Engineering Commons^™

A Review Of Hydrogen/Rock/Brine Interaction: Implications For Hydrogen Geo-Storage, Masoud Aslannezhad, Muhammad Ali, Azim Kalantariasl, Mohammad Sayyafzadeh, Zhenjiang You, Stefan Iglauer, Alireza Keshavarz

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Hydrogen (H₂) is currently considered a clean fuel to decrease anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and will play a vital role in climate change mitigation. Nevertheless, one of the primary challenges of achieving a complete H₂ economy is the large-scale storage of H₂, which is unsafe on the surface because H₂ is highly compressible, volatile, and flammable. Hydrogen storage in geological formations could be a potential solution to this problem because of the abundance of such formations and their high storage capacities. Wettability plays a critical role in the displacement of formation water and determines …

Ultra-High-Performance Concrete Reinforced With Multi-Scale Hybrid Fibers And Its Durability-Related Properties, Jianqiang Wei, Sergio Brena, Cameron Ritchie, Hitesh Bhaskar More

Structural Engineering and Mechanics Research Reports

Due to its excellent mechanical properties, dense microstructure, low permeability, ease of placement and volume stability, ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is considered the next-generation structural concrete and is increasingly used in transportation infrastructure. While previous research efforts generated valuable results, to achieve the desired performance, UHPC needs to be well formulated with precise and optimized quantities of cementitious materials, fillers, fine aggregate, water, chemical admixtures, and fibers. In addition, the mixture design of UHPC and its correlation with the performance evolution under different curing conditions remain unclear, and there exist critical significant gaps in understanding the efficiency of fibers and …

Application Of A Novel Green Nano Polymer For Chemical Eor Purposes In Sandstone Reservoirs: Synergetic Effects Of Different Fluid/Fluid And Rock/Fluid Interacting Mechanisms, Abbas K. Manshad, Alireza Kabipour, Erfan Mohammadian, Lei Yan, Jagar A. A., Stefan Iglauer, Alireza Keshavarz, Milad Norouzpour, Amin Azdarpour, S. Mohammad Sajadi, Siyamak Moradi

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

In this research, a novel natural-based polymer, the Aloe Vera biopolymer, is used to improve the mobility of the injected water. Unlike most synthetic chemical polymers used for chemical-enhanced oil recovery, the Aloe Vera biopolymer is environmentally friendly, thermally stable in reservoir conditions, and compatible with reservoir rock and fluids. In addition, the efficiency of the Aloe Vera biopolymer was investigated in the presence of a new synthetic nanocomposite composed of KCl-SiO2-xanthan. This chemically enhanced oil recovery method was applied on a sandstone reservoir in Southwest Iran with crude oil with an API gravity of 22°. The Aloe Vera biopolymer’s …

Ultra-Low Intensity Post-Pulse Affects Cellular Responses Caused By Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields, Kamal Asadipour, Carol Zhou, Vincent Yi, Stephen J. Beebe, Shu Xiao

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

High-intensity nanosecond pulse electric fields (nsPEF) can preferentially induce various effects, most notably regulated cell death and tumor elimination. These effects have almost exclusively been shown to be associated with nsPEF waveforms defined by pulse duration, rise time, amplitude (electric field), and pulse number. Other factors, such as low-intensity post-pulse waveform, have been completely overlooked. In this study, we show that post-pulse waveforms can alter the cell responses produced by the primary pulse waveform and can even elicit unique cellular responses, despite the primary pulse waveform being nearly identical. We employed two commonly used pulse generator designs, namely the Blumlein …

Recombinant Human Plasma Gelsolin Reverses Increased Permeability Of The Blood-Brain Barrier Induced By The Spike Protein Of The Sars-Cov-2 Virus., Łukasz Suprewicz, Kiet A Tran, Ewelina Piktel, Krzysztof Fiedoruk, Paul A Janmey, Peter Galie, Robert Bucki

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Faculty Scholarship

BACKGROUND: Plasma gelsolin (pGSN) is an important part of the blood actin buffer that prevents negative consequences of possible F-actin deposition in the microcirculation and has various functions during host immune response. Recent reports reveal that severe COVID-19 correlates with reduced levels of pGSN. Therefore, using an in vitro system, we investigated whether pGSN could attenuate increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) during its exposure to the portion of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein containing the receptor binding domain (S1 subunit).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two- and three-dimensional models of the human BBB were constructed using the human cerebral microvascular endothelial …

Gas Hydrate Characterization In Sediments Via X-Ray Microcomputed Tomography, Ghazanfer Raza Abbasi, Muhammad Arif, Abubakar Isah, Muhammad Ali, Mohamed Mahmoud, Hussein Hoteit, Alireza Keshavarz, Stefan Iglauer

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Natural gas hydrates (NGHs) are efficient and promising energy resources because of their high energy density. In addition, NGH occurs in sediments under certain pressure and temperature conditions and has the potential to meet the increasing global energy demand. However, efficient exploitation of NGH requires a precise characterization and understanding of the hydrate formation, accumulation, and dissociation mechanisms. In this context, the microstructural characterization of gas hydrate is essential and requires specialized methods and equipment. While traditional imaging and characterization tools offer fundamental microstructural analysis, x-ray microcomputed tomography (μCT) has gained recent attention in producing high-resolution three-dimensional images of the …

Electromagnetic Wave Propagation For Industry And Biomedical Applications, Fred Lacy

Faculty Publications

Superconductors have a wide array of applications, such as medical imaging, supercomputing, and electric power transmission, but superconducting materials only operate at very cold temperatures. Thus, the quest to engineer room temperature superconductors is currently a hot topic of research. To accomplish this mission, it is important to have a complete understanding of the material properties that are being used to create these superconductors. Understanding the atomic and electromagnetic properties of the prospective materials will provide tremendous insight into the best choice for the materials. Therefore, a theoretical model that incorporates electromagnetic field theory and quantum mechanics principles is utilized …

International Journal Of Electrical And Computer Engineering, Fred Lacy

Faculty Publications

A superconductor has the ability to conduct electricity perfectly and exclude magnetic fields from its interior. In order to understand electromagnetic characteristics of superconductors, their material properties need to be examined. To facilitate this understanding, a theoretical model based on concepts of electromagnetics is presented to explain the electrical and magnetic properties of superconductors. The permittivity response is the key aspect of the model and it describes the electrical resistance response and why it vanishes at the material’s critical temperature. The model also explains the behavior of magnetic fields and why they cannot exist inside superconducting materials. The theoretical concepts …

Peristaltic Flow In The Glymphatic System., Francesco Romanò, Vinod Suresh, Peter Galie, James B Grotberg

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Faculty Scholarship

The flow inside the perivascular space (PVS) is modeled using a first-principles approach in order to investigate how the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) enters the brain through a permeable layer of glial cells. Lubrication theory is employed to deal with the flow in the thin annular gap of the perivascular space between an impermeable artery and the brain tissue. The artery has an imposed peristaltic deformation and the deformable brain tissue is modeled by means of an elastic Hooke's law. The perivascular flow model is solved numerically, discovering that the peristaltic wave induces a steady streaming to/from the brain which strongly …

Hydraulic And Mineralogical Characterization Of Organoclay Before And After Reaction With Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid (Napl), Mostafa Afzalian

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Sediment capping—a method used to stabilize and remediate contaminated subaqueous sediment in lakes or river shores by covering the contaminant with multiple layered materials— is a more effective, economic, and durable in situ treatment compared to ex situ methods such as dredging. The caps are typically composed of porous geomaterials such as gravels, sands, Reactive Core Mat (RCM), including reactive soils (e.g., organoclay) and geosynthetics (e.g., geotextiles). The designed caps are regarded as water-permeable so as not to disturb the sediment; however, the caps become unsaturated state because of trapped gas generated from the decomposition of organic matter. Most of …

Investigation Of Physical And Dynamic Properties Of High Porous Concrete, Ildar Akhmadullin

Publications

This project pursued two main objectives: (1) providing opportunities to Baton Rouge Community College (BRCC) students to develop hands-on laboratory skills and exposure to the transportation field, and (2) investigating porous concrete properties. Several BRCC student groups performed the work presented within this report; students prepared samples with different porosity and permeability according to standard specifications. The testing of the samples was performed at the Louisiana Transportation Research Center (LTRC) facility under the supervision of LTRC specialists. Findings indicate that the porosity of samples is backward proportional to the compression strength. This function is not linear but can be estimated …

Active Layer Groundwater Flow: The Interrelated Effects Of Stratigraphy, Thaw, And Topography, Michael T. O'Connor, M. Bayani Cardenas, Bethany T. Neilson, Kindra D. Nicholaides, George W. Kling

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The external drivers and internal controls of groundwater flow in the thawed “active layer” above permafrost are poorly constrained because they are dynamic and spatially variable. Understanding these controls is critical because groundwater can supply solutes such as dissolved organic matter to surface water bodies. We calculated steady‐state three‐dimensional suprapermafrost groundwater flow through the active layer using measurements of aquifer geometry, saturated thickness, and hydraulic properties collected from two major landscape types over time within a first‐order Arctic watershed. The depth position and thickness of the saturated zone is the dominant control of groundwater flow variability between sites and during …

A Triaxial Applicator For The Measurement Of The Electromagnetic Properties Of Materials, Saranraj Karuppuswami, Edward Rothwell, Premjeet Chahal, Michael J. Havrilla

Faculty Publications

The design, analysis, and fabrication of a prototype triaxial applicator is described. The applicator provides both reflected and transmitted signals that can be used to characterize the electromagnetic properties of materials in situ. A method for calibrating the probe is outlined and validated using simulated data. Fabrication of the probe is discussed, and measured data for typical absorbing materials and for the probe situated in air are presented. The simulations and measurements suggest that the probe should be useful for measuring the properties of common radar absorbing materials under usual in situ conditions.

Study On Components Determination And Performance Evaluation Of Ls Pre-Maintenance Agent, Yuxiang Tian, Biao Ma, Ke Tian, Ning Li, Xueyan Zhou

Michigan Tech Publications

Adequate maintenance and taking active preventive measures can effectively prevent the early disease of asphalt pavements before significant damage occurs. By developing a light screening preventive maintenance agent (LS pre-maintenance agent) for strong ultraviolet (UV) radiation areas, based on the asphalt aging and regeneration mechanism, we analyzed the function and basic components and determined the optimum components ratio based on the best proportion of penetrant and solvent oil for solubility. The optimum ratio for quick-drying and long-term storage ability is the mass ratio of rock asphalt, reducing agent, penetrant, and solvent oil, which is 30:20:20:30. The light-shield agent is 5% …

Longer Lasting Bridge Deck Overlays, David Q. Hunsucker, Kean H. Ashurst Jr., Brad W. Rister, David L. Allen, Eileen Grady

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The objective of this report is to determine the most effective method for bridge deck overlay construction and repair by assessing current practices; examining new products and technologies; and reviewing NCHRP (National Cooperative Highway Research Program) guidelines, state standard specifications, ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) infrastructure ratings, and original bridge core chloride penetration data. Based on the review, this report offers the following conclusions. Latex modified concrete (LMC) overlays perform well, provide a long service life, and are the most commonly used method of bridge deck rehabilitation. Ohio considers microsilica concrete (MSC) overlays as state of the art due …

Co2 Saturated Brine Injected Into Fractured Shale: An X-Ray Micro-Tomography In-Situ Analysis At Reservoir Conditions, Hongyan Yu, Yihuai Zhang, Maxim Lebedev, Zhenliang Wang, Jinfeng Ma, Zhihao Cui, Michael Verrall, Andrew Squelch, Stefan Iglauer

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Fracture morphology and permeability are key factors in enhanced gas recovery (EOR) and Carbon Geo-storage (CCS) in shale gas reservoirs as they determine production and injection rates. However, the exact effect of CO2-saturated (live) brine on shale fracture morphology, and how the permeability changes during live brine injection and exposure is only poorly understood. We thus imaged fractured shale samples before and after live brine injection in-situ at high resolution in 3D via X-ray micro-computed tomography. Clearly, the fractures’ aperture and connectivity increased after live brine injection.

Study Of Gas Production From Shale Reservoirs With Multi-Stage Hydraulic Fracturing Horizontal Well Considering Multiple Transport Mechanisms, Chaohua Guo, Mingzhen Wei, Hong Liu

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Development of unconventional shale gas reservoirs (SGRs) has been boosted by the advancements in two key technologies: horizontal drilling and multi-stage hydraulic fracturing. A large number of multi-stage fractured horizontal wells (MsFHW) have been drilled to enhance reservoir production performance. Gas flow in SGRs is a multi-mechanism process, including: desorption, diffusion, and non-Darcy flow. The productivity of the SGRs with MsFHW is influenced by both reservoir conditions and hydraulic fracture properties. However, rare simulation work has been conducted for multi-stage hydraulic fractured SGRs. Most of them use well testing methods, which have too many unrealistic simplifications and assumptions. Also, no …

Development Of Vegetation-Pervious Concrete In Grid Beam System For Soil Slope Protection, Xiaohua Bao, Wenyu Liao, Zhijun Dong, Shanyong Wang, Waiching Tang

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

One of the most efficient and environmentally friendly methods for preventing a landslide on a slope is to vegetate it. Vegetation-pervious concretes have a promising potential for soil protection. In this study, the vegetation-pervious concrete with low alkalinity was developed and studied. Combined with a grid beam structure system, the stability and strength between the vegetation-pervious concrete and base soil are believed to be enhanced effectively. For improving plant adaptability, the alkalinity of concrete can be decreased innovatively by adding a self-designed admixture into the cement paste. The effects of the admixture content on alkalinity and compressive strength of the …

Impact Of A Pilot Draught Sealing Program On Public Housing Air Permeability, Craig G. Mclauchlan, Laia Ledo Gomis, Paul Cooper

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part B

Air tightness (or permeability) is a property of a building envelope that describes how air moves though it when subjected to a pressure difference (wind, stack effect, etc.), this impacts on building performance including energy usage, thermal comfort and air quality. The NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) implemented a pilot program of simple leak (or draught) sealing measures to improve air permeability and building performance on some of its domestic building stock. The effectiveness of this program was evaluated via blower door testing to international standards including measuring overall envelope permeability, and qualitative and quantitative investigation of the leakage …

Analysis Of Bacterial Diversity In Two Oil Blocks From Two Low-Permeability Reservoirs With High Salinities, Meng Xiao, Shan Shan Sun, Zhong Zhi Zhang, Junming Wang, Long Wei Qiu, Hua Yang Sun, Zhaozheng Song, Beiyu Zhang, De Li Gao, Guangqing Zhang, Wei Min Wu

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The community diversities of two oil reservoirs with low permeability of 1.81 x 10 '3 and 2.29 x 10 '3 1/4m 2 in Changqing, China, were investigated using a high throughput sequencing technique to analyze the influence of biostimulation with a nutrient activator on the bacterial communities. These two blocks differed significantly in salinity (average 17,500 vs 40,900 mg/L). A core simulation test was used to evaluate the effectiveness of indigenous microbial-enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). The results indicated that in the two high salinity oil reservoirs, one reservoir having relatively lower salinity level and a narrow salinity range had higher …

Modeling Of Gas Production From Shale Reservoirs Considering Multiple Transport Mechanisms, Chaohua Guo, Mingzhen Wei, Hong Liu

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Gas transport in unconventional shale strata is a multi-mechanism-coupling process that is different from the process observed in conventional reservoirs. In micro fractures which are inborn or induced by hydraulic stimulation, viscous flow dominates. And gas surface diffusion and gas desorption should be further considered in organic nano pores. Also, the Klinkenberg effect should be considered when dealing with the gas transport problem. In addition, following two factors can play significant roles under certain circumstances but have not received enough attention in previous models. During pressure depletion, gas viscosity will change with Knudsen number; and pore radius will increase when …

Digitalcrust - A 4d Data System Of Material Properties For Transforming Research On Crustal Fluid Flow, Y. Fan, S. Richard, R. S. Bristol, S. E. Peters, S. E. Ingebritsen, N. Moosdorf, A. Packman, T. Gleeson, I. Zaslavsky, S. Peckham, L. Murdoch, M. Fienen, David G. Tarboton, N. Jones, Richard P. Hooper, J. Arrigo, D. Gochis, J. R. Olson, D. Wolock

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Fluid circulation in the Earth's crust plays an essential role in surface, near surface, and deep crustal processes. Flow pathways are driven by hydraulic gradients but controlled by material permeability, which varies over many orders of magnitude and changes over time. Although millions of measurements of crustal properties have been made, including geophysical imaging and borehole tests, this vast amount of data and information has not been integrated into a comprehensive knowledge system. A community data infrastructure is needed to improve data access, enable large‐scale synthetic analyses, and support representations of the subsurface in Earth system models. Here, we describe …

Anisotropy In The Permeability And Consolidation Characteristics Of Dredged Mud, Dhanya Ganesalingam, Jayantha Ameratunga, Guy Schweitzer, Peter Boyle, Nagaratnam Sivakugan

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

Dredging and land reclamation is a billion dollar industry that is spread around the coastal regions of Australia. Maintenance dredging is carried out regularly in many major Australian ports and in several cases the dredged mud is pumped ashore into containment paddocks at high water contents. When the dredged mud settles, there can be segregation with possible anisotropy. The sedimentation of the dredged mud is followed by self-weight consolidation which can take a long time. To accelerate the consolidation process, prefabricated vertical drains and surcharge are often used. To analyse the consolidation process of the dredged mud with vertical drains …

Fiber Metamaterials With Negative Magnetic Permeability In The Terahertz, Anna Wang, Alessandro Tuniz, Peter Hunt, Elise Pogson, R A. Lewis, Avi Bendavid, Simon Fleming, Boris Kuhlmey, Maryanne Large

Faculty of Engineering - Papers (Archive)

We present a novel method for producing metamaterials with a terahertz magnetic response via fiber drawing, which can be inexpensively scaled up to mass production. We draw a centimeter preform to fiber, spool it, and partially sputter it with metal to produce extended slotted resonators. We characterize metamaterial fiber arrays with different orientations via terahertz time domain spectroscopy, observing distinct magnetic resonances between 0.3 and 0.4 THz, in excellent agreement with simulations. Numerical parameters retrieval techniques confirm that such metamaterials possess negative magnetic permeability. Combined with fiber-based negative permittivity materials, this will enable the development of the first woven negative …

Slides: U.S. Shale Gas: Resources, Reserves And $$$, John B. Curtis

Shale Plays in the Intermountain West: Legal and Policy Issues (November 12)

Presenter: John B. Curtis, Professor of Geology and Geological Engineering and Director of the Potential Gas Agency, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO

17 slides

Portland Cement Concrete Pavement Permeability Performance, Javier Castro, Robert Spragg, Phil Kompare, W. Jason Weiss

JTRP Technical Reports

The objective of this project was to evaluate the transport properties of concrete pavement in the state of Indiana using common testing procedures. Specifically this work evaluated the absorption of water, the absorption of deicing solutions, and electrical conductivity. A series of concrete paving mixtures were tested to provide a range of values that were typical for the state of Indiana. While similar mixture proportions were used for the mixtures in Indiana differences in the magnitude of water absorbed occurred. A series of mortars were tested to illustrate the effect of curing conditions, water to cement ratio, and paste volume. …

Slides: The Elusive Bonanza, Randy Udall

The Promise and Peril of Oil Shale Development (February 5)

Presenter: Randy Udall, Co-founder, Association for the Study of Peak Oil-USA

62 slides

Impacts Of Coal Shrinkage, Permeability And Petrography On Gas Regime In Mines Case Study: Tahmoor Coal Mine, Nsw, Australia, Naj Aziz, Ian Porter, F Sereshki

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

The volumetric changes in the coal matrix (Coal Shrinkage), permeability under various gas environment conditions as well as perographical properties were studied in the laboratory. The shrinkage and permeability of coal were examined with respect to changing gas type and confining pressures. The shrinkage tests were carried out in high-pressure bombs while the permeability study was conducted in a specially constructed high-pressure chamber. Methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen, (N2) and a 50%-50% volume mixture of CO2/CH4 gas were used in the study. The tests showed that under different pressure levels gas type affected permeability and shrinkage characteristics of coal. …

Nonlinear Analysis For A Single Vertical Drain Including The Effects Of Preloading Considering The Compressibility And Permeability Of The Soil, Buddhima Indraratna, Xueyu Geng, Cholachat Rujikiatkamjorn

Faculty of Engineering - Papers (Archive)

In this paper, the free strain radial consolidation theory incorporating the changes of compressibility and permeability of the soil with the change in effective stress via time dependent surcharge preloading is presented. In contrast to the conventional analysis, the current study highlights the nonlinear characteristics of the soil during the consolidation process. A comparison of the nonlinear radial consolidation model, with the conventional theory and the equal strain theory i.e. constant volume compressibility, mv and constant coefficient of horizontal permeability, kh is presented. Finally, a case history at Muar coastal plain, Malaysia is analysed on the basis of the current …

Nondestructive Electromagnetic Material Characterization Using A Dual Waveguide Probe: A Full Wave Solution, Milo W. Hyde Iv, James W. Stewart, Michael J. Havrilla, William P. Baker, Edward Rothwell, Dennis P. Nyquist

Faculty Publications

A nondestructive technique for determining the complex permittivity and permeability of a perfect electric conductor backed magnetic shielding material using a dual waveguide probe is presented. The dual waveguide probe allows for the simultaneous collection of reflection and transmission coefficients which distinguishes it from single probe methods common in the literature. Theoretical development of these coefficients, which is accomplished through a coupled magnetic field integral equations formulation using Love's equivalence principle and solved via the method of moments (MOM), is discussed. Evaluation of the resulting MOM impedance matrix elements is performed using complex plane integration leading to enhanced computational efficiency …