection. Several other characteristics were also applied to make the model more realistic to industry standards. The second purpose of this thesis was to determine the minimum amount of training and calibration data required in order to obtain good results for this particular dataset by increasing the blind validation in one year …

Application Of Decline Curve Analysis To Unconventional Reservoirs, Majed Hisham Kabbani

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Supply and demand are the main key factors for oil and gas industry. Moreover, natural gas was not important until early 18^th century after the World War II. The first shale gas well was successfully drilled 27 ft deep in 1821. The well was drilled in the Devonian Dunkirk shale. Later in the 1980s producers began investigating into the more difficult tight gas sands in order to keep up with the growing market. A decade later in 1990s investors were looking at coalbed methane. Today, as demand is increasing globally, the oil and gas industry is moving toward shale. …

Using Ai And Machine Learning To Indicate Shale Anisotropy And Assist In Completions Design, Cole E. Palmer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Operating companies in the unconventional Marcellus shale play have all faced a similar and problematic issue, while attempting to produce natural gas over the last decade. Companies have quickly realized that not every perforation along their horizontal wells are producing gas. In fact, producing perforations are only ranging from 15%-70% of the total perforations along the horizontal wellbore [1]. This unexplained issue results in millions of dollars in lost revenue per well, in addition to the sunk cost of paying for completions that are not actually yielding any produced gas.

What is causing these perforations to have no produced gas? …

The Impact Of Stress Shadowing With Variations In Cluster Spacing On The Production For Wells Completed In The Marcellus Shale, Joshua R. Dietz

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The design of the well stimulation treatment has significantly changed over the last decade because of the advancement of hydraulic fracturing. The cluster and stage spacing design component of hydraulic fracturing has been a key factor in enhancing the production from the horizontal wells. Recently, the treatment designs are moving towards lower cluster spacing. The reduction of the spacing alters the in-situ stresses in the formation and begin to impact the propagation of next set of future fractures and the properties of previous fractures. These stress alterations from hydraulic fracturing is referred to as stress shadowing.

The objective of study …

Performance Study Of Five Different Cabin Air Filters In The Laboratory And On-Road Drive, Fahad Alqahtani

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

One of the aims of installing ventilation filters in a car is to prevent vehicle occupants from inhaling potentially harmful aerosols emanating from the environment. Vehicle cabin filters are essential in ensuring that a vehicle's air conditioning system provides clean air to its occupants. The purpose of the cabin filter is to improve air quality inside the car to provide better comfort and better protect occupants from experiencing unwanted respiratory problems. Using cabin filters in air conditioning systems is a common practice in modern vehicle manufacturing. Scientists and engineers are continually seeking new ways of improving the efficiency and effectiveness …

Semi Analytical Approach For Binary Mixture Conductivity In Hydraulic Fracturing, Vuong V. Pham

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In hydraulic fracturing, a proppant injection schedule practice typically applies a binary proppant mixture (for example: 100 Mesh sand following by 40/70 Mesh sand in well MIP-3H, Marcellus Shale). The former injection agent is finer in size or less resistant to stress, whereas the latter injection agent is coarser in size or more resistant to stress. This practice creates a special region inside the fracture, in which two injected proppant types co-exist and is defined as the mixture zone. This research concentrates on the variability of the mixture zone under impact of different factors, introduces novel semi-analytical modelling approach to …

Green Completion As A Mitigation For Btex Exposure In Gas Flaring: Nigeria Case Study (Exposure Assessment And Cost Model), Akintunde S. Akinyemi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Gas flaring is an essential part of the oil and gas industry safety and waste management procedures; however, it presents a potential exposure to BTEX compounds, a group of Non-Methane Volatile Organic Compounds (NMVOC), within up to a 10-mile radius of the flare point. The physical and the psychological cost of the journey to work, make employees live close to the workplace. This study examined the perceived exposure of oil and gas industry workers to possible carcinogenic emissions outside the workplace. It looked at the outcomes of the exposure to BTEX through gas flaring drawing on archival data and using …

Top-Down Model Development Using Data Generated From A Complex Numerical Reservoir Simulation With Water Injection, Yvon Andrea Martinez

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Numerical simulation and data-driven modeling are two current approaches in engineering reservoir modeling. Numerical reservoir simulation attempts to match past production history by modifying reservoir properties of the model. After multiple computationally intensive trial and error efforts, accurate history matches are identified. These history matches are used by project management for production forecasting purposes. Data-driven reservoir modeling utilizes measured data and is, therefore, free of assumptions that are often included in numerical reservoir simulations. Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms are technologies implemented in the development of a data-driven reservoir model with efforts to learn fluid flow through porous media …

Deep Learning Based Face Detection And Recognition In Mwir And Visible Bands, Suha Reddy Mokalla

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In non-favorable conditions for visible imaging like extreme illumination or nighttime, there is a need to collect images in other spectra, specifically infrared. Mid-Wave infrared (3-5 microm) images can be collected without giving away the location of the sensor in varying illumination conditions. There are many algorithms for face detection, face alignment, face recognition etc. proposed in visible band till date, while the research using MWIR images is highly limited. Face detection is an important pre-processing step for face recognition, which in turn is an important biometric modality. This thesis works towards bridging the gap between MWIR and visible spectrum …

Production Allocation Of Reservoir Layers Using Data-Driven Reservoir Modeling, Semaa Alessa

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The pros of having a commingled layer scheme would be considered high with successful reservoir management. If not, the cons will impact the production drastically as unfortunate consequences may result in reservoir fluids communication, well integrity issues, and production termination. Although the plane requires optimizing production with minimal capital investments and operating expenses, it is an enormous challenge considering commingled layers frequent surveillance and workover requirements.

As the value of information is a decision tool for the surveillance frequency, the oil industry often uses static assumptions as an economical replacement of dynamic measurements such as KH static modeling. However, the …

Smart Proxy Modeling Of Sacroc Co2-Eor, Gholami Vida, Mohaghegh D. Shahab, Maysami Mohammad

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Large CO2-enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects usually contain an abundance of geological and good performance data. While this volume of data leads to robust models, it often results in difficult to manage, slow-running numerical flow models. To dramatically reduce the numerical run-times associated with the traditional simulation techniques, this work investigated the feasibility of using artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to develop a smart proxy model of the Scurry Area Canyon Reef Operators Committee (SACROC) oilfield, located in the Permian Basin, TX, USA. Smart proxy models can be used to facilitate injection-production optimization for CO2-EOR projects. The use of …

Optimizing The Production And Injection Wells Flow Rates In Geothermal Field Using Artificial Intelligence, Muhammet Salih Ariturk

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In a geothermal field, power plants are designed for long-term electricity generation. Therefore, it is crucial to predict the future production and injection flow rates of the wells to determine the capacity of a power plant. In the designing of such power plants, calculations and estimations are based on the current future production, and injection flow rates and pressures in the geothermal field. Prediction of future production and injection flow rates also assist in building surface facilities with cost-efficient power plants. The most common problem in a power plant in geothermal fields is the inability to accurately estimate future expected …

Evaluation Of Ultra Fine Cigarette Smoke Particles Penetration On 3m 6200 Half Mask Respirators With P-100 Filters, Selcuk Elhan

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This study was aimed to investigate the effectiveness of half mask respirator with double P-100 filters by determining the penetration of cigarette smoke particles. In this study, faceseal leakage of a breathing manikin donned a 3M 6200 half mask elastomeric respirator with double P-100 filters was determined at various test conditions. A full factorial test conditions of 4 sealing conditions (Non-sealed, only nose sealed, nose and chin sealed, and fully sealed), 2 inspiratory breathing types (Constant, cyclic), 4 flowing rates (15, 30, 50, 85 L/min for cyclic; 15, 30, 50, 80 L/min for constant) were employed and each test condition …

Energy Efficiency Evaluation Of Blower Heater Non-Purge Compressed Air Dryers, Alexandra M. Botts

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

There are several compressed air dryers available for industrial use including, refrigerant, desiccant, and membrane. This research focuses on twin tower regenerative closed loop desiccant dryers, specifically: blower heater non-purge (BHNP) with and without cooling water pumps, Compressed-air Heater Purge (CHP), Blower Heater Purge (BHP), and Pressure Swing Heaterless (PSH). These styles of dryers are used mainly in industries that require extremely dry air such as, food manufacturing, medical air, or sensitive technology manufacturers. The research was conducted by collecting and analyzing real time current draw data on air compressors and associated dryers at eight different facilities (13 compressor systems) …

Detection Of Buried Non-Metallic (Plastic And Frp Composite) Pipes Using Gpr And Irt, Jonas Kavi

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This research investigated alternative strategies for making buried non-metallic pipes (CFRP, GFRP, and PVC) easily locatable using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). Pipe diameters up to 12" and buried with up to 4 ft. of soil cover were investigated. The findings of this study will help address the detection problem of non-metallic pipelines and speed the adoption of composite pipes by the petroleum and natural gas industry. The research also investigated the possibility of locating buried pipes transporting hot fluids using Infrared Thermography (IRT).

Results from the study have shown that, using carbon fabric and aluminum tape overlay on non‑metallic pipes …

Application Of Machine Learning On Fracture Interference, Dennis Wayne Chamberlain Jr.

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

A method has been developed that locates and determines well-to-well hydraulic fracture interference (frac-hit) in shale plays using hard data. This method uses Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) with designated parameters and target outputs in conjunction with graphs of gas flowrate, tubing pressure, and cumulative gas prediction. The method was created to address the significant increase in frac-hit occurrences due to the infill wells being completed in shale plays. The production data of the well is first cleaned to eliminate outliers in the initial timeframe of the well and periods of no production so that the ANN model can be accurately …