Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Single Phase Gas Flow Response Of Fractured Horizontal And Vertical Wells To Repeated Production, Divya Kandlakunta

Masters Theses

"Historically, the conventional approach to well production has been to produce continuously, minimizing interruptions to flow insofar as possible. Yet some operators have observed improved well flow rates and ultimate recovery after a significant well shut-in periods. These production increases have not been documented. This study investigates the production impact of cyclic production/shut-in on fractured vertical and horizontal gas well performance.

A numerical reservoir model in Stimplan software was used to model production in fracture stimulated vertical and horizontal gas wells. Reservoir permeability is varied over a range of 0.0001 md to 1 md, and the shut-in period was varied …

Surface Modification Of Tin Oxide Nanoparticles By Atomic Layer Deposition For Enhanced Electrochemical Performance, Sai Abhishek Palaparty

Masters Theses

"Atomic Layer Deposition is a robust technique used to deposit high quality, conformal, and size-tunable ultrathin films on a substrate. This technique can be used to coat protective films on battery anode and cathode materials for enhanced performance. In the case of cathodes, the ultrathin film provides a protective barrier preventing cationic dissolution. In the case of anodes, the film acts as a supporting matrix reducing strain caused by volume expansions. In these study, we use this technique to coat an optimally thick conductive iron oxide film on tin oxide particles to improve its electrochemical performance at high current densities …

Hydrodynamic Of A Co-Current Gas Liquid Upflow In A Moving Packed Bed Reactor With Porous Catalysts, Ali Jabbar Toukan

Masters Theses

"In this study, the hydrodynamic, i.e. flow regime identification, line average liquid holdup, and the internal liquid holdup of a co-current moving packed bed reactor were studied. For the sake of hydrodynamics study, moving bed reactor is investigated as two-phase upflow packed bed reactor. Scaled down configuration was used to simulate of the moving bed reactors utilized in the industrial process. First, line average liquid holdup is measured with different geometrical configurations covering empty, dry, wet, and packed column under flowrates operation conditions. A new methodology has been developed to determine the line average liquid holdup for a porous catalyst. …

A New Insight Into High-Strength Ti62nb12.2fe13.6co6.4al5.8 Alloys With Bimodal Microstructure Fabricated By Semi-Solid Sintering, Lehua Liu, Chao Yang, L.M Kang, Shengguan Qu, Xiaoquiang Li, Weiwen Zhang, Weiping Chen, Yuanyuan Li, Peijie Li, Laichang Zhang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

It is well known that semi-solid forming could only obtain coarse-grained microstructure in a few alloy systems with a low melting point, such as aluminum and magnesium alloys. This work presents that semi-solid forming could also produce novel bimodal microstructure composed of nanostructured matrix and micro-sized (CoFe)Ti₂ twins in a titanium alloy, Ti₆₂Nb₁₂.2Fe_13.6Co_6.4Al_5.8. The semi-solid sintering induced by eutectic transformation to form a bimodal microstructure in Ti₆₂Nb_12.2Fe_13.6Co_6.4Al_5.8 alloy is a fundamentally different approach from other known methods. The fabricated alloy …

Cement Based Batteries And Their Potential For Use In Low Power Operations, Aimee Byrne, Niall Holmes, Brian Norton

Articles

This paper presents the development of an innovative cement-electrolyte battery for low power operations such as cathodic protection of reinforced concrete. A battery design was refined by altering different constituents and examining the open circuit voltage, resistor loaded current and lifespan. The final design consisted of a copper plate cathode, aluminium plate anode, and a cement electrolyte which included additives of carbon black, plasticiser, Alum salt and Epsom salt. A relationship between age, temperature and hydration of the cell and the current it produced was determined. It was found that sealing the battery using varnish increased the moisture retention and …

Unique Characterization Of Materials With Memory, John Murrough Golden

Articles

In general, materials with linear memory constitutive relations are characterized by a relaxation function. This leads to a situation where the free energy for most materials with memory is not unique. There is a convex set of free energy functionals with a minimum and a maximum element. An alternative procedure is proposed which characterizes a material by the kernel of the rate of dissipation functional. Using some recent results, we find that a unique free energy and relaxation function may then be deduced. An example is given for discrete spectrum materials. Also, the new results are used to show that …

Computational Modeling Of High-Performance Nickel-Metal Hydride Battery Materials, Diana Felicia Wong

Wayne State University Dissertations

With 10 million hybrid electric vehicles on the road worldwide powered primarily by nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, research into this battery chemistry will improve the hybrid vehicle driving experience, extending electric-only driving ranges while reducing emissions and using less gasoline. The transfer, storage and transport of protons and electrons depend strongly on the structural and electrical features of the active material, including multiple phases, defects, and structural and compositional disorder. The contributions of such subtle defects and the difference with the bulk structure can be difficult to discern experimentally. Ab initio calculations such as the ones based on density functional …

An Overview Of The Development Of Cement-Based Batteries For The Cathodic Protection Of Embedded Steel In Concrete, Aimee Byrne, Niall Holmes, Brian Norton

Conference papers

This paper presents an overview of the cement-based batteries developed in DIT for use in the cathodic protection of embedded steel in reinforced concrete undergoing chloride-induced corrosion. Cathodic protection delivers an external current (approximately 20mA per m2 of embedded steel) which effectively polarises the internal current generated during corrosion. The batteries developed in DIT comprise of a cement-based electrolyte containing different additives including sand, aggregate, salts, carbon black and plasticiser with protruding anode and cathode metal plates. These batteries produced an initial electrical output of 1.5V and 23mA through a 10 resistor as measured using data acquisition units and a …

An Integrated Completion And Reservoir Modeling Methodology For Horizontal Shale Wells: A Montney Formation Example, Rashid S. Kassim, Larry K. Britt, Shari Dunn-Norman, Bryan Lang

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Montney Formation is one of the largest unconventional resources in North America covering from southwestern Alberta to northeast British Columbia. The Montney Formation has natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL) and oil from conventional and unconventional reservoirs. The first multiple fractured horizontal well (MFHW) was drilled in 2005. However, since the first MFHW, different methods were proposed to optimize completion designs in the Montney Formation. Some of the optimized completions utilized the "operational effectiveness" of high-rate slick-water fracture designs while other designs utilized energized fracturing fluids. What has been missing was an integrated methodology that utilizes all available data …

Laboratory Evaluation Of A Real-Time Coaxial Cable Casing Imager For Wellbore Integrity Monitoring, Yurong Li, Runar Nygaard, Baokai Cheng, Wenge Zhu, Hai Xiao

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Leakage is one of the major concerns in a geological carbon sequestration project due to the adverse environmental consequences. The main leakage risk of CO₂ through a thick, low permeable cap rock is identified to be along wells, especially in sedimentary basins that have a history of oil and gas exploration and production. To pursue a robust and cost-effective real-time monitoring technology for CO₂ leakage risk detection along the wellbore, a permanently downhole deployed coaxial cable casing imaging system is developed and tested for various deformation modes in laboratory in this paper. The casing imager consists of a …

Nitrogen Gas Flooding For Naturally Fractured Carbonate Reservoir: Visualisation Experiment And Numerical Simulation, Zhaojie Song, Jirui Hou, Zhongchun Liu, Fenglan Zhao, Shijun Huang, Yong Wang, Jieheng Wu, Baojun Bai

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Tahe Naturally Fractured Carbonate Reservoir has implemented nitrogen gas flooding since 2013, with daily oil production of 7580 bbls and oil recovery increment of 0.83% by the end of 2015. However, the presence of fractures significantly affects gas swept volume and production performance, so large amount of oil reserves is poorly flooded due to gas channeling through fractures. The fluid flow mechanisms in fractured models were discussed in order to improve field gas flooding efficiency. Based on the geological constrains of Tahe Oilfield, fractured models with different apertures were fabricated using acrylic glass to model carbonate matrix wettability and for …

Experimental Investigation Of Fracture Width Limitations Of Granular Lost Circulation Treatments, Mortadha Al-Saba, Runar Nygaard, Arild Saasen, Olav Magnar Nes

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Drilling fluid losses into fractured shales is a major challenge. Lost circulation treatments are widely applied to mitigate the losses; however, the effectiveness of these treatments is affected by different physical properties of the used lost circulation materials (LCM). This paper presents an experimental investigation to study the effect of LCM type, concentration, particle size distribution, temperature, and LCM shape on the formed seal integrity, with respect to differential pressure, at different fracture widths. The overall objective of this study is to address the effectiveness of LCM treatments in sealing fractured shales, with specific application to the over consolidated Barents …

Gallium-Containing Mesoporous Bioactive Glass With Potent Hemostatic Activity And Antibacterial Efficacy, Sara Pourshahrestani, Ehsan Zeimaran, Nahrizul Adib Kadri, Nicola Gargiulo, Shani Samuel, Sangeetha Vasudevaraj Naveen, Tunku Kamarul, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Haemorrhage remains the leading cause of potentially survivable death in both military and civilian populations. Although a large variety of hemostatic agents have been developed, many of them have an inadequate capacity to induce hemostasis and are not effective in killing bacteria. In recent years, mesoporous bioactive glasses (MBGs) were found to be effective in inducing hemostasis. However, the materials may not be considered as ideal hemostats since they do not offer antimicrobial activity. The gallium ion (Ga⁺³) not only exhibits antibacterial properties but also accelerates the blood coagulation cascade. The aim of this study was to develop …

Antibacterial Properties Of Poly (Octanediol Citrate)/Gallium-Containing Bioglass Composite Scaffolds, Ehsan Zeimaran, Sara Pourshahrestani, Ivan Djordjevic, Belinda Pingguan-Murphy, Nahrizul Adib Kadri, Anthony W. Wren, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Bioactive glasses may function as antimicrobial delivery systems through the incorporation and subsequent release of therapeutic ions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial properties of a series of composite scaffolds composed of poly (octanediol citrate) with increased loads of a bioactive glass that releases zinc (Zn²⁺) and gallium (Ga³⁺) ions in a controlled manner. The antibacterial activity of these scaffolds was investigated against both Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria. The ability of the scaffolds to release ions and the subsequent ingress of these ions into hard tissue was evaluated …

Relating Ion Release And Ph To In Vitro Cell Viability For Gallium-Inclusive Bioactive Glasses, Timothy J. Keenan, L. M. Placek, T. L. Mcginnity, Mark R. Towler, M. M. Hall, A. W. Wren

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A bioactive glass (BG) in which Ga was substituted for Zn was formulated to investigate whether the ionic form of Ga can elicit effects similar to gallium nitrate. The ion release and pH of BG extracts were evaluated, as well as the in vitro cytocompatibility of extracts in contact with mouse fibroblasts and human osteoblasts. After incubation times of 1 year, the glass (TGa-1) containing the smaller Ga-addition (8 mol%) released the most sodium (Na) (1420 mg/L), silicon (Si) (221 mg/L), and Ga (1295 mg/L), while the glass (TGa-2) containing the larger Ga-addition (16 mol%), exhibited release levels between TGa-1, …

Inorganic Hemostats: The State-Of-The-Art And Recent Advances, Sara Pourshahrestani, Ehsan Zeimaran, Ivan Djordjevic, Nahrizul Adib Kadri, Mark R. Towler

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Hemorrhage is the most common cause of death both in hospitals and on the battlefield. The need for an effective hemostatic agent remains, since all injuries are not amenable to tourniquet use. There are many topical hemostatic agents and dressings available to control severe bleeding. This article reviews the most commonly used inorganic hemostats, subcategorized as zeolite and clay-based hemostats. Their hemostatic functions as well as their structural properties that are believed to induce hemostasis are discussed. The most important findings from in vitro and in vivo experiments are also covered.

X-Ray Protection, Surface Chemistry And Rheology Of Ball-Milled Submicron Gd2o3 Aqueous Suspension, Ly B. T. La, Yee-Kwong Leong, Christopher Leatherday, Pek I. Au, Kevin Hayward, Laichang Zhang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

X-ray protective garments are typically comprised of lead-based materials, which are toxic to both people and the environment. Developing alternative lightweight radiation shielding materials is a priority for protecting people working with radiation. Gadolinium, with an electron configuration typical of radiation shielding elements, is proposed as a non-toxic replacement for lead. This study provides new insights into the potential for a gadolinium suspension for replacing lead and proposes an inexpensive and effective preparation method. Submicron gadolinium oxide (Gd₂O₃) was generated using a cost effective ball milling method involving addition of NaCl. Then, the dispersed-flocculated behaviour of …

A Novel Approach For The Preparation Of Nanosized Gd2o3 Structure: The Influence Of Surface Force On The Morphology Of Ball Milled Particles, Ly B. T. La, Yee-Kwong Leong, Harry P. Watts, Pek-Ing Watts, Kevin Hayward, Laichang Zhang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This work investigates the effect of inter-particle forces arising from adsorbed typical cationic and anionic surfactants on the morphology of ball milled gadolinium oxide (Gd₂O₃). The experimental outcomes are interpreted in terms of stabilization and interaction mechanisms of fine washed Gd₂O₃ particles (size diameter <1 μm) in aqueous medium under the variation of surface forces arising of adsorbed surfactant. After ball milling and washing, the point of zero charge or isoelectric point (IEP) of Gd₂O₃ particles suspension is at pH 11 where its maximum yield stress is observed. Because of hydrophobic interaction, the maximum yield stress increases by 30 times by adsorbed sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and its IEP shifts slightly to a lower pH. By cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), …

Growth Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons During The Supercritical Pyrolysis Of N-Decane, Subramanian Venkateswaran Kalpathy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In order to serve a dual role as a propellant and as a coolant, fuels in the pre-combustion environment of future high-speed aircraft will be exposed to temperatures and pressures of up to 700 °C and 130 atm—conditions that are supercritical for jet fuels. Under such conditions, fuel can undergo pyrolytic reactions leading to the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which are precursors to fuel-line solid deposits that can hinder safe operation of the aircraft. Therefore, to prevent solid deposit formation, it is extremely important to understand the PAH formation pathways in the supercritical fuel pyrolysis environment. To better …

Modelling Hydraulic Fracturing Propagation In Heterogeneous Reservoirs Using Cohesive Zone Methods, Miguel Alejandro Gonzalez-Chavez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The recent success in exploiting low permeability shale reservoirs has heavily relied on hydraulic fracturing to produce hydrocarbons economically in disadvantaged reservoir conditions. Although horizontal drilling significantly increases the contact area between the wellbore and the reservoir, the objective of hydraulic fracturing is set on creating further expanded conductive flow paths into the reservoir. This research uses cohesive zone method to numerically simulate hydraulic fracture propagation in the presence of natural fractures in two- and three-dimensional model. The Cohesive element approach limits fracture propagation to some predefined paths. However, in highly fractured formations since hydraulic fractures are growing through a …