Geological Engineering Commons^™

Experimental Study: Investigating The Anions And Cations' Effects On The Elasticity Of The Anionic And Cationic High Viscosity Friction Reducers, Xiaojing Ge, Ghith Biheri, Abdulmohsin Imqam, Baojun Bai, Yuwei Zhang

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

High viscosity friction reducers (HVFRs) are widely used as friction-reducing agents and proppant carriers during hydraulic fracturing. The reuse of produced water has gained popularity due to environmental and economic benefits. Currently, the field's most commonly used friction reducers are anionic and cationic HVFRs. Anionic HVFRs are typically pumped with freshwater, while cationic HVFRs are used with high Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) produced water. Cationic friction reducers are believed to have better TDS tolerance, friction reduction performance, and proppant transport capabilities compared to anionic friction reducers under high TDS conditions due to their superior viscoelastic properties. In addition, the impact …

Risk As A Process: A History Informed Hazard Planning Approach Applied To The 2018 Post-Fire Debris Flows, Montecito, California, Anna Serra-Llobet, John Radke, G. Mathias Kondolf, Larry Gurrola, J. David Rogers, Sarah Lindbergh, Johnny Douvinet

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Historical information about floods is not commonly used in the US to inform land use planning decisions. Rather, the current approach to managing floods is based on static maps derived from computer simulations of the area inundated by floods of specified return intervals. These maps provide some information about flood hazard, but they do not reflect the underlying processes involved in creating a flood disaster, which typically include increased exposure due to building on flood-prone land, nor do they account for the greater hazard resulting from wildfire. We developed and applied an approach to analyze how exposure has evolved in …

Magnetic Inversion Approach For Modeling Data Acquired Across Faults: Various Environmental Cases Studies, Khalid S. Essa, Eid R. Abo-Ezz, Neil Lennart Anderson, Omar A. Gomaa, Mahmoud Elhussein

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An effective extension to the particle swarm optimizer scheme has been developed to visualize and modelize robustly magnetic data acquired across vertical or dipping faults. This method can be applied to magnetic data sets that support various investigations, including mining, fault hazards assessment, and hydrocarbon exploration. The inversion algorithm is established depending on the second horizontal derivative technique and the particle swarm optimizer algorithm and was utilized for multi-source models. Herein, the inversion method is applied to three synthetic models (a dipping fault model contaminated without and with different Gaussian noises levels, a dipping fault model affected by regional anomaly, …

Comparative Study Of Proppant Transport In The Vertical Fracture For High Viscosity Friction Reducers And Slickwater Fracturing With High-Tds Marcellus Shale Formation Water, Xiaojing Ge, Abdulmohsin Imqam, Baojun Bai

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

High viscosity friction reducers (HVFRs) have been gaining more attention and increasing in use as proppant carriers. Reusing of produced water has also been driven by both environmental and economic benefits. However, high total dissolved solids (TDS) of produced water and high reservoir temperature significantly decrease the viscoelastic properties of HVFRs even for the cationic ones, which further reduce their proppant transport capabilities. Increasing loadings of HVFRs also has very limited effects on improving their proppant transport performances under high-TDS and high-Temperature conditions. The ultimate objective of this experimental study is to investigate the injection rate effects on the proppant …

Measurement Of Volumetric Deformation, Strain Localization, And Shear Band Characterization During Triaxial Testing Using A Photogrammetry-Based Method, Sara Fayek, Xiong Zhang, Xiaolong Xia, Qingqing Fu, Jeffrey D. Cawlfield

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Triaxial Testing Has Been Routinely Used as a Standard Laboratory Test that Allows Correct Determination of Soil Characteristics. Previously the Volumetric Strain of the Triaxial Specimen Was Considered to Be Uniformly Distributed Along with the Specimen during the Isotropic and Deviatoric Loading. Although This Assumption Might Hold True under Isotropic Loading, the Effects of Restrained Ends and Disturbance during the Procedures of Specimen Installation and Testing Can Cause Nonuniform Strains throughout the Whole Specimen. This Paper Investigates the Effects of Specimen Preparation and Misalignment on the Strain Uniformity Along with the Soil Specimen during Triaxial Testing. a Series of Consolidated …

Identification, Mapping, Analysis, And Dating Of Composite Mega Landslides In The Colorado Plateau, Conor Maris Watkins

Doctoral Dissertations

"This research consists of three articles focusing on landslide complexes within the Grand Canyon region of the Colorado Plateau. This is a vast and remote region of rugged topography. The landslide complexes in this study are greater than 10 million cubic meters in volume. The slides are located within different areas of the region and consist of differing geology but share multiple commonalities. Stratigraphic and structural controls tend to dictate where the slides occur. All of the landslides occur where carbonates and/or sandstones overlie over consolidated shales. The shales are susceptible to creep and strain softening where lateral confinement has …

Formation Of A Geological Model Of Oil And Gas Fields Based On New Geological And Geophysical Data (By The Example Of The Kultak Field), D A. Akhmedova, O A. Karshiev, E T. Matkarimov, A A. Elomonov, U B. Fayzullaev

Technical science and innovation

The article presents the results of building a geological model of oil and gas fields based on new geological and geophysical data on the example of the Kultak field. Using the Schlumberger-Petrel software package, it is recommended that to build permanent models of oil and gas fields, a geological model was built.

Research Of Factors Affecting The Efficiency Of Rock Breaking Equipment, J A. Tursunov, R U. Jurayev

Technical science and innovation

Nowadays 35-40 % of all the drilling works, performed on mining and geological exploration enterprises, are made by air bottom hole cleaning, and the rest 60-65 % are made by flushing liquids on water base. Air drilling and bottom hole cleaning due to low heat conductivity of air generates high temperature at a borehole bottom thus negatively affecting the efficiency of rock destruction tool; while drilling with water based flushing fluids causes efficiency reduction of rock destruction tool due to formation of slurry mode at a borehole bottom. This paper presents the results of the study of the factors negatively …

Influence Of The Preparation Technique On The Magnetic Characteristics Of Ε-Fe2o3-Based Composites, Dmitriy O. Testov, Kamil G. Gareev, Ivan K. Khmelnitskiy, Andrei Kosterov, Leonid Surovitskii, Victor V. Luchinin

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

ε-Fe2O3 is an iron(III) oxide polymorph attracting an increasing interest due to its unique magnetic properties combining extremely high coercivity and relatively large saturation magnetization. We review existing methods for the ε-Fe2O3 synthesis focusing on synthesis speed, repeatability, manufacturability and purity of the final product. Samples of ε-Fe2O3 have been synthesized using the two methods that appear the most promising: silica gel impregnation and microemulsion. In both cases, ε-Fe2O3 and α-Fe2O3 are present in the final product as attested by X-ray diffraction patterns and magnetic properties (maximum coercive force at 300 K~1 Tesla). Two different precursors, iron(III) nitrate and iron(II) …

The New Map: Energy, Climate, And The Clash Of Nations, Jay Nathan

Journal of Global Awareness

No abstract provided.

Energy Dissipation In A Sand Damper Under Cyclic Loading, Ehab Sabi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Various seismic and wind engineering designs and retrofit strategies have been in development to meet structures' proper and safe operation during earthquake and wind excitation. One such method is the addition of fluid and particle dampers, such as sand dampers, in an effort to reduce excessive and dangerous displacements of structures. The present study implements the discrete element method (DEM) to assess the performance of a pressurized sand damper (PSD) and characterize the dissipated energy under cyclic loading. The idea of a PSD is to exploit the increase in shearing resistance of sand under external pressure and the associated ability …

The Living Breakwaters Pdr Efforts Econcrete Resource Analysis, Guianina Ferrari, Shervon Stephens, Calvin O. Walters Jr.

Publications and Research

On October 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy impacted 443,000 people and caused nearly $19 billion (about $58 per person in the US) worth of damage within New York City. As part of the New York City infrastructure reparation plan, the Living Breakwaters project in Tottenville addressed coastal resilience, allocating $100M of public funds to a series of artificial breakwaters by the southwest coast of Staten Island. Each breakwater is constructed and designed to mitigate water flow in storm events. ECOncrete, a primary element of the breakwater, is a specialty cast cementitious product that is marine organism-friendly that encourages biocalcification and photosynthesis. …

Geology-Based Shear-Wave Velocity Model Of Reference Site Conditions In South Carolina For Seismic Site Response Analysis, Camilius Amevorku

All Dissertations

Assessing earthquake hazard in the State of South Carolina is important because it is one of the most seismically active regions of the eastern United States and has experienced earthquakes of damaging levels in the historical past. Examples of these damaging seismic events are the 1886 Charleston earthquake (M 6.7 to 7.5) and the 1913 Union County earthquake (M 4.5 to 5.5).

Small-strain shear-wave velocity (V_S) is an important parameter in performing site response analysis. The deep nature of the top of reference firm rock (i.e., V_S ≥ 760 m/s or B-C boundary) due to …

Evaluation Of The Stress-Strain State Of The Kochbulak And Kyzylalma Deposits With Tectonic Stresses Included With The Finite Element Method, A Markov, A R. Khasanov, A N. Kazakov, M R. Khaqberdiyev, M X. Rakhimova

Technical science and innovation

In the world, the modern development of the mining industry is directly related to the development of complex structural mineral deposits at great depths under conditions of geodynamic and geomechanical risk. Especially when mining mineral deposits underground at great depths, rock pressure is manifested in a dynamic form and there is a danger of rock bursts. The practice of mining in rock burst conditions and the fight against rock bursts have more than 100 years of history. However, many important issues are currently far from being resolved, which is due to the complex nature of the stress-strain state of the …

Biochar Preparation, Investigation Of Properties And Application As A Low-Cost Adsorbent – A Review, A Kh Aripov, S M. Turabdzhanov, Sh Komilova, O Sh Qodirov, G S. Rakhimova, T V. Darabkova, Zh Aimenova, L S. Rakhimova

Technical science and innovation

An overview of current developments in biochar application in water and wastewater treatment is given in this article, along with a brief explanation of the sorption mechanisms for removing contaminants and the techniques for biochar preparation. In order to encourage the continued use of biochar in effective water and wastewater treatment, future research directions and environmental concerns about biochar are also presented.

Fluoride Technology For Processing Copper Production Slag At Almalyk Mmc And The Possibility Of Its Application For The Synthesis Of Highly Dispersed Silica Dioxide, M Sh Kurbanov, U M. Nuraliev, J A. Panjiev, S A. Tulaganov, M Ernazarov, L S. Andriyko

Technical science and innovation

A new pilot-plant equipment of an inclined rotary furnace for the processing of fluoroammonium silicon-containing materials has been developed and manufactured, which allowed sublimation of ammonium hexafluorosilicate, formed as a result of fluorination of processed raw materials, in two sections, with autonomous control of temperature and movement of raw materials. It is shown that the use of the created equipment for the processing of copper-smelting slags of the Almalyk MMC using fluoride technology makes it possible to separate amorphous silicon dioxide in the form of a dispersed powder from slags, extract iron and obtain a collective concentrate of precious, non-ferrous …

Mantle Dynamics Of The North China Craton: New Insights From Mantle Transition Zone Imaging Constrained By P-To-S Receiver Functions, Lin Liu, Stephen S. Gao, Kelly H. Liu, William L. Griffin, Sanzhong Li, Siyou Tong, Jieyuan Ning

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Cratons are generally defined as stable continental blocks with a strong cratonic root that typically is at least ∼200 km thick. Many cratons have undergone little internal tectonism and destruction since their formation, but some of them, such as the eastern part of the North China Craton (NCC), the Dharwar Craton and the Wyoming Craton, have lost their thick cratonic root and become reactivated in recent geological history, leading to widespread Meso-Cenozoic volcanisms. The mechanisms responsible for such decratonization remain debated. To provide new constraints on models leading to decratonization, in this study we stack 612 854 source-normalized P-to-S conversions …

Long-Time Kinetic Impact On Key Factors Affecting Asphaltene Precipitation, Ato Kwamena Quainoo, Abdulmohsin Imqam

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The employment of predictive techniques combining kinetic and thermodynamic analyses is the succinct solution to effectively control asphaltene precipitation during crude oil production. Although thermodynamic processes and conditions have been well studied in the literature, the effect of long-time kinetics on the key factors affecting the precipitation of asphaltenes was not critically studied. This work employed a model oil for asphaltene precipitation long-time kinetic observations. Filtration and confocal microscopy experimentations for time periods of 0-7200 min were utilized to study asphaltene yields and sizes at room and high temperatures (25, 50, and 70 °C), rotation speeds (60 and 150 rpm), …

A Comprehensive Review Of Experimental Evaluation Methods And Results Of Polymer Micro/Nanogels For Enhanced Oil Recovery And Reduced Water Production, Junchen Liu, Abdulaziz Almakimi, Mingzhen Wei, Baojun Bai, Ibnelwaleed Ali Hussein

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In recent years, polymer micro/nanogels which are re-crosslinked polymers with 3D networks, have attracted a lot of interest in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) field. In size of micro/nanometers, these gel particles are designed to be conformance control agents for in-depth fluid diversion, and various experimental research have been undertaken to investigate the possibilities of applying micro/nanogels in oilfield. However, it is still unclear that how to utilize micro/nanogels to their full potential in oilfield because the transport mechanisms and EOR mechanisms of micro/nanogels are not well studied currently. By reviewing experimental evaluations and corresponding results of micro/nanogels, including evaluation of …

Laboratory Evaluation Of A Novel Self-Healable Polymer Gel For Co2 Leakage Remediation During Co2 Storage And Co2 Flooding, Tao Song, Zhanmiao Zhai, Junchen Liu, Yugandhara Eriyagama, Mohamed Ahdaya, Adel Alotibi, Ze Wang, Thomas P. Schuman, Baojun Bai

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

For CO₂ storage in subsurface reservoirs, one of the most crucial requirements is the ability to remediate the leakage caused by the natural fractures or newly generated fractures due to the increasing pore pressure associated with CO₂ injection. For CO₂ Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), high conductivity features such as fractures and void space conduits can severely restrict the CO₂ sweep efficiency. Polymer gels have been developed to plug the leakage and improve the sweep efficiency. This work evaluated a CO₂ resistant branched self-healable preformed particle gel (CO₂-BRPPG) for CO₂ plugging purpose. This …

Out Of The Blue: Volcanic So2 Emissions During The 2021–2022 Eruptions Of Hunga Tonga—Hunga Ha’Apai (Tonga), S. A. Carn, N. A. Krotkov, B. L. Fisher, C. Li

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Most volcanism on Earth is submarine, but volcanic gas emissions by submarine eruptions are rarely observed and hence largely unquantified. On 15 January 2022 a submarine eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai (HTHH) volcano (Tonga) generated an explosion of historic magnitude, and was preceded by ∼1 month of Surtseyan eruptive activity and two precursory explosive eruptions. We present an analysis of ultraviolet (UV) satellite measurements of volcanic sulfur dioxide (SO2) between December 2021 and the climactic 15 January 2022 eruption, comprising an unprecedented record of Surtseyan eruptive emissions. UV measurements from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA’s Aura satellite, the …

Pre-Eruptive Excess Volatiles And Their Relationship To Effusive And Explosive Eruption Styles In Semi-Plugged Volcanoes, Sri Budhi Utami, Juan Andùjar, Fidel Costa, Bruno Scaillet, Hanik Humaida, Simon Carn

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Understanding the role of various factors influencing eruption style is challenging, but it can aid in adapting different hazard mitigations and crisis responses for explosive or effusive events. Here, we focus on the role of magma storage conditions in controlling eruption styles at basaltic andesite volcanoes, and how they can be related to monitoring data. We study the cycle of explosive (1990, sub-Plinian) → effusive (2007, dome) → explosive (2014, sub-Plinian) eruptions from Kelud (Kelut) volcano, Indonesia. We conducted petrological analyses of the eruption products and phase equilibria experiments using pumice and explored a range of temperatures, pressures, oxygen fugacity, …

Physical, Chemical, And Mineralogical Controls On Retardation Of Anatoxin-A Migration By Sorption To Natural Soils With Implications For Groundwater Protection, Justin L. Hobart, Andrew M. O’Reilly, Jennifer N. Gifford

Faculty and Student Publications

Increasing prevalence of cyanotoxins in surface water bodies worldwide threatens groundwater quality when contaminated water recharges an aquifer through natural or artificial means. The subsurface fate of anatoxin-a (ATX) is not well studied. Laboratory batch experiments were performed to expand the current knowledge of ATX sorption affinities to geologic media, with a focus on natural soil (Vertisol, Ultisol, Alfisol, and Inceptisol) and physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics. For a range of aqueous ATX concentrations (0.3–14 μg/L), linear, Freundlich, and Langmuir isotherms fit observed data well (r2 = 0.92–1.00, RMSE = 0.4–6.3 μg/kg). Distribution coefficient (Kd) and retardation factor (Rf) values …

Applications Of Temperature Transient Analysis For Reservoir Surveillance, Refaat Galal Aboelfotoh Hashish

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Reservoir monitoring is a key factor in the management of oil and gas resources. With the recent developments of permanent downhole temperature monitoring tools such as Fiber-Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing (FO-DTS), temperature transient analysis has evolved as a new alternative for reservoir monitoring. In this work, different techniques of temperature data analysis are presented for monitoring and characterization of hydrocarbon and geologic carbon storage (GCS) reservoirs. The objective of this study is to present new approaches that enable monitoring injection profile through vertical and horizontal injection wells using temperature warmback analysis. Application of temperature warmback analysis is also extended for …

Study On Apparent Permeability Model For Gas Transport In Shale Inorganic Nanopores, Shuda Zhao, Hongji Liu, Enyuan Jiang, Nan Zhao, Chaohua Guo, Baojun Bai

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Inorganic nanopores occurring in the shale matrix have strong hydrophilicity and irreducible water (IW) film can be formed on the inner surface of the pores making gas flow mechanisms in the pores more complex. In this paper, the existence of irreducible water (IW) in inorganic pores is considered, and, based on the Knudsen number (K (Formula presented.)) correction in shale pores, a shale gas apparent permeability model of inorganic nano-pores is established. The effect of the K (Formula presented.) correction on the apparent permeability, the ratio of flow with pore radius and the effect of IW on the apparent permeability …

Fabrications And Applications Of Micro/Nanofluidics In Oil And Gas Recovery: A Comprehensive Review, Junchen Liu, Yandong Zhang, Mingzhen Wei, Xiaoming He, Baojun Bai

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Understanding fluid flow characteristics in porous medium, which determines the development of oil and gas oilfields, has been a significant research subject for decades. Although using core samples is still essential, micro/nanofluidics have been attracting increasing attention in oil recovery fields since it offers direct visualization and quantification of fluid flow at the pore level. This work provides the latest techniques and development history of micro/nanofluidics in oil and gas recovery by summarizing and discussing the fabrication methods, materials and corresponding applications. Compared with other reviews of micro/nanofluidics, this comprehensive review is in the perspective of solving specific issues in …

A Database Of Teleseismic Shear-Wave Splitting Measurements For The Ordos Block And Adjacent Areas, Lin Liu, Stephen S. Gao, Kelly H. Liu, Tu Xue, Yan Jia, Sanzhong Li

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Ordos block of the north China craton and its surrounding regions are affected by the India-Eurasia collision to the southwest and the subduction of the Pacific beneath the Eurasian plates to the east. To provide the foundation for delineating lithospheric deformation and asthenospheric flow beneath this tectonically diverse region, we have created a database of individual shear-wave splitting (SWS) parameters by applying a uniform set of data processing procedures. After automatic data processing and manual checking, a total of 16,228 pairs of well-defined PKS, SKKS, and SKS splitting parameters (fast orientations and splitting times) are obtained from 1023 broadband …

Crustal Structure And Subsidence Mechanisms Of The Williston Basin: New Constraints From Receiver Function Imaging, Jianguo Song, Stephen S. Gao, Kelly H. Liu, Muchen Sun, Youqiang Yu, Fansheng Kong, Kevin Mickus

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Mechanisms responsible for the long-term subsidence of intracontinental basins such as the Williston Basin in North America remain enigmatic, partly due to the thick sedimentary layer commonly found in the basins that prevents reliably imaging the deep crustal and upper mantle structures using some of the most-commonly employed seismic methods such as receiver function analysis. In this study, we used receiver functions recorded by 274 USArray and other stations in the Williston Basin and adjacent areas to investigate the layered structure of the crust in the hydrocarbon-rich intracontinental basin. After the removal of strong reverberations on the receiver functions associated …

Correlations Between Dynamic Probe Blow Count And Undrained Shear Strength For Peat At A Well-Characterised Raised Bog In Ireland, David Mchugh, Ciaran Reilly, Juan Pablo Osorio

Articles

Peat deposits are generally heterogeneous, with large variations over small areas. Peat has an extremely high water content, high compressibility and low shear strength. This presents a major issue in studying the geomechanical behavior of peat. For this study, field and laboratory tests were conducted to establish the undrained shear strength (s_u) of peat at a cutover industrial peatland in Ireland which had been extensively characterized in the past. The new field work included TRL-type Dynamic Cone Penetrometer, Mackintosh probe and field vane shear tests. A correlation was developed between the Mackintosh probe “M-value” blow count and the …

Application Of Fuzzy Logic And Fractal Modeling Approach For Groundwater Potential Mapping In Semi-Arid Akka Basin, Southeast Morocco, Fatima Zahra Echogdali, Said Boutaleb, Rosine Basseu Kpan, Mohammed Ouchchen, Amine Bendarma, Hasna El Ayady, Kamal Abdelrahman, Mohammed S. Fnais, Kochappi Sathyan Sajinkumar, Mohamed Abioui

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Groundwater potential delineation in the Akka basin, southwest Morocco, has been determined through the combination of geospatial techniques and geological data. The geometric average and expected value are two multi-criteria approaches used to integrate a set of factors–data for which the weights of each factor are assigned using the fuzzy logic function, which transforms values of factors influencing groundwater presence in a range of [0, 1]. The efficiency factors used in this study are the lineament density, node density, drainage density, distance from rivers, distance from lineament, permeability, slope, topographic witness index, plan curvature, and profile curvature. Thereafter, the groundwater …