Geological Engineering Commons^™

Long-Term Monitoring Of A Landslide In Stone County, Missouri Using High Precision Multi-Temporal Laser Scanning, Benjamin Michael Herries

Masters Theses

"A terrestrial laser scanning survey was conducted over the course of 1.5 years to test and validate a new target tracking method which characterizes the surface and subsurface behavior of soft slope landslides. Reflective spherical Styrofoam targets were mounted onto steel rods and driven into multiple levels of a landslide located in Stone County, Missouri. These targets were scanned a total of seventeen times over the course of the survey and were used as a proxy to measure the displacement of specific areas of the landslide. The three-dimensional point cloud data was processed through a software suite specifically developed to …

Mining Asteroids For Volatile Resources: An Experimental Demonstration Of Extraction And Recovery, Egboche Christopher Unobe

Masters Theses

"Gaseous compounds trapped within carbonaceous asteroids may prove to be important targets for prospective space miners in the near-term. Volatile release is from hydrated, hydroxylated and carbonated phases present, making such bodies attractive as feedstock for the production of H₂O, CO₂ and simple organic compounds. A source of these species in orbit provides an opportunity to locally produce space-craft propellant and other life-support gases through the application of In-situ Resource Utilization (ISRU).

For this study, an experimental vacuum system was modified and used to test the technical validity of radiatively heating asteroid simulants to extract contained gaseous …

Detection Of Mine Roof Failure Using Inexpensive Lidar Technology, Ali Abdullah M. Alzahrani

Masters Theses

"Slope, Roof, and mine wall stability problems are some of the main reasons for deaths at U.S. surface or underground mining. The safety instruments were not enough to prevent that failure or even predict it before it occurs. However, the cost of such a tool that can be helpful in detecting roof failures is very high and not reachable in most instances.

The present study investigates the feasibility of using the M16 Leddar Evaluation Kit to detect the roof failure in mines. The M16 Leddar Evaluation kit cost is between 300$-800$, so it is the reachable price if it provides …

Semi-Analytical Approach For Time-Dependent Load-Settlement Response Of A Jacked Pile In Clay Strata, Lin Li, Jingpei Li, De'an Sun, Weibing Gong

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Mechanical behavior of the soil around a jacked pile changes significantly during pile installation and subsequent consolidation. Hence, an axially loaded jacked pile exhibits apparent time-dependent bearing performance after pile installation. This paper presents a semi-analytical approach to predict the time-dependent bearing performance of an axially loaded jacked pile in saturated clay strata. The effects of pile installation and subsequent consolidation on the changes in mechanical properties of the surrounding soil are modeled by the cavity expansion theory and the radial consolidation theory, respectively. An exponential function-based load-transfer (t-z) curve is employed to describe the nonlinear behavior of the pile-soil …

Evaluation Of Combined Low-Salinity Water And Microgel Treatments To Improve Oil Recovery Using Partial Fractured Carbonate Models, Ali K. Alhuraishawy, Baojun Bai

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Combining two methods in one process to enhance oil recovery represents a needed cost savings in the oil industry. Microgels are used as conformance control agents to improve oil sweep efficiency and control excess water production. Low-salinity waterflooding (LSWF) is used as a wettability alteration agent in carbonate reservoirs and improves displacement efficiency. This paper offers a comprehensive understanding of the combined technology through laboratory experiments. The focus of this study is to see how microgels and low water salinity perform in porous media by creating flow resistance to injected fluid thereby changing the wettability and enhancing the sweep and …

Ior Methods In Unconventional Reservoirs Of North America: Comprehensive Review, Dheiaa Alfarge, Mingzhen Wei, Baojun Bai

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Unconventional resources have played a significant role in changing oil industry plans recently. Shale formations in North America have huge oil in place, 900 billion barrels of recoverable oil in Bakken only. However, the predicted primary recovery is still low as less than 10%. Therefore, seeking for improved oil techniques to increase oil recovery in these complex plays is inevitable. In this paper, three stages of review have been combined to find out the applicability of the most feasible IOR methods in these unconventional reservoirs. Firstly, the most common fluid and rock properties of these reservoirs have been investigated and …

Selection Criteria For Miscible-Gases To Enhance Oil Recovery In Unconventional Reservoirs Of North America, Dheiaa Alfarge, Mingzhen Wei, Baojun Bai, Mortadha Alsaba

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Unconventional resources have played a significant role in changing oil industry plans recently. Shale formations in North America such as Bakken, Niobrara, and Eagle Ford have huge oil in place, 100-900 billion barrels of oil in Bakken only. However, the predicted primary recovery is still low as 5-10%. Therefore, seeking for techniques to enhance oil recovery in these complex plays is inevitable. In this paper, two different approaches have been integrated to investigate the feasibility of three different miscible gases which are CO₂, lean gases, and rich gases. Firstly, numerical simulation methods of compositional models have been incorporated …

Wellbore Stability Evaluation For Mishrif Formation, Ethar H.K. Alkamil, Husam R. Abbood, Ralph E. Flori, Andreas Eckert

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

During drilling operations for the E oilfield in the Mishrif formation in southern Iraq, stuck pipe has been identified as a significant geomechanical problem for several wells. In this study, a 1-D mechanical earth model (MEM) of the Mishrif formation is compiled based on its state of stress and rock strength parameters and is utilized to assess the contribution of borehole collapse leading to the stuck pipe problems. The MEM model is based on the principal in situ stresses and their orientation obtained from wireline logs measurements, measuring while drilling (MWD), and leak off test (LOT). Rock strength properties are …

Integrating Microgels And Low Salinity Waterflooding To Improve Conformance Control In Fractured Reservoirs, Ali Alhuraishawy, Mingzhen Wei, Baojun Bai, Abdullah Almansour

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The recovery from fractured reservoirs is usually low. The areal heterogeneity is one result of the fractured reservoir. Low salinity waterflooding (LSWF) and preformed particle gel (PPG) have recently investigated by some researchers. The main objective of this study was to determine whether the combining technologies can improve conformance control in fractured sandstone reservoirs. Semi-transparent five-spot models made of sandstone cores and acrylic plates were built. The effect of low salinity waterflooding on oil recovery was studied. Models were designed with three parallel open fractures. Sodium chloride (1.0, 0.1, 0.01, and 0.001 wt. % NaCl) were used for brine flooding …

Effect Of Molecular-Diffusion Mechanisim On Co2 Huff-N-Puff Process In Shale-Oil Reservoirs, Dheiaa Alfarge, Mingzhen Wei, Baojun Bai, Abdullah Almansour

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Unconventional resources have played a significant role in changing oil industry plans recently. Shale formations in North America such as Bakken, Niobrara, and Eagle Ford have huge oil in place, 100-900 billion barrels of recoverable oil in Bakken only. However, the predicted primary recovery is still low as less than 10%. Therefore, seeking for techniques to increase oil recovery in these complex plays is inevitable. In this paper, three different approaches have been combined to investigate the effect of molecular-diffusion mechanism on CO₂ huff-n-puff process in Bakken formation. Firstly, comprehensive review has been conducted on the reported experimental studies …

Updated Criterion To Select Particle Size Distribution Of Lost Circulation Materials For An Effective Fracture Sealing, Mortadha Alsaba, Mohammed F. Al Dushaishi, Runar Nygaard, Olav Magnar Nes, Arild Saasen

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents a new criterion to select particle size distribution (PSD) for an effective fracture sealing. The method was developed based on a comprehensive laboratory investigation that was conducted to determine the relationship between effectiveness of different lost circulation material (LCM) treatments in terms of the sealing efficiency and PSD. The results were compared with the current selection methods, which were developed to enhance the bridging capabilities for drill-in fluid, to investigate their applicability in designing effective treatments for fracture sealing. A statistical investigation was carried out to develop new criteria that suggest PSD based on the expected fracture …

Novel Environmentally Benign Hydrogel: Nano-Silica Hybrid Hydrolyzed Polyacrylamide/ Polyethyleneimine Gel System For Conformance Improvement In High Temperature High Salinity Reservoir, Liping Ma, Shitou Wang, Yifu Long, Changqian Zhu, Hongbin Yang, Tangying Yang, Xiaochun Liu, Xiaorong Li, Baojun Bai, Wanli Kang

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In order to address the conformance problem in high temperature and high salinity/hardness reservoir, an environmentally benign in-situ gel was developed based on hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) and polyethyleneimine (PEI). Moreover, silica nanoparticle (SNP) was embedded to improve the performance of HPAM/PEI gel. To achieve the optimum formulation of HPAM/PEI-SNP gel, a comprehensive investigation was first conducted with the respect of gelation time, gel strength, and thermal stability. In addition, the particle size of SNP was determined by Dynamic Light Scatter (DLS) and the microstructure of HPAM/ PEI-SNP gel was characterized via Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The optimum formulation, containing the …

Acquisition Of Active Multichannel Analysis Of Surface Waves (Masw) Data In Karst Terrain, Ghassan Salem Alsulaimani

Doctoral Dissertations

"This study was designed to verify the effects and data reproducibility when the length of receiver array, receiver spacing, source offset and array orientation parameters are changed for data acquired using multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW), at intended target depth of 30ft (9m), and to compare the results with electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data obtained for the same study site.

The MASW data acquired for 34 sites, along four profiles for each site using variable source offsets of 10ft (3m) and 30ft (9.1m), and variable receiver spacings of 2.5ft (0.76m) and 5.0ft (0.76m), concurrently. Out of the 272 profiles …

Imaging A Fly Ash Landfill Using Non-Invasive Technologies (Ert And Masw), Atiat Shaban Qasim Alsaaideh

Doctoral Dissertations

"Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data were acquired across a segment of an existing fly ash landfill in southwestern Missouri. The objective was to map potential karst features and identify probable groundwater seepage through and beneath the landfill.

Variations in the moisture content were mapped below and above the two liners (clay and synthetic) systems, the soil and bedrock. Seepage pathways were mapped through the fly ash and the underlying soil and rock. No visual evidence was found on any of the 3D ERT profiles of the presence of either pre-existing air-filled voids or pre-existing or newly infilled clay-filled voids. There …

Geophysical Assessment Of Soil And Rock In The New Madrid Seismic Zone, Faraj Mohamed Eljabri

Doctoral Dissertations

"The research presented here consists of two case studies: the first from a study site in Illinois and the second from a site in Arkansas. In both instances, geophysical investigations were conducted to characterize the subsurface. At the Illinois site, borehole control, downhole seismic (DHS), seismic refraction tomography (SRT) and multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) data were acquired for the purpose of seismic site characterization. Shear wave and compressional wave velocities were used to estimate depth to bedrock and to generate 1-D plots depicting variations in Poisson's Ratio, elastic moduli and density. The average shear wave velocity in the …

Stress Related Fracturing In Dimension Stone Quarries, Ahmet Hamdi Deliormanli, Norbert H. Maerz

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In Missouri, the horizontal stresses (pressures) in the near surface rock are uncommonly high. While the vertical stresses in rock are simply a function of the weight of the overlying rock, near surface stresses can be many times higher. The near surface horizontal stresses can be in excess of 5 times greater than the vertical stresses. In this research, Flatjack method was used to measure horizontal stress in Red Granite Quarry in Missouri. The flat jack method is an approved method of measuring ground stresses. A saw cut is used to "relax" the stress in the ground by allowing the …

Influence Of Strong Preformed Particle Gels On Low Permeable Formations In Mature Reservoirs, Mahmoud O. Elsharafi, Baojun Bai

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In mature reservoirs, the success of preformed particle gel (PPG) treatment rests primarily on the ability of the PPG to reduce and/or plug the high permeable formations but not damage the low permeable formations. Static test models (filtration test model and pressure test model) were used to determine the effect of PPG on low permeable formations. This work used a strong preformed particle gel, Daqing (DQ) gel made by a Chinese company. The particle gel sizes were ranged from 30 to 120 mesh for this work. PPGs are sized in a millimeter or micrometer, which can absorb over a hundred …

Integrated Geophysical Approach Using Electrical Resistivity Tomography And Multichannel Analysis Of Surface Wave In Assessing Wilson Spring Development, Ibrahim E. Ahmed

Doctoral Dissertations

"This research investigated fractured zones leading to preferential flow paths of Wilson Spring. In this context, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data and multi-channel analyses of surface waves (MASW) data were acquired at studied site with the purpose of mapping a variable depth to top of bedrock and geological structures.

Interpretation of the boreholes, MASW, and ERT data indicated that a depth to top of rock does vary significantly at the studied site due to many solution-widened fractures. Multiple near-vertical solution-widened fractures were mapped in the studied site based on the interpretation of the ERT data. The mapped solution-widened fractures appear …

Lifetime And Effectiveness Evaluation Of Ceramic Pot Filters, Carlo Salvinelli

Doctoral Dissertations

"Poor water quality is a major contributing factor to disease in developing countries. Ceramic pot filters (CPFs) represent an effective and sustainable technology for poor communities, but the characterization of CPF lifetimes is on-going, and the water production seems to be the limiting factor. This dissertation describes laboratory and field investigations conducted to characterize the parameters that impact CPF effectiveness and lifetime in terms of water production and treatment efficacy, both under controlled and real use conditions.

CPF initial flow rate is the most common quality control parameter, but it may not be representative of the long-term effectiveness of the …

Developing An Idealistic Model To Characterize And Optimize A Photovoltaic Battery Systems, Pavani Reddy Nalladimmu

Masters Theses

"Solar energy is one of the most abundant and clean energy sources of renewable energy. Due to its unsteady nature, most photovoltaic systems require a solar storage system. Ultracapacitors have proven to be an effective solar energy storage component due to their wide range of input voltages and high power density. This research focuses on characterizing the performance of a PV/UCAP hybrid storage system to meet required household loads at various locations throughout the US as a backup energy source. A calibrated empirical model was developed to characterize system performance. A load profile was designed based on a typical 2 …

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 …

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 …

Imaging Reinforced Concrete: A Comparative Study Of Ground Penetration Radar And Rebarscope, Abhishek Kodi

Masters Theses

"Geophysical techniques have been playing a very vital role in subsurface imaging in the recent past. Technology has been making it both reliable and convenient to utilize non-destructive geophysics techniques like Ground Penetration Radar, Induction current based Rebarscope, Seismic methods, ERT, etc. The applications range from shallow subsurface investigation of Bridge decks to old tunnels, mapping of rabars in a pre-existing construction and analyzing the concrete strength.

The thesis constitutes of a comparative study and analysis of a Ground Penetration Radar system and a Rebarscope. Individual parameters obtained directly from the study and obtained indirectly from the study shall be …

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 …

Geophysical Imaging Of Karst Features In Missouri, Jeremiah Chukwunonso Obi

Doctoral Dissertations

"Automated electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) supported with multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) and boring data were used to map karst related features in Missouri in order to understand karst processes better in Missouri. Previous works on karst in Missouri were mostly surficial mapping of bedrock outcrops and joints, which are not enough to define the internal structure of karst system, since most critical processes in karst occur underground. To understand these processes better, the density, placement and pattern of karst related features like solution-widened joints and voids, as well as top of bedrock were mapped. In the course of …

Assessment Of Highway Condition Using Combined Geophysical Surveys, Abdallah Alhadi Dera

Doctoral Dissertations

"Four pavement sections were investigated using ground penetrating radar (GPR) and Ultrasonic Surface Wave (USW). The objective of this research was to compare the effectiveness of two non-destructive geophysical tools, GPR and the PSPA, in assessing the condition of the pavements, composed of different construction materials. The GPR data were acquired using a 1.5 GHz antenna along five traverses spaced at two ft. intervals approximately 1000 ft. long. On the other hand, the PSPA data were acquired at the stations spaced at 1000 ft. along the five GPR traverses. Core samples were collected at each site to constrain the interpretation …

Identifying Shallow Subsurface Stratigraphy And Voids Using Dispersive Characteristics Of Electromagnetic And Surface Waves, Payman Hajiani

Doctoral Dissertations

"This dissertation presents the results of three manuscripts on spectral analysis of electromagnetic and seismic surface waves to detect subsurface stratigraphy and voids. In the first manuscript, a new technique was developed by utilizing spectral analysis of surface waves to detect subsurface openings. This technique applied the concept of group delay to evaluate the effects of subsurface voids on the phase shift domain. Seismic data sets were acquired at different sites where the shape, size, and depth of the void varied. In all surveys, the time delay technique precisely identified the locations of the subsurface openings. The second manuscript presents …

Experimental Study And Numerical Simulation Of Hydraulic Fracturing Tight Sandstone Reservoirs, Chaohua Guo, Jianchun Xu, Mingzhen Wei, Ruizhong Jiang

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Unconventional tight sandstone reservoirs have been developed during recent years and a large number of multi-stages fractured horizontal wells have been drilled to stimulate reservoir performance. However, fluid flow in low permeability porous media no longer obeys Darcy's law and instead conforms to low-velocity non-Darcy flow. Most commercial numerical simulation software for multi-stage fractured horizontal well development may cause inaccuracy in simulating performance of tight sandstone reservoirs. In this paper, the investigation of existing conditions of low velocity non-Darcy flow for oil flow in irreducible water saturation tight sandstone cores was conducted and discussed through lab-experiments. And existence of low …

Evaluation Of Tunnel Excavation Methods In Accordance With Engineering Geology And Rock Mass Classification Systems, Özgür Satici, Tamer Topal

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this study, the relationship between engineering geological applications and tunnel excavation methods were described. Even if several tunnel excavation methods have been suggested from past up to the present, most of them were only the various derivations of full face and sequential excavation techniques. Internationally well-known tunnel excavation methods try to classify rock mass behaviors but cannot form a numerical base for the claimed methods. Therefore, objective evaluations are required (especially for their applications) to overcome the deficits rock mass classification systems are used. NATM and ADECO-RS are the two widespread methods at the present-day tunnel practice. In both …

A More Superior Preformed Particle Gel With Potential Application For Conformance Control In Mature Oilfields, Paul Tongwa, Baojun Bai

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The present work presents a nanocomposite preformed particle gel for conformance control in mature oilfields. This product was observed to have a better performance than conventional hydrogels without nanomaterials. Preformed particle hydrogel was designed by the reaction of monomer, initiator, crosslinker, additives, and calcium montmorillonite nanomaterial, whereas conventional hydrogel is designed from just monomer, initiator, crosslinker and additives. The presence of nanomaterial in hydrogel design affords it tremendous improvement in nanocomposite gel properties and behavior compared to conventional hydrogels without any nanomaterial. Additionally, swelling performance, post-degraded gel viscosity, and long-term thermal resistance of nanocomposite gel increased by several orders of …